...Geno...

How do you like performing on television?

 

... Lottie...

I don 'I like it. It is very nerve-wracking. You only get one chance and too many people see you at once. When they use tape it is better because they lei you do it again to make things perfect. I don't think I want 10 do television shows anymore.

 

...Geno...

How do you warm up for your act?

 

...Lottie...

I practice myself right onto the stage. When the announcer announces me I am still practicing. That is my way of relaxing to use up nervous energy. I also do a lot of things in practice that I don't do on stage.

I practice a lot. I have been juggling almost all of my life, and never missed a day of practice except when I was sick. Even then sometimes I got out of bed with high fever to do a show. The only time I really stopped was the day my son (Michael Chirrick) was born. I even worked out the night before, and the same day I went into the hospital I practiced! A week later I was practicing again, even though I had had a Caesarean. Two weeks later I was on a bus to New York to do the Sealtest Television Show. As soon as that was over, I had to go right back in the hospital because of complications. I had gone back to work too soon.

 

Even now I still never miss a day. If I travel on the road, I stop at a motel early, get my props out and practice before I do the engagement. It is a pan of me, like a religion. With Francis, it is the same thing. I warm up until the moment I go on. I knock my brains out practicing.

 

The newer generation and younger kids take il differently. My son Mike warms his body because he doesn't want to get hurt from somersaulting, but he doesn't warm his body by juggling.

 

...Geno...

Did you encourage Michael to become a juggler?

 

... Lottie...

At first he didn't want to be a juggler, but he was so talented that I convinced him to continue.

He is doing very well on his own now. I decided he would have to be very good, or else I never would have wanted him to become a juggler because he could never make a living at it. I would have sent him to college.

 

It's interesting that he doesn't practice the way Francis and I did. With us, it was our whole lives.

We used to sleep, eat and breathe juggling. We didn't do other things because they interfered with our work. We focused our whole lives on juggling.

 

...Geno...

Have you ever had the urge to talk during your act?

 

...Lottie...

No, that's not for me. Mike talks a little bit. He enjoys it and gets a great reaction. It surprises the audience. But, I wouldn't know what to say.

 

...Geno...

What are some of the high points of your career?

 

... Lottie...

When I left Francis, I didn't know if! could make it on my own. So I was thrilled when I made the center ring with Ringling on my own and also when I worked Radio City Music Hall. In 1957, Ringling billed me as the "World's Greatest Woman Juggler." That was good for my career.

 

...Geno...

Have you changed your act over the years, or kept it pretty much the same?

 

...Lottie...

I have changed it, but not too much. My speed is still the same, and I still do most of the same tricks. But, I think I have more personality and sell my act better now. I am making more money than I did when I first staned out. In fact, I feel that I am still getting better!

 

...Geno...

Do you like to know that there are other jugglers in the audience?

 

... Lottie...

I usually work better. However, if jugglers want to visit me, I prefer if they come backstage after the show, not before. I don't like it when someone comes up just before the show - it throws me off.

 

 ...Geno...

How about transportation and your props? You must have worried about them when you traveled.

 

... Lottie...

Yes. You know what happened to me once? I went to Hawaii with a circus show, but my props stayed on the plane to Japan! I went crazy! Luckily, they arrived for the opening show. My props are hard to replace because the rubber balls I use are hard to get. I use a rubber volley ball and a big beach ball for spinning. I inflate them until they are very hard. For one thing, it looks better and they spin longer. Also, when they are a little flat, people think it is a gimmick. My husband Teddy makes the rings and the clubs I juggle. They were my father's idea originally.

 

...Geno...

I'm interested in focusing on women who are jugglers because there are so few who are truly ex­ceptional. Do you think that you were treated dif­ferently by the entertainment world because you were a woman?

 

... Lottie...

Yes and no. When I first went on my own I had a terrific agent who got me lots of work all around the country on bills with big stars. The one place that I couldn't get work was the big reviews in Las Vegas. The trouble I always ran into was that they want men for the solo acts because there are so many women in the show. I could see their point.

 

However, in the circus I could always get work because I was a woman who worked like a man. This has always helped me with audiences. They are surprised by the things I can do and my being a woman makes them more impressed. I have heard people say I beat most men to a frazzle. It would have been harder if I worked like a woman - elegant in high heels. But I come out fast and do a tough juggling act.