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{{Short description|Stock clown character of the commedia dell'arte}}

'''Scaramuccia''' is a [[commedia dell'arte]] character who wears a black velvet mask and black trousers, shirt and hat.

{{Other uses}}

{{Distinguish|Scaramuccia (disambiguation)}}

{{Distinguish|Anthony Scaramucci}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}

[[File:Pietro Paolini - Portrait of Tiberio Fiorilli as Scaramouche.jpg|thumb|''Portrait of Tiberio Fiorilli as Scaramouche'' by [[Pietro Paolini]]]]

[[File:J.S. Grimaldi (as Scaramouch).jpg|thumb|[[J. S. Grimaldi]] as Scaramouche, {{Circa|1815}}]]

[[File:SAND Maurice Masques et bouffons 07.jpg|thumb|Scaramuccia in 1860]]

'''Scaramouche''' ({{IPA|fr|skaʁamuʃ|lang}}) or '''Scaramouch''' ({{IPAc-en|lang|ˈ|s|k|ær|ə|m|uː|(|t|)|ʃ|,_|-|m|aʊ|tʃ}}; [[Italian language|Italian]]: '''Scaramuccia''' {{IPA|it|skaraˈmuttʃa|}}; {{lit|little skirmisher}}) is a [[stock character|stock]] [[clown]] character of the 16th-century [[commedia dell'arte]] (comic theatrical arts of [[Italian literature]]). The role combined characteristics of the [[Zanni]] (servant) and [[il Capitano]] (masked henchman), with some assortment of [[villain|villainous traits]]. Usually attired in black Spanish dress and [[burlesque|burlesquing]] a [[Don (honorific)|don]], he was often beaten by [[Harlequin]] for his boasting and cowardice.

==History==

Although [[Tiberio Fiorilli|Tiberio Fiorillo]] (1608–1694) was not the first to play the role, he greatly developed and popularized it. He removed the mask, used white powder on his face, and employed grimaces. He was small, had a long beard, and wore a predominantly black costume with a white ruff. In France, he became known as Scaramouche.<ref>Hartnoll 1983, pp. 282 ("Fiorillo, Tiberio"), 735 ("Scaramuccia").</ref> In the 19th century, the English actor [[Joseph Grimaldi]] and his son [[J. S. Grimaldi]] made numerous appearances as Scaramouche.

==Character==

Scaramouche influences the audience to do his bidding. Rosa says that [[Coviello]] (like Scaramouche) is "short, adroit, supple, and conceited". In Molière's ''[[Le Bourgeois gentilhomme|The Bourgeois Gentleman]]'', Coviello disguises his master as a Turk and pretends to speak Turkish. Both Scaramouche and Coviello can be clever or stupid—as the actor sees fit to portray him.

In [[Blaise Pascal]]'s ''[[Pensées]]'' Section 1 Article 12, Scaramouche is described as a person "who only thinks of one thing. The doctor, who speaks for a quarter of an hour after he has said everything, so full is he of the desire of talking."

==In puppetry==

Scaramouche is one of the great characters in the [[Punch and Judy]] puppet shows with roots in [[commedia dell'arte]]. In some scenarios, he is the owner of The Dog, another stock character. During performances, Punch frequently strikes Scaramouche, causing his head to come off his shoulders. Because of this, the term ''scaramouche'' has become associated with a class of puppets with extendable necks.

==Scaramouche in popular culture==

* The hero of [[Rafael Sabatini]]'s historical novel ''[[Scaramouche (novel)|Scaramouche]]'', and its film adaptations, is a similar [[Swashbuckler|swashbuckling]] character who goes incognito in the theatrical role of Scaramouche.

* Several films were named Scaramouche, among other past films and TV series, include:

** ''Scaramouche'' (1912-13) Op. 71, is a two-act tragic ballet-pantomime, comprising 21 numbers, written by the Finnish composer [[Jean Sibelius]].

** ''Scaramouche'' (1923), silent movie by [[Rex Ingram (director)|Rex Ingram]]

** ''[[Scaramouche (1952 film)|Scaramouche]]'' (1952), directed by [[George Sidney]] with [[Stewart Granger]], [[Janet Leigh]], [[Eleanor Parker]], and [[Mel Ferrer]].

** ''The Adventures of Scaramouche'' (1963), a French-Italian-Spanish feature film, directed by [[Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi]], starring [[Gérard Barray]], [[Michèle Girardon]], and [[Gianna Maria Canale]].

** ''[[The Loves and Times of Scaramouche]]'' (1976), an Italian comedy film, directed by [[Enzo G. Castellari]], starring [[Michael Sarrazin]], [[Ursula Andress]], and [[Aldo Maccione]], about the adventures of a cad in Napoleonic times.

* ''[[Scaramouche (Milhaud)|Scaramouche]]'' is the name of a suite by the French composer [[Darius Milhaud]] for two pianos and some other combinations. Milhaud first composed the piece as an amalgam of music he wrote for theatre.

* In the 1975 song "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]", by the British rock band [[Queen (band)|Queen]], Scaramouche is asked if he would like to perform the dance known as a [[fandango]].

* Inspired by "Bohemian Rhapsody", ''Scaramouche'' is the name of the lead female role in the [[jukebox musical]] play ''[[We Will Rock You (musical)|We Will Rock You]]''.

* ''Scaramouche Jones'' (2002) is a [[Solo performance|solo play]] by Justin Butcher, which was premiered in its full form by [[Pete Postlethwaite]]. In this 100-minute [[monologue]], an aging clown recounts, at the turn of the millennium, the [[Picaresque novel|picaresque]] story of his life, from his early childhood in Trinidad at the start of the 20th century, the son of a [[Romani people|gypsy]] prostitute and an Englishman, through his harsh misadventures in the slave trade and in wartime Poland, where as a gravedigger he found his vocation as a clown while striving to keep children amused by [[parody]]ing their imminent slaughter.<ref name=Knapper-2007>{{cite book|last=Knapper|first=Stephen|editor=Robb, David |title=Clowns, Fools and Picaros: Popular Forms in Theatre, Fiction and Film| chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pAqeFGf_WDEC&pg=PA127 |year=2007 |publisher=Rodopi |isbn=978-90-420-2340-6| pages=127, 135–138| chapter=Scaramouche: The Mask and the Millenium}}</ref>

* In the opening chapter of the book ''[[Phule's Company]]'' by [[Robert Asprin]], the main character Willard Phule uses Scaramouche as his alias ("Scaramouche?" Major Joshua said with a frown. "Aside from the obvious reference to the character from the novel.").<ref>Asprin, Robert 1990. ''Phule's Company'', Penguin Putnam Ltd. p. 7.</ref>

* In [[Tom Stoppard]]'s ''[[On the Razzle (play)|On the Razzle]]'', Scaramouche is the ''[[Pen name|nom de plume]]'' used by sales clerk Weinberl in his letters while answering "lonely hearts advertisements".<ref>Stoppard, Tom 1991. ''Rough Crossing'' and ''On the Razzle'', 1st ed., Faber and Faber Ltd. p. 86.</ref>

[[File:Anthony Scaramucci at SALT Conference 2016 (cropped).jpg|thumb|200px|Anthony Scaramucci in 2016]]

* Investor [[Anthony Scaramucci]] was named the [[White House]] communications director in July 2017 and removed later that same month. His very public presence in news media prompted an 8.185% increase in searches for ''Scaramouche'', according to [[Merriam-Webster]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Russo |first=Carla Herreria |date=Jul 22, 2017 |title=Anthony Scaramucci Prompts Search Of 'Scaramouch' And People Can't Handle The Definition |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/merriam-webster-scaramouch-anthony-scaramucci_us_5972bb08e4b09e5f6ccf78b4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810042650/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/merriam-webster-scaramouch-anthony-scaramucci_n_5972bb08e4b09e5f6ccf78b4 |archive-date=Aug 10, 2022 |accessdate=23 July 2017 |website=Huffington Post}}</ref> Cartoonist [[Ruben Bolling]] hinted at some striking congruities between Scaramucci's conduct in office and the defining traits of the theatrical figure.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bolling |first=Ruben |date=Aug 1, 2017 |title=In the Writers' Room, Creating a Scaramucci |url=http://boingboing.net/2017/08/01/in-the-writers-room-creatin.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821093728/https://boingboing.net/2017/08/01/in-the-writers-room-creatin.html |archive-date=21 August 2018 |accessdate=21 August 2018 |website=Boing Boing}}</ref>

* The final season of the cartoon ''[[Samurai Jack]]'' features a comedic antagonist named Scaramouche. This robotic character eventually becomes a disembodied head, similar to the scaramouche puppet.

* In the game ''[[Genshin Impact]]'', the 6th of the Fatui Harbingers, who are all named after the commedia dell'arte, is known as Scaramouche ({{langx|zh|散兵}}).

* In the game ''[[Hunt: Showdown]]'', DLC Commedia Della Morte contains a playable character, Scaramuccia, and other theater-inspired equipment skins.

* Charles Spencer reveals on page 112 of his 2024 memoir, ''A Very Private School'', that Scaramouche was the name of a "homegrown" sport played at Maidwell Hall, the English Midlands prep school he attended as a child in the 1970s.

* ''Scaramouche'', ''[[Reece Shearsmith]]'''s Character from the ''[[Inside No. 9]]'' episode 'Wuthering Heist'

==See also==

* [[Commedia dell'arte]]

* [[Clown]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==

* {{cite encyclopedia |author=((The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica)) |date=11 April 2016 |title=Scaramouche |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Scaramouche |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}

* {{Cite book |editor-last=Hartnoll |editor-first=Phyllis |year=1983 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00hart |title=The Oxford Companion to the Theatre |edition=Fourth |___location=Oxford |url-access=registration |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780192115461}}

{{Clowns}}

{{Stock characters}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Fictional characters introduced in the 16th century]]

[[Category:Stock characters]]

[[Category:Clever Zanni class characters]]

[[Category:Italian clowns]]

[[Category:Italian fiction]]

[[Category:Fictional Italian people]]

[[Category:Male characters in literature]]