 Sadler 's Wells opened its season in April 1814 with Grimaldi appearing in , amongst others , Kaloc ; or , The Pirate Slave . That year he played the title role in Robinson Crusoe at Sadler 's Wells , with his young son , JS , making his stage debut as Man Friday . Other pantomimes followed at Sadler 's Wells that year , including The Talking Bird , in which he played Clown , and he also played Clown in productions at the Surrey Theatre and Covent Garden – a challenging schedule . Later in 1814 , he played the title role in a revival of Don Juan at Sadler 's Wells , with JS in his second role as Scaramouche . The receipts at the box @-@ office were unusually large and confirmed , in Grimaldi 's mind , that his son was capable of sustaining his own career . Grimaldi suffered two setbacks towards the end of the year , becoming housebound for a few months due to illness and learning of the death of his friend , mentor and former father @-@ in @-@ law , Richard Hughes , in December . In early 1815 , Grimaldi and his son played father and son Clowns in Harlequin and Fortunio ; or , Shing @-@ Moo and Thun @-@ Ton . 
