He performed with the great and the good on an international scale, attended charity events raising thousands of pounds and captivated audiences around the world.
Yet for Ringwood-based clown Sammy Sunshine, the most important part of his career was making millions of children laugh.
He was born in 1931, the second youngest of ten. His mother died when he was just five years old and his father was left to bring up ten children alone.
But a trip to Buffalo Bill Cody’s Circus at King’s Park, in Bournemouth, during Sam’s early childhood proved to be a ray of light, which stayed with him throughout his life.
His first big break came on board Lord Mountbatten’s flagship in 1953, during the Suez Crisis, when Frankie Howerd arrived on board.
Sam, who was in the Navy at the time, stepped on to the stage and performed with Frankie - dazzling the audience and Frankie with his comic gift.
From then on, Sam became determined to brighten the lives of children.
For the next five decades he visited orphans all over the world, giving thousands of children more love in one hour than they had ever experienced before.
Sammy, who worked with TV stars including Christopher Biggins and Danny La Rue, was invited to entertain children on board Queen Elizabeth 2, where he came face to face with Princess Diana.
He rushed up to Diana and offered her his collapsible flower on behalf of the RSPCC - the Royal Society for the Protection of Clowns.
Sammy Sunshine was well known locally, performing at many events, including the annual Somerley show and Ringwood Carnival.
In 2013 Sammy cut the ribbon on his Variety and Clown exhibition at Sandy Balls Holiday Village at Godshill near Fordingbridge, which showed some of the highlights of his 50-year career.
It was also a chance for him to attempt to break a world record as he made himself the largest pair of clown shoes in the world and then walked around in them, to rapturous applause.
Sammy Rowe hung up his big clown boots shortly after, but the character he created and portrayed is still remembered fondly by many locals.
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