JW-vol49no2-p15

George Grant had asked in the February Newsletter if anyone remembered how many balls Frank Le Dent could juggle. George Kenyon wrote: "I saw Le Dent twice at the Old Keith Theatre in Providence. He started with three balls and juggles four, five, six, eight, ten and eleven balls. He crossed 11 balls, six in one hand and five in the other, about twice around and caught all of them close to his body. He also tossed up nine plates." (IJA Newsletter, February 1952)

Rudy Cardenas played the Palace Theatre in N.Y. The "New York Times" theatre Critic wrote "...Rudy Cardenas' juggling is - like all juggling - supernatural, and leaves you wondering whether such a perfectly coordinated performer was also good at arithmetic and spelling when he was in school." (IJA Newsletter, May 1952)

After the first preview of his new movie, "Limelight," Charles Chaplin told the guests that his boyhood idol was Cinquevalli, a music hall juggler who taught him a lesson. It came after Cinquevalli had studied one trick for seven years, practicing four hours every day, until he'd mastered it - the greatest trick in the world. He introduced the trick, but received no applause for it. "The clown of the troupe told me why," said Cinquevalli to Chaplin. "You made it look too easy. Learn first to make it look impossible. Learn to fail a few times. Then they'll appreciate you." (IJA Newsletter, September 1952)

Saw Lou Henderson with Clyde Bros. Circus one day last week. Lou did his strobe light juggling act, using rings, clubs, and a few balancing tricks worthy of mention. Act went over very good. But the surprise of the evening was to see him do his second act with a chimp that really juggled. Yes, Lou and the chimp passed three rings between them just like any two human jugglers would do it. Went over good also. Jack Greene (IJA Newsletter, November 1952)

Vin Carey writes, "M&M Candy Carnival, which originates in Philadelphia on TV every Sunday, was stuck for a juvenile act. Hurry call to Tex Rose brought forth the winning act. Rita Rose, working under the name of Rita Jane from Sayre, Pa., did a single rola bola and garnered the coveted first prize. Rita showed a million dollars worth of personality to beat out her older and more experienced competitors. More power to our youngest member."
(IJA Newsletter, January 1953)

From "Variety..." "Sonny Howard merits top billing with a combo of impressionist warbling, but finds healthy competish from Bobby July (Jule), a young juggler, who manipulates rubber balls and Indian clubs with finesse. Bobby July, in addition to his clever juggling, furnishes some belly guffaws when he fires a cap pistol at a rubber ball that escaped him and it flies into a small receptacle on the floor. His forte is manipulating five clubs into the air for a solid score". (IJA Newsletter, February 1953)

A visit with Max Koch, your Berlin reporter, has left me dazed and wondering. This, I believe, would have happened to anyone with the slightest interest in juggling. You have, of course, visited a juggling friend, with him showing all the pictures and stories he has. If he has two albums or so he's doing wonderful. Agreed? Well, suppose he had not two or three but 23 huge albums on nothing but juggling?

Max Koch has! And his passing much of it before my eyes in one fantastic evening is the reason for my muddled head. This non-professional must be the best friend juggling has. He's been at his collecting over 40 years, yet he is still adding.

This is a good time to make a formal plea on his behalf. Send any programs, articles, photos (everyone can spare one of himself), facts, etc., you may have and help this shrine of and to juggling. No fan anywhere will appreciate it more or care for it better. His material is not only tastefully displayed but alphabetically in the portfolios. Plus being cross-catalogued by two card files filled with detailed information.

Though able to do many difficult tricks, he isn't a pro. Max Koch is a banker. Now we have a hint. The trained brain one must have to daily handle other people's money may account for his thoroughness.

Some of the jugglers Mr. Koch has known personally are Rastelli, Francis Brunn, Cinquevalli, Bobby May, Howard Nichols and Selma Braatz. Bobby May and Max Koch write each other now, though their last meeting was in 1934 - long before the collection had reached its present value. The great Selma Braatz visits him regularly. Pfc. Joseph Taylor in Berlin, Germany (IJA Newsletter April - May 1953)

Two great jugglers with the Spike Jones Show - Bill King and Lottie Brunn. Lottie Brunn in a whirlwind of fabulous juggling is truly sensational. Using a good combination of mixed props, her two colored ring juggling is really beautiful, using five and six rings one side painted white, the other side blue. First you see the white side of the ring sailing through the air, then quick as a flash they're all blue, then back to white. Lottie really had the audience baffled. Also Lottie's large white ball juggling is truly marvelous using five and six balls about five inches in diameter. One ball is held in each hand, the balance are held alongside the body and arms, this is really something to see. The method of getting the large balls down into her hands and into the air, it's truly clever.

Part two of the Spike Jones Show features Bill King with his sensational fast and slow juggling with two-headed axes using a sleight of hand method for handling them. Then going into his torch juggling, spinning a flaming torch on his head, two on his foot and juggling three torches all simultaneously on a dark stage, is a really beautiful sight. And with Bill's wonderful clowning all through the show, is there any wonder that 3,000 people went wild at this show? A.J. Ahrensmeyer (IJA Newsletter April - May 1953)

One time when Joe Cook was a kid he went to a photographer and had a picture of himself juggling 17 balls. Of course, in those days there were no cameras fast enough to catch motion. So, to make a picture of objects being juggled, one had to string them up with thread, either hanging from the ceiling or a stout stick stretched across the room. It didn't matter much how many objects one had going in the air in those pictures, just so they showed some objects in the air. The photographer would block out the thread which would leave the impression that the objects were really in motion when taken. This procedure was practiced by most jugglers in the old days. With the present day fast cameras it's not necessary.

One item in Joe's life reminded me of a similar incident in my own. It was when Joe and his partners were returning from an amateur night - they were walking - when a cop stopped them and asked what they had in the suitcase. It was late at night and the cop was suspicious and had to be convinced there were no monkey shines going on with these three lads with a suitcase at that hour of the night. To convince him that everything was on the up-and-up they got out the clubs and went to work, which satisfied the cop. From Jack Greene's biography of Joe Cook (IJA Newsletter, April - May 1953)

Not much juggling locally to speak of except with the Ringling Brothers Show. Dieter Tasso, with the eight cups and saucers thrown from his foot while balanced on a wire, with a spoon, sugar cube and a teapot to the top of all, is something worth seeing; as is Helmuth Gunther's trick of building up to eight candlesticks and candles at a head balance, all thrown from the hands one at a time. I saw two moving pictures here lately that might be of interest to some of our member. "The Man on the Tightrope," depicting the vicissitudes of a small European circus, and the other one Kirk Douglas in "The Juggler," using mostly a three ball routine, a ventrilocal bit using his hand made up as a face, and a few other stunts. H.M. Lorette (IJA Newsletter, June 1953)