Born in Affori, Milan, Italy to a travelling circus family of French origin, he began his performing career at the age of seven, under the name 'Carletto'.

He also appeared on the American television variety show on ABC The Hollywood Palace twice in 1966, first on 8 January, performing as Charles Cairoli and Company then on 7 May when he was introduced as a "British Comic Pantomimist".

[3] Cairoli was distinguished in his act by wearing a red nose and a Charlie Chaplin-style bowler hat, eyebrows, and costume, and a moustache slightly larger than Chaplin's.

He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom in the 1970s owing to his frequent television appearances, not least on his long-running children's show Right Charlie!.

[4] In June 1979, ill health forced his withdrawal from the Tower Circus ring[2] and he was admitted to hospital suffering from exhaustion.

His son, Charlie Cairoli Junior, adapted the role his father had made famous, although performing more cabaret and pantomime rather than in the circus.

The 2004 Chumbawamba song "Just Desserts", (about pieing) explicitly compared Cairoli's clown behaviour to the anarchist viewpoints espoused by Peter Kropotkin.

[10] Baldwin himself is a registered clown and used to perform in the circus which helped him to land his dream job as kitman at Stoke City.