‘Mystere’ performer keeps them laughing at 80

Brian Dewhurst grabs a pipe above his head and cranks out a few chin-ups while waiting for his next cue.

It's a twice-nightly routine, something he does to loosen up before climbing a 14-foot ladder and emerging on the "Mystere" stage at Treasure Island. Dewhurst pulls himself up effortlessly, displaying an easy strength not uncommon to Cirque du Soleil artists.

But Dewhurst is no typical Cirque artist. He's a clown. And this particular Tuesday is not an ordinary day; it is Dewhurst's 80th birthday.

If that doesn't sound amazing to you, consider this: Dewhurst is 15 years past the age at which he could retire and receive full Social Security benefits. In fact, Dewhurst was born in 1932, three years before Social Security came into existence. Yet, 10 times a week, he is climbing ladders, tumbling around onstage and captivating "Mystere" audiences with his timeless comedic act.

"It's fun. I enjoy it," Dewhurst says of performing. "It's never boring."

Indeed, it isn't. His act starts as people are finding their seats before the show. Sporting a shock of spiky white hair and an oversized black suit, he scans the crowd as patrons pass through the theater doors. When he sees a good mark, he holds out his hand for their tickets, starting a long, crazy walk to their seats.

At the second show on his birthday, he spots four women wearing short, form-fitting dresses and high heels. They seem excited that an usher is taking them to their seats. And they are utterly oblivious that the spotlight follows them everywhere. Dewhurst guides the women down to the stage, through several rows of occupied seats and across the stage before stopping in front of three men in the front row. He shoos them away and gives the seats to the women. The audience erupts in laughter.

After doing this a few times, Dewhurst starts a one-sided popcorn fight. He thrills the audience by, essentially, throwing popcorn on them.

When the lights go down, the ringmaster appears. On this night, Nicky Dewhurst is on loan from "Zumanity," filling the ringmaster role he played alongside his father for seven years.

Dewhurst had no idea his son would be performing with him on his birthday. When Nicky walked onstage during the first show, Dewhurst was blinded by the spotlights and couldn't tell it was Nicky.

When he woke up Tuesday, Dewhurst thought the day would be like any other. His birthday plans included nothing more than a "little family lunch," he says in a soft British accent.

But Cirque du Soleil, famous for throwing epic parties, doesn't do "little." And the 80th birthday of one of their veteran performers deserved special recognition.

His family worked with Cirque to plan a series of surprises that had Dewhurst nearly speechless by night's end. They planted Nicky in the show, reuniting a comic duo that hadn't performed together for seven years. They handed out clown noses and prepped the audience to wish him a happy birthday at curtain call. A champagne toast after the show distracted him while 175 friends and family members filled the Mystere stage at 11 p.m. to throw him an unforgettable surprise birthday party. Three of those friends were secretly flown in from around the world.

"He's a born entertainer," says one of those friends, Eddie Hawkins, 82. Because of that, they were destined to become great friends. He met Dewhurst in the 1950s when both men worked in a revue in Denmark. "Brian knew 50 million jokes. And I could never remember a joke."

When you reach a certain age, Hawkins says, you better have a sense of humor. Luckily, Dewhurst is entering his ninth decade well-equipped.

Dewhurst was born in England to an established circus family full of knife throwers and rope spinners. At 13, he began performing as a clown with his family's troupe. Eventually, he became an expert wire walker and is a Guinness record holder for skips on a tightrope. Twice, he performed his wire-walking act on "The Ed Sullivan Show." He and his first wife, Julie, had two kids, Sally and Nicky. For years, they performed together.

It was while co-directing his own alternative circus that Dewhurst crossed paths with the creators of Cirque du Soleil. That led to an invitation to join "Nouvelle Experience," a show performed in a tent behind The Mirage in the early 1990s.

After a few years of touring with Cirque, he became artistic coordinator of "Mystere" and then "O," before it opened at Bellagio. It was a year after his wife died that Dewhurst decided to leave the desk job and return to performing. He was approached about joining "Mystere."

Fourteen years later, the cast and crew have become like a second family to him. Even though many people his age are at least thinking of retiring, Dewhurst can't even imagine it. Aside from a few aches and pains, he doesn't feel 80.

"As long as physically I'm able to do it and the performance doesn't decline, I will continue," Dewhurst says.

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal .com or 702-380-4564. Follow @StripSonya on Twitter.