By Dennis Soldati, IJA Historian Rego Park, NY

 

Bobby May had no equal as a juggler. although attempts were made to find one. During his 1945 season with the Skating Vanities. a newspaper ad for the show boasted that "$10.000 will be forfeited if his equal can be found in Europe or America."

 

The ad embarrassed Bobby. but it was a safe bet for the management.

 

He would have been 75 on February 20. his next birthday. However. Bobby May died of heart failure on Saturday morning. November 7. at Euclid General Hospital in Euclid. OH. He suffered from bronchial asthma and a heart ailment for the past few years.

 

Bobby's real name was Ludwig Mayer. but in 1928 his agent, Edward S. Keller. gave him the stage name because it was memorable and easy to lit on a theatre marquee. Neither of them could have realized at the time just how memorable the name would become.

 

Bobby earned the title of' "The International Juggler" during a career that included performances in more than 35 countries during five decades. And in all those years. nobody ever had a bad word to say about Bobby May. He was one of a kind as a juggler and as a man. He was gentle. He was modest. And although he was world renowned. he always remained America's own juggling genius.

 

He originated several  tricks. One involved standing on his head on top of a table and juggling five balls and then three balls off the surface of a drum while the orchestra played. .

 

Another trick that invariably was covered on the front page of newspapers in many towns was called the cigarette trick. He held up an unlit cigarette for the audience to see, flipped it around his back and caught it in his mouth. Next. he produced a lighted kitchen match, flipped that around his back and caught it in his mouth beside the cigarette. Finally. he lit the cigarette without using his hands.

 

About his own juggling ability. Bobby said, "Natural talent contributes fifty percent to my success - hard work and constant practice contribute the other half." From the time he started at age 12. he estimated it took seven years to become a competent juggler. Through the rest of his performing career. he practiced two hours daily. At one time. Bobby juggled eight balls in his act. but he quit doing it because it didn't have the showmanship of simpler tricks. And Bobby was the consummate showman.

 

He advertised as "Bobby May... the juggler you know. .. He had a unique style on and off stage. From the stage. it showed in his walk-around after a difficult trick, milking the audience for applause with a simple glance. Off stage. it showed in his sparkling eyes and boyish enthusiasm when he talked about juggling. Bobby left us with memories. Great memories.

 

While performing at the Oriental Theater in Chicago with the Ted Weems orchestra. a reviewer

wrote. "Bobby May's juggling act winds up the show and deserves high praise. His comic gestures help give the act keen polish."

 

At Loew's State in New York, another reviewer said, "Bobby May comes on for a breezy, socko eight minutes during which he juggles balls, hats. cigars, and clubs with his entire body and even upside down. Sure-fire novelty turn, as ever."