Top talent signs on for convention public show

Airjazz plans to entertain you, and so do Albert Lucas and Anthony Gatto. These three great acts are just a few of those that emcee Robert Nelson, the Butterfly Man, will introduce to you in the "Sensations of '86" public show during the 39th IJA convention July 22-27 in San Jose, Calif.

 

Convention co-chairmen Barry and Sue Bakalor are lining up the usual offering of workshops, championships and open juggling. But they're also working on new events such as a pre-convention club swinging workshop (see story below), costume ball, banquet, street performers competition and a private show for jugglers only. The private show is conceived as a forum for jugglers to show off their latest tricks. and wildest routines.

 

There are special deals available for IJA members from Eastern Airlines, the Holiday Inn Park Center Hotel and Alamo Rent-A-Car. See ads for those businesses in this issue of the magazine for more details. There are plans to organize inexpensive sightseeing trips to such places as San Francisco, the Santa Cruz Beach and Happy Hollow park. People are encouraged to bring children to the convention, and there is a possibility of baby-sitting services or day care at a reasonable rate.

 

Young jugglers age 12-16 who want to come on their own will be housed with others in their age group if desired, and the Bakalors will be glad to give reassurance to parents who call to ask about convention arrangements.

 

Convention organizers are anxious to make the San Jose convention the most enjoyable and exciting IJA event ever. If you're interested in any of the activities listed above, would like to perform at any of the convention events or would like to volunteer your time to help with tasks, please contact the Bakalors now. Write: Barry and Sue Bakalor, Sunnyvale, CA.

 

Marlin manipulates on TV, balances on ball in ballet

Michael Marlin starred in a unique series of commercials for Toyota that have been aired in California recently and may eventually be seen elsewhere in the country. Working with the DJMC ad agency of Los Angeles, Marlin helped write 14 different skits featuring his verbal and juggling skills for Toyota truck clearance commercials.

 

Each ad featured Marlin joking and doing a different form of manipulation in a two week count-down to the last day of the sale. He introduced the series by saying, "Hello, I'm Michael Marlin..." in the initial skit. That type of named introduction is rare for all but the best-known stars in the business. Each of the spots ended with presentation of the number of days left in the promotion using a configuration of the juggling objects.

 

In another unique venture, Marlin appeared as five different characters in the Los Angeles Chamber Ballet's production of "Le Petit Prince." His non-speaking role included several juggling skits as he portrayed a king, a conceited man, a businessman, a geographer and a drunk that the main character encounters in the course of his extra-terrestrial voyage of fancy.

 

There's been a plethora of jugglers in television commercials recently. One of the most widely recognized is the Lite beer subject who asks for a light and gets three flashlights instead.

 

Others include Gene Jones of New York City, who has been juggling three eggs on the air for the New England Brown Egg Council in the Northeast for more than a year. Frizzy the Clown is juggling diverse household appliances to demonstrate that Mita copiers don't "juggle" anything but their copiers.

 

Several other companies included juggling in commercials, but the jugglers were unknown at press time. A chef in a Riunite commercial does three bottles and there's a juggler in a Mr. Goodbar carnival theme commercial. There's a McDonald's DLT commercial featuring a juggling jester in its Renaissance theme. Lana Reed received nationwide acclaim a while back as the competent secretary juggling tasks for Wang. Albert Lucas juggled seven diverse objects for a Canadian television ad. And finally, there are cartoon jugglers advertising Fruit Loops and Pac Man cereals.

 

Franco prevails at London championships

Dick Franco outscored Arturo Alegria 91-86 to win the juggling category of the Circus World Championships in London in November. Franco also won the event in 1979. A panel of ten judges from around the world gave points for presentation and content to arrive at their final scores.

 

Allegria, a 24-year-old Mexican, combined juggling with acrobatics. He performed a one-club throw to a handstand catch between the legs, then a back hand­spring to release the club back into the juggle. He did up to five boomerang hats, up to seven ping pong balls fed with the hands and four volleyballs while bouncing a fifth one off the head. (Allegria later juggled in the Monte Carlo championships. See story in this section.)

 

Franco's routine consisted of three and four balls, a five ring routine with color change, then seven rings building up from three and back down to three. He did three to five clubs, up to three ping pong balls and three chainsaws.

 

The championships were taped for British television. Franco also appeared on TV in Amsterdam during an engagement working at the Chateau Champlain Hotel in Montreal. He planned to appear with Koma Zuni, the Japanese top spinner, in the Shrine Circus in Detroit in March.