Mooky the Clown

Laszlo Robert Fossett "Laci" Endresz Jr. (born 28 July 1974) is an English circus performer and producer who performs as the circus clown Mooky the Clown. He has been the main clown at the Blackpool Tower Circus since 1999.

Beginning his circus career in childhood working primarily as a juggler, Endresz gradually transitioned to clowning in the late 1990s through his family's management of the Blackpool Tower Circus from 1992 onwards. In the years since, his multi-decade long run as resident clown at the Tower Circus has been compared to other famous Tower Circus clowns Doodles and Charlie Cairoli, and he has become a well-known figure within Blackpool and its tourism culture.

Background Endresz was born in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England. His father, Laci Endresz Sr., was born in Hungary and was from 1992 until 2025 the director of the Blackpool Tower Circus at Blackpool Tower.

He is from a circus family: seven generations of his family have performed in the circus on his father's side and nine generations on his mother's side.

Career Early career (1978 – 1992) Endresz first appeared as a clown in his family's musical clown act on his fourth birthday. He appeared at the end of the routine - where he played on a trombone. He said from this moment on, upon making the audience laugh, he was "hooked" and knew he wanted to work in the circus.

Prior to 1999, he was usually known as "Mini Mooky" when performing as a clown, as his father was known as Mooky the Clown at the time. In total, Endresz is the third member of his family to have adopted the name Mooky for his clown character. The name was first used by his grandfather in Hungary during the 1940s and was then adopted by his father from the 1970s until the late 1990s.

As a child, he performed in circuses as a juggler and in a springboard act with his family. He performed at the Belle Vue Zoological Gardens and at the SECC in Glasgow, during the festive seasons of 1982/83 and 1988/89 respectively. Other circuses he and his family performed at during this time include Cirkus Benneweis, Circus Mundial, Cirkus Merano, and Sirkus Finlandia - the latter two circuses for three seasons each. Then in 1987, at the age of 12, he performed at the 12th International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo with his sister Katejuggling with nunchucks, five and seven rings, four and five clubs, three then five balls and finishing his act with five fire torches. During this time, he also appeared on and performed on television. He performed on The Paul Daniels Magic Show twice - in the 1983 Christmas special and on a Series 12 episode in 1991. He also performed his act at the Royal Command Performance.

At the Blackpool Tower Circus (1992 – present) Initial work at the Tower Circus and touring abroad (1992 – 1997)

At the Tower Circus, Endresz initially performed as a juggler or in comedy acts. As well as continuing to perform comedy as Mini Mooky - Endresz was part of the Lloyds; a comedy acrobatics troupe which he performed in with his sister Kate Endresz and Andras Banlaki. They performed together as the Lloyds in the 1992 and 1994 Tower Circus main seasons. At the same time, the three also created and performed the juggling act "Wild on Wheels" - where Endresz juggled on the back of a moving motorcycle driven by Banlaki, while his sister aided him in juggling. This was first performed in the 1994 Tower Circus main show At the SECC show, he also performed as Mooky as part of a troupe of clowns who did a water comedy routine.

Since then, he has starred, without break, each year in the summer circus show as Mooky the Clown; and until it was discontinued in 2020, in the Circus’ pantomime as well. He was similarly prominently featured in the Showzam! festival circuses - which ran for a fortnight in February from 2008 until 2012.

As Mooky the Clown, he won the Circus Friend Association’s “Best Comedy act in Great Britain Award” four times: from 2000 - 2002, and again in 2004. He was also awarded Blackpool tourist attraction operator Leisure Parcs’ “Entertainer of the Year” award twice - in 1999 and in 2002.

Endresz as Mooky has also become a prominent cultural figure within Blackpool. Tourists to the resort often come to the Tower Circus specifically to see him perform in the same way they did for previous Tower Circus resident clowns. In February 2010, as part of the Showzam! circus and magic festival - a workshop to cure coulrophobia included Endresz meeting the participants out of character and then gradually getting into character as Mooky to provide a form of exposure therapy for attendees.

As well as his role as Mooky, Endresz is also known to be responsible at the Blackpool Tower Circus for backstage co-ordination; and since at least 2017, stage direction. He also builds the majority of the props used in the circus. In 2025, he, along with Bubu, took over as the main producers of the Blackpool Tower Circus. He also performed his juggling act on the Children's Variety Performance in 1994.

In 2007, he appeared in the second series of the Channel 4 documentary The Convention Crasher as Mooky, helping Justin Lee Collins learn clowning before he travelled to the United States to participate in a clowning convention in Houston, Texas.

Performance style Archetypally for an Auguste clown, Mooky the Clown wears a red nose and makeup on his face. His makeup design consists of a large white muzzle, with black outlines on his mouth, eyes, chin, as well as a dot of black makeup on each cheek. Similarly distinct to his clown appearance is the blue and gold skullcap on his head. This skullcap was introduced in 1999 - previously, he wore a red brimmed hat like his father's incarnation of Mooky.

Over the years there have been different characters who have played the role of straight man to Mooky:

Initially, from 1999 to 2001, it was a ringmaster character played by Laci Endresz Sr. Endresz’ brother, Tom "Bubu" Endresz, became Mooky’s latest straight man - Mr Boo (spelt as Mr Booo until 2014), from the February 2008 Showzam! show, Mooky's Circus Carnival onwards. Mr Boo is a similar character to Mr Maxi; and much like his real life counterpart, is Mooky’s brother.

In the Tower Circus, he and Mr Boo typically begin the show with a variant of the "you can't play here" traditional clown routine, in which Mooky regularly interrupts Mr Boo's music performances. This usually results in the main verbal back-and-forth between the two clowns - where Mr Boo attempts to get Mooky to vacate the stage. Here, he paints upside down on a black canvas and flips it around to reveal a portrait. In past shows at the Blackpool Tower Circus, he has painted Yoda, Marylin Monroe, and a self-portrait - among others.

Awards In June 2026, Endresz was awarded a British Empire Medal in the 2026 Birthday Honours for services to circus entertainment in the North West of England. Speaking of the award, he stated: “This really is so special for me and my family. I love what I do - everything from designing and building the props to producing and directing the show. Over the last three decades, I’ve had the honour of entertaining millions of visitors to The Blackpool Tower Circus. It isn’t a job to me; it is my passion and calling in life. I am humbled to have been chosen to receive a British Empire Medal.”

+ Award Organization Location Year Notes Silver Medal Winner Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain Paris, France 1985 Won for his juggling act. Paris, France 1995 Won for his juggling act "Wild on Wheels". Best Ground Act in Great Britain Circus Friends Association 1999 Leisure Parcs Entertainer of the Year Leisure Parcs Blackpool, United Kingdom 1999 Best Comedy Act in Great Britain Circus Friends Association 2000 As Mooky20012002 Leisure Parcs Entertainer of the Year Leisure Parcs Blackpool, United Kingdom 2002 Best Comedy Act in Great Britain Circus Friends Association 2004 As Mooky, joint award with Mr Maxi (Attila Endresz) Silver Cup Hansa Theatre Hamburg, Germany. Circus Personality of the Year Bayern Munich Carnival, Circus Krone Germany Gold medal winner Tokyo Circus Festival Tokyo, Japan Best All Round Entertainer Budapest, Hungary

Filmography Actor Film Year Title Role Notes 1994 Funny Bones Juggler 2017 Grimaldi: The Funniest Man in the World Young Joseph Grimaldi Credited as Mooky