George DeMott dies

George W. DeMott, 79, of Leesburg, Fla., died Oct. 22, 1986. Raised on a farm in Millville, Pa., he spent 45 years as a professional juggler, magician and clown.

 

At age 18, while working as the stage door man at the Fox Theatre in Philadelphia, he met Harry Houdini. Houdini, juggler William Hilton and other professional entertainers inspired his own career. He toured around the U. S. and Canada performing with circuses and vaudeville shows. For 16 years he toured for the Lecture and Concert Booking Bureaus with a full-length program of juggling and comedy. He pioneered juggling into the school assembly program field as the first entertainer to present only juggling to this audience.

 

He wrote and illustrated a basic textbook for jugglers entitled "Want To Be A Juggler?" published by the Montandon Company. He was also a free-lance contributor to many show business journals and proficient enough on the cornet to play in a town band.

 

He was an early IJA member, helping organize its first convention and serving two terms as chaplain. He was a 25-year member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, and a member of the American Federation of Musicians, International Platform Association and American Guild of Variety Artists.

 

He collected show business memorabilia, much of which is in the theatrical and circus section of the New York City Public Library, the Circus Hall of Fame in Sarasota and the Egyptian Hall of Magic Museum in Brentwood, Tenn.

 

European association folds

Eddy Krzeptowski, organizer of the 1985 European convention and European Juggling Association, announces that he has disbanded that association due to lack of interest. "It is clear that the idea is nonsense without the approval of European jugglers, and 80 percent of them are not interested," Krzeptowski said. The association lasted for a year and attracted less than 50 members.

 

Guinness wants heavies and box-balancers

A heated battle is going on between two cigar box balancers for the honor of appearing as the Guinness world champion in the category. Bruce Block's supremacy is being challenged by Michael Toro of Sarasota, Fla., who had the upper hand at press time. Toro has balanced 90 boxes, according to Gene Jones, Guinness world judge for juggling.

 

In other Guinness news, Jones said Tom Martin of Holland, Mich., has set a new three ball endurance mark of 3:14.21 without a drop or a break. That eclipses an old record of 2:56 held by Larry Vaksman of Philadelphia, Penn. Another new Guinness champion is Maxwell Ruppe, who spun seven basketballs for the required five seconds.

 

Jones said Guinness wants to establish some records for heavyweight juggling with 16-pound bowling balls. He invites interested parties with the necessary strength to contact him .

 

Credit where it's due

Louie Zeller of Marshall, N.C., was the cover artist for the 1987 IJA Roster. That credit was inadvertently omitted from the Roster.