IN MEMORIAM

 

Including contributions by Gerald Clapp and Allan Howard

 

Johnny Lux

 

The world of juggling has lost a class act. Johnny Lux, a professional magician and

juggler from Cleveland, Ohio, died in early February two days after his 65th birthday. Lux continued performing up until a few months before his death, often going to the hospital for therapy in the morning before working at a fair or festival in the afternoon. He lost a battle with cancer, but won the hearts of many during his lifetime as a performer.

 

Lux attended the 1947 International Brotherhood of Magicians convention in Pittsburgh, where jugglers formally gathered for the first time. After the convention, eight magician/jugglers continued their discussions on the possibility of forming their own organization. Lux was invited to this lunch, but had to return to Cleveland to do a show. Had he been able to attend, he would have been one of the founders of the IJA. He became a member right away after learning of the new association, and served as its president in 1962.

 

Johnny Lux, whose real name was John Loksa, performed his first magic trick at the age of eight. He taught himself to juggle at the age of 16 by watching vaudeville jugglers perform on stage at the Palace Theater in downtown Cleveland. After much practice in his basement, Johnny combined his talents as both a magician and a juggler into one act, and entertained audiences in the Cleveland area for the next half-century.

 

Lux made many of his own props in a basement workshop, and was known especially for his plastic clubs created to look like wine bottles. He was always trying out new ideas, looking for improvements, adding new skills and visual gags to his act, and working out magic tricks that would fool the local magicians. Many years ago he created a unique balancing trick involving pouring a bottle of wine, a stunt with which he closed his shows. This climax to his humorous and charming "vaudeville style" act helped earn him a standing ovation in the "Old & New Vaudeville" show at the 1987 IJA convention in Akron,Ohio.

 

He was also one of the earliest jugglers on television. He sent a short article to the "Juggler's Bulletin" after making an appearance on TV in April 1948. He wrote that his spot on the broadcast lasted about 10 minutes. Lux told of his experiences and gave tips on what he found worked best, or what should be avoided, in the new medium. "If it is possible," he wrote, "try to appear on a TV program in the near future. It will give you some good experience in a field that should become a new outlet for juggling in the future."

 

While serving as a sergeant in the Army during the Korean War, Lux entered a talent show at Fort Bragg,N.C. A top performance earned him a place in a nationally broadcast talent show, as well as a 12-year tour of U.S. Third Army posts as a USO performer.

 

After returning to Cleveland, he worked in sales for the Cadillac Glass Company for 25 years, and entertained on the side. He was featured as a juggler in two local television commercials and was known for his performances at the Cuyahoga County Fair and International Exposition Center . Whether he was performing as Lucky the Clown or Johnny Lux the juggler, he was always well received by audiences young and old. His other passion was growing roses. He planted and cared for more than 250 rose bushes, representing about 60 varieties.

 

He is survived by his wife of 14 years, Rita Loksa. Although the spotlight has dimmed for Johnny Lux, the memory of his act will always shine in the hearts of jugglers and magicians everywhere.

 

Albert S. Barnard  

 

Al Barnard, 81, a retired postal employee and former clown and juggler with Clyde

Beatty Cole Brothers Circus, died February 5 in Wichita, Kansas.

 

Barnard and his father, Buster, attended the IJA's first convention in 1948 in Kamestown, N.Y., and were mentioned in the convention report as part of a "traffic-stopping, club-passing foursome..."

 

Wichita juggler Dan Fitzgerald noted that Barnard introduced many area jugglers to the IJA through the years. He gave Dan and his son, Troy, their first introduction to juggling in his back yard in 1988. Aside from agreeing to more lessons, he also loaned them clubs and balls since he owned no props to practice with.