Бим-Бом

Bim-Bom were Russian clowns and a popular Moscow circus act from 1891 to at least World War II (albeit with interruptions). Bim was always played by the Polish-born Ivan Semyonovich Radunsky (1872-1955). The Bom character, however, changed as time went on. The first Bom was a Russianized Italian named Cortesi. He and Radunsky developed a routine that was both acrobatic and full of literary wit. When Cortesi tragically drowned in 1897, the Pole Mieczysław Stanevsky took his place. Stanevsky, however, abandoned the clown costume; he played a gentleman in top hat and formal dress. Radunsky and Stanevsky's act focused more on verbal satire (which sometimes got them into trouble with government censors) and became so popular that they made records and toured Europe. After the Russian Revolution, both returned to their native Poland. In 1925, however, Radunsky returned to Russia. He now teamed up with a man named Wilczak, who was either a Czech or a Pole, and they both turned the act into a much more music-focused routine in which Wilczak played two concertinas simultaneously. By World War II, Radunsky had found yet another partner in the Russian Kamsky.