FROM THE UK--

Widow remembers circus master with gathering at Kingston Mosque

Souad Houssain was married to Ali Hassani for 19 years

Friday 28th January 2011

From The Surrey Comet

By David Lindsell »
The widow of a circus legend joined fellow Muslims at Kingston Mosque to remember him a year after his death.
As a child, Ali Hassani was kidnapped from his home in Morocco by a troupe of acrobats, picking up the tricks of the tumbling trade as they travelled around the globe.
His family appeared in the film Octopussy, earning the friendship of James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli.
At Chessington World of Adventures, he mentored hundreds of young acrobats, many of whom came back to Kingston for his funeral when he died aged 82.

Ali Hassani as a boy (second from left) in the Hassani troupe

Social workers from Kingston Council also revealed he and his wife Souad Houssain, Hassani's real surname, had also fostered dozens of young people.
His widow from his second marriage, family, acrobats and friends held a gathering at the mosque on January 14 to commemorate his life, dine together and say prayers for him.
Mrs Houssain, 50, of Ruxley Lane, West Ewell, said: "He was a gorgeous man and unique. All of his children remember him all the time.
"Everybody at the mosque prays for him."
His first pupil, Ali Ibrahim, said: "I just remembered everything. He is still a big loss."
To carry on her husband's good work, Mrs Houssain donated money to charitable causes in Marrakesh, where he was born.
She said her husband went back many times but he was never able to track down his family, instead devoting much of his life to helping others become acrobats and giving money to beggars in the city.
Ali Hassani meeting the Duke of Edinburgh

Mrs Houssain said: "I sent some money to my mum and she took it to Marrakesh to give to those people.
"They are all blind and this is the only way they can get money."
Commenting on the worldwide reaction to his death, which included plaudits from the Morroccan ambassador and a pilgrimage of circus masters to his funeral in Surbiton, she said: "I was a little bit surprised but I know him.
"That was the best 19 years of my life.
"His memorial is the circus and the people that came through."
His first wife Tamara, daughter of Coco the Clown, probably the most famous clown in British history, died in 1988.