Jack Bologna

John Peter Bologna (1775 –1846), known as Jack Bologna on stage, was an Italian actor and dancer, who spent much time in England popularising the role of Harlequin in Georgian pantomimes and harlequinades in the early part of the 1800s at the Sadler's Wells and Covent Garden Theatres.

After arriving in England with his performing family in 1787, Bologna made his London debut at the Covent Garden Theatre as Harlequin in the pantomime Niobe; or, Harlequin's Ordeal. After playing in his family's act throughout England, he starred in, and later choreographed, pantomimes and plays, including some notable successes at the Royal Circus, including The Cloud King, The Sorceress of Strozzi, Black Beard, and Edwin of the Green. In 1806, he, along with the famous Clown performer Joseph Grimaldi, performed in Harlequin and Mother Goose; or, the Golden Egg, Bologna's his biggest success. Bologna was also an amateur machinist who often showcased his mechanical designs, using them on stage as part of his productions.

Having mostly retired from the stage in 1820, he struggled financially and lived in severe poverty throughout the remaining 26 years of his life, before dying penniless aged 71.

Bologna was born into a performing family. His father, Pietro Bologna, was an Italian clown performer, who became famous for his ability to play the flute through each nostril and to play the drum while tightrope walking. Bologna's mother was an actress, and his siblings, Louis (d. 1808) and Barbara (1786–1804), performed with the family act. Jack made his debut on the Italian stage at age 11, soon afterwards coming to England in 1787, where he met the ten-year-old Joseph Grimaldi, who had begun performing in the pantomimes of his actor father Giuseppe. The two young performers formed a close friendship. From there, Bologna made his first appearance on the English stage with his family's tumbling act, which initially toured the provincial theatres.

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