Flash Back

Bob Jackson Led His Family With Lightning-Quick Passing by his son, Lee Jackson

Bob Jackson was born Jan. 14, 1923, and raised in CIarksburg, W.Va., during the Great Depression. He was fortunate to have a father who was a newspaper typesetter, and therefore got free passes for the circuses and shows passing through town. That planted the seed of love for the entertainment arts that shaped his life.

When he was almost 14, his father died, and Jackson took on a newspaper route to help provide for the family. Strangely enough, this job developed one of his first juggling skills.  Instead of merely throwing the rolled up newspapers, he mode a game out of it by tossing them behind his back.

This penchant for making a game out of what might hove been drudgery carried over into later sessions of family juggling practice, which he directed with a work is fun psychology into games, contests and rewards.

He joined the Navy in 1942, serving in Brocklyn, and was spotted throwing extremely accurate behind the back basketball passes to teammates. He was recruited for the base team and was assigned to be in charge of the athletic gear room. He found it boring until he picked up some tennis balls and taught himself to juggle.

His juggling skill was at first just an adjunct to his basketball skills. At the end of the war he received a basketball scholarship to West Virginia University, and become a crowd-pleaser with his ball spinning and behind the back passes. His juggling skill also increased and he began to perform around the university town of Morgantown. He met Lois Kay Trevillion, a local acrobatic dancer also enrolled at the university, and married her shortly after his graduation with an accounting degree in 1950. They moved to Pittsburgh and began their show business career.

There was plenty of work in area night dubs, company functions, parties and conventions. Bob performed comedy juggling and occasionally emceed. Lois danced tap and did acrobatics. When Lois become pregnant with their child, a son named Lee, they moved to Cleveland.  The entertainment career was ended with a 9-to-5 accounting job.

 But during the pregnancy, Lois learned to juggle and pass dubs. Her left handedness led to some unusual passes, and Bob began throwing some of his passes behind the back. He took credit as the first person to pass dubs behind the back, and never heard anyone dispute the claim.

Bob and Lois worked their act on the side in Cleveland, with Lois taking a break in 1952 to give birth to a daughter, Joy. Bob took a leave of absence from his job in 1955 to go on a summer tour with Goodings Shows. Bob and Lois practiced their act up to 20 times a day to a razor precision in the back yard or living room as the children watched. "The Jacksons" become a top notch passing act always in demand.

The Jackson house was always open to jugglers and other show people, and the family had many friends in the business. Bob had attended the first IJA convention in Jamestown, N.Y., in 1948, and the young family regularly attended conventions in the 1950s. Bob was active in the organization, and was elected as its president in 1957.

In 1959 he was transferred to Son Diego. The two children, Lee and Joy, joined the act at that time, though most of their time was spent in practice rather than performance.

But in 1963 with another move to Crown Point, Ind., "The Juggling Jacksons" began performing regularly around the Chicago area through the Howard Schultz Agency. The feature attraction was what Bob called "The Big Act" - four people passing. It began with Bob and Lois doing take-aways. Eventually Lee and Joy joined in for four person take-aways.

Then back to Bob and Lois and three club passing, including two handed throws by ambidextrous Lois, novelty passes by Bob and "the John Behann Trick" - one club caught under the leg, the next behind the

back and a quick turn to catch the third one. The finale was a series of rapid behind the back passes.

Next they continued with four club passing, culminating in the club between the legs catch.  Next was rapid six club passing. Then Joy, Lois and Bob juggled in a line formation with a walk around to change places and Lee walked between them while he juggled. With all the walking and juggling, it was always interesting in a tight space.

Lastly, all four jugglers crisscrossed in the box pattern, which then transformed into a three way feed. As a finale, they used a drawn-out comedy routine in which they knocked a cigar out of the mouth of an audience volunteer.

After the family moved to Tennessee in 1966, the act eventually grew to seven members as brothers and daughter Jay, Joni and Jeff cameoed in a segment. More often than not, The Juggling Jacksons were not just an act in a show, but the whole show! Bob opened with a comedy act that included juggling, devil sticks, basketball spinning and clubs. Then Joy would perform on acrobatic act similar to the one formerly done by Lois. And finally "The Big Act" would fill the stage with a fast and furious display of precision passing.

In the 1970s as family members went on to other pursuits, The Juggling Jacksons come to an end as an act. Bob continued to juggle for fun, and Bob and Lois frequented IJA and regional festivals. Bob gained the admiration of others through his willingness to help them, and he and Lois would always astound folks with a display of their incredibly quick passing.

Bob would be the first to admit there were plenty of other jugglers better than him. But as a juggling entertainer, he was one of the best. Many IJA members saw and talked to him at the LA festival this summer, but few knew that he was ailing at the time. He died less than two months later, September 9, 1990, at age 67. Take a bow, Bob. You deserve it