It's also worth a lot of money. With an audition video that now includes two appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and a performance in front of the president, the Raspynis feel like they can go almost anywhere in the business they want. After the IJA convention, they toured with singer Billy Crystal for three weeks in August, then were scheduled for a week at the Sands Hotel in Atlantic City.

But Holzman isn't satisfied yet. "You're not a real success, a real celebrity, until everyone in America knows your name. I don't want to be on a show with a big name act, I want people to come to a show to see us. I'm happy being a professional juggler, but I'm not satisfied."  

Their success has created certain re­quirements, Holzman said. Once established at a certain compensation and publicity level, they can't afford to take lesser offers because they'll "lose respect" in the industry. It's a painful position because they sometimes lose work to a solo juggler or another team willing to work for less money. But working for less, they believe, would quickly lead to less attractive work.

They work with a manager and several agencies to get jobs. The manager, Joseph Gunches, negotiates contracts and serves as a career guide. He decides what jobs to take and has the connections necessary to get them auditions with the right people. An agency fields requests from clients and then negotiates with the manager. It works this way: The Sands Hotel calls the agency and says it needs an opening act for the Billy Crystal show. The agency calls Gunches, their manager, and negotiates a deal.

It's the way to get the best bookings, but it's expensive also. The manager and agency take a total of about 20 percent of the contract price before the Raspynis ever take to the stage.

Their two appearances on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" are probably their second most prestigious professional accomplishment. The Raspynis performed their seven club passing routine on one show and passed knives around Carson on another. "He knew he was going to be part of the act in a general way, but didn't know the specifics. That's the way he likes it!"

The secret to that precious air time, Holzman said, is performing something no one else has done on the show before. Recent jugglers on the show have all demonstrated different skills. Frank Olivier did torches on a unicycle, Daniel Rosen juggled a torch, dynamite and Swiss Army cat, Michael Davis did ping pong balls, Anthony Gatto performed large numbers of objects, Airjazz presented its fast-paced and highly choreographed club passing and Robert Gruenberg did chain saws.

Holzman taught himself juggling in high school and bruised quite a few oranges in the family grove in southern California. He became "the juggler" at school and admired Daniel Rosen and Edward Jackman performing on the streets in Westwood. Holzman enrolled at L.A. Valley College and started attending juggling gatherings there. He remembers bringing three green oranges, his only props at the time, to the first meeting.