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MASSIMILIANO TRUZZI

DECEMBER 4, 1903 - OCTOBER 31, 1974

MARCELLO TRUZZI WRITES:

I thought the IJA should be informed of the death of my father on October 31st. He had been ill with emphysema and heart problems for the last two years. He had just returned home from the hospital with a good prognosis and in good spirits. He took a nap and

never woke up. We are grateful that he died a painless death under psychologically happy conditions.

I enclose a news story from the Sarasota paper with a couple of corrections made on it.

"FAMED CIRCUS JUGGLER TRUZZI DIES"

Massimiliano Truzzi, billed as the world's greatest juggler during his years as a center ring performer with the Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus, died Thursday (October 31st) at his Sarasota residence. He was 71 years old.

He was a member of one of the great European circus families, originally from Italy. The family moved to Poland, which was then part of Russia. Truzzi was born in Lodz, Poland, Dec. 4, 1903. He and his father, Enrico Truzzi, managed the Circus Truzzi in Russia before he came to the United States in 1940 to join the Ringling show.

Having learned the art of juggling from the famous Italian juggler, Enrico Rastelli, he perfected his skills to become the first juggler ever to appear alone in the center ring for the Ringling show in a 20-minute solo performance. Leaping and bounding about the great arena, he juggled with lighted torches thrown high in the air.

A self-educated man, he was a lifelong student of history and philosophy. He once said that "Iife requires a human being to understand both philosophy and juggling, because it takes a little of both to get along in the world today.

He leaves his wife, Sonya; a son, Dr. Marcello Truzzi who is a professor and head of the sociology department at Eastern Michigan University; a brother Rudolfo Truzzi of Portugal; a sister, Louisa Ferroni of Poland, and two grandchildren.

In accordance with his expressed belief that "life is for the living" with no sign of mourning, there will be no funeral service.

(The above was condensed and edited from the original version by Sally Glendinningo*)

TOWARD A CHRONOLOGICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MASSIMILIANO TRUZZI,1903-1974

1941 July 28 LIFE Photographic Essay: The Circus.

1942 RINGLING BROS. BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS MAGAZINE.

1944-1955 JUGGLER'S BULLETIN (monthly). Tulsa , Oklahoma: Montandon Magic. [Truzzi featured on cover of No. 2J.

1949- [In Progress] IJA NEWSLETTER. International Jugglers' Assoc.

1963 Yuri A. Dmitriev. Sovetskii Tsirk. Moscow: Iskusstvo.

1966 December SOUTHERN FOLKLORE QUARTERLY Marcello Truzzi. The American Circus as a Source of Folklore: An Introduction.

1973 Tsirk - Malenkaya Entsiklopidya. Moscow.

1974 March-April BANDWAGON: THE JOURNAL OF THE CIRCUS HISTORICAL SOCIETY Marcello Truzzi with Massimiliano Truzzi Notes Toward a History of Juggling.

1974 November 2 SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE Sally Glendinning. Famed

Circus Juggler Truzzi Dies.

1974 November 11 CIRCUS REPORT In Memoriam--M. Truzzi.

1974 November 16 AMUSEMENT BUSINESS Final Curtain - MassimilianoTruzzi