tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55915345463352554462024-03-14T16:36:20.154+11:00Threw the HATA History of Juggling in AustraliaLeannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-41423559036133788522024-03-11T15:15:00.001+11:002024-03-11T15:15:00.132+11:00Welcome Welcome to Threw the Hat- a blog about Australian Juggling History.Here you will find some links to photos and articles/stories about Australian Jugglers and those who visited Australia.Please credit the site if you are using the information you find here- Enjoy your visit and feel free to contact me if you have questions or commentsLeannLeannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-65888651451522661182024-03-10T15:34:00.000+11:002024-03-10T15:34:00.744+11:00Tom and Nellie Lesso- Jugglers Tom and Nellie Lesso were successful performers in Australia, the US and England during the World War 1 era.Tom Lesso was a skilled acrobat and juggler born in Victoria in 1885. His real name was Thomas Burkett Dixon and he had several siblings.Tom appears as Tom Lesso in newspaper reports in the early 1900s. His first juggling act was as part of a duo with Rexo (Charles Griffith) . In 1909Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-82116346917894551212024-02-07T15:08:00.000+11:002024-02-07T15:08:01.810+11:00Herbert (Bert) Beaver - Sydney's Jesting Juggler of the 1920s Juggler Bert Beaver began as a vaudeville performer and
became one of the most influential radio personalities of the early broadcasting
age.
Herbert Edward Beaver was born in Broken Hill in outback New
South Wales in 1897 to Ada and Edward. However, his father died when he was
young, and his mother remarried when he was 12. Her second husband, Bert’s
stepfather, was Gilbert Sinclair, a Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-17291860508745350252023-09-25T18:17:00.000+10:002023-09-25T18:17:22.468+10:00Professor Wallace- or the continuing adventures of the Bell Family in Sydney. (Jimmy Wallace's dad.....) This is a small advertising pamphlet for Professor Wallace who was a travelling entertainer in Sydney up to the 1950s/60s.Professor Wallace was the father of juggler Jimmy Wallace and the family lived for some time in Marrickville in Sydney's inner west, and just around the corner from where I live. So this pamphlet is very interesting for me.As you can see, Professor Wallace did not work Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-59780815873194709342023-09-01T12:45:00.000+10:002023-09-01T12:45:06.495+10:00Some updates Just some small updates; I am currently trying to write about W C Fields' tour of Australia. Neil Litchfield of Stage Whispers Magazine sent this photo of Fields to me.This photo was taken in Australia and shows Fields in the costume he wore on stage. He toured in 1903 and in 1914, and, according to Variety Magazine, was supposed to tour in 1918, but broke his contract with the Tivoli Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-91501714218549476082023-07-04T16:24:00.005+10:002023-07-04T16:24:59.901+10:00Jugglers ( and others) at the Sydney Tivoli 1901-1903 Once upon a time, Sydney had wonderful buildings like this;Harry Rickards' Tivoli Theatre in Castlereagh Street.Between the years 1901-1903 Rickards imported the best of the world's vaudeville talent, and supported the best of Australian Vaudeville talent too.Amongst his amazing performers during those years were;Lennon, Hyman and Lennon- Australian club jugglers and passers who were the Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-51242151233832116242023-06-17T15:27:00.002+10:002023-06-18T17:23:56.922+10:00Paula Coutts- Australian Juggler The Southern suburbs of Sydney was an unusual place to find a female juggler in 1948, but that was the home of one of Australia’s most successful exports, Pauline Coutts.Pauline, known professionally as Paula, was born in Sydney in 1930. Her father Arthur (b1904) was a balancer and had appeared as a minor player on the Australian variety circuits before she was born. He encouraged hisLeannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-78443678424270527652023-05-26T16:11:00.000+10:002023-05-26T16:12:31.721+10:00The Kiraku Brothers in Australia 1935 The Kiraku brothers, Risley performers who juggled with
their feet, arrived in Australia in March 1935. The pair, Kamejiro Yoshida,
aged 38, and Hirokichi Fuji, 35, were imported from London where they were
performing regularly in theatres and music halls.
Hiro was from Gefu and had been apprenticed to an acrobatic
troupe, The Hamamura troupe, by his uncle when he was ten. Kamejiro, from Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-15677543180350891442023-05-12T13:45:00.003+10:002023-05-12T15:57:20.934+10:00Alfio Silvestri I recently acquired these pictures of Alfio Silvestri- there's not a lot of information about Alfio available, so I've posted what I know here hoping that somebody might know more. He was, by all accounts I've read, a very skilled juggler. In the graveyard of variety artists in England lies Alfio
Silvestri, once hailed as ‘the greatest juggler on earth.’
He was born in 1909 and in hisLeannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-77445861142188418422023-04-30T12:53:00.002+10:002023-04-30T12:55:57.980+10:00Ossie Delroy and Jack Delroy- The Delroys. With Thanks to Kate Besley and Mark St Leon for their help- Particularly Kate who patiently answered my emails.In late 1912, a young juggling duo, The Delroys, began
appearing in advertisements, in theatre trade magazines and newspapers. They
were hoop rollers extraordinaire, comedy artists, brothers in juggling.
They were Jack and Ossie, the Delroys, and both were in
their early 20s. Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-51270712844553652792023-04-24T13:31:00.003+10:002023-04-24T13:31:46.718+10:00Jimmy Wallace- The Boy Juggler Jimmy Wallace was born to show business. His father, Jim but
known as Professor Wallace, was a children’s entertainer and puppeteer. Unlike
many performers, Jim and wife Lil, had a home in Marrickville in Sydney where
they raised their three children, George, James and Florence.
The family name was Bell. Jimmy, the middle child was born
in 1922 and given the name James Wallace Bell, after Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-34115499398014858702023-04-20T10:39:00.000+10:002023-04-20T10:39:42.535+10:00Jugglers during World War 2 ( ANZAC Day Edition) Australian jugglers played a large role in the entertainment and fighting units in the Middle East and New Guinea during World War 2.Jim Collins- Major Jim Collins, a juggler known as Collino, or J J Collins, organised performances in New Guinea. He also designed a portable stage for the shows.The Testro brothers, part of the famous Testro juggling family, performed for the troops, and Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-15608798207260776012023-04-17T16:32:00.001+10:002023-04-17T16:38:48.405+10:00Fifteen Year Old Jimmy Wallace- Juggler from Marrickville (Sydney) 1938. From Pix Magazine- May 1938Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-36524091748507825272023-04-13T23:14:00.000+10:002023-04-13T23:14:29.897+10:00George Campbell's letter to Everyones Magazine about Vaudeville conditions in the United States 1922 Vaudeville conditions bad in AmericaGeorge Campbell- Juggler writes to Everyones Magazine about his experiences in the United States. An amazing recount of the conditions for a juggler in the early 1920s. Published 14 June 1922Eleven months ago, George Campbell, an English juggler, who had been in this country for over ten years, left for another trip to America, accompanied by Bert Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-31031157238730197172023-04-13T22:14:00.000+10:002023-04-13T22:14:37.701+10:00George Campbell- Juggler, mentor to jugglers.... George Gordon Campbell, a juggler and mentor to other
jugglers, came to Australia in 1906 and despite several forays overseas, always
came back.
George was born in Leeds in England in 1881. He probably
started juggling on the provincial circuit. Neither of his parents were
performers, so it’s possible he ran away to juggle. By 1906 he was with a circus and with a
partner- Jarvis. TheLeannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-35866742846339084932023-04-09T15:16:00.000+10:002023-04-09T15:16:37.664+10:00Torino in Australia 1928- Cinquevalli's only pupil Juggler William Campbell, known as Torino, had toured Australia in 1914. He returned in 1928 to a completely different entertainment scene. Moving pictures were challenging the major vaudeville chains for entertainment supremacy and they were winning the fight. Torino recognised this and came to Australia under contract to Union Theatres, a cinema chain. It was a prudent financial decision Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-14630109148035610142023-04-05T20:30:00.003+10:002023-04-05T23:16:24.070+10:00Short note.... I have just added my 18,000 name database of people associated with the Australian theatre to the site. A link is on the right hand side.This was the main feature of my original website HAT-archive, and I am happy to be able to feature it again,The link is to a searchable pdf file that I am keeping on my google drive. Access is open to everybody. It's about 700 pages long so I don' t adviseLeannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-66485696360408174672023-04-04T12:44:00.002+10:002023-04-04T12:45:51.769+10:00Ossie Delroy...mmmm was that really his name? with Jimmy Wallace.....mmmmm was that really his name? This amazing two page spread of Ossie Delroy and Jimmy Wallace comes from Everyone's Magazine in 1940. Ossie was a legend in the juggling world and travelled overseas to entertain the troops in World War 2.I suspect his real name was not Ossie Delroy, and I also suspect that his mate, Jimmy was actually James Bell who lived in Marrickville with his sister Florence...I will be confirming this in Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-70906810554143479652023-03-19T18:16:00.004+11:002023-03-19T19:21:54.001+11:00Torino in Australia 1914...... Background information for this article came from this excellent recount of Torino's career.In July 1914 Melbourne Punch wrote that a London newspaper
had ranked the top five jugglers in the world. Cinquevalli was number one,
followed by Salerno, Kara, Torino and Hern. Shortly afterwards, number one,
Cinquevalli, and number four, Torino, visited Australia. It was Torino’s first visit to Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-90603502261478375902023-03-19T11:52:00.003+11:002023-03-19T11:52:38.563+11:00Cinquevalli at Home- Adelaide Critic Newspaper October 7 1914 Just a nice way to start a SundayCinquevalli at Home- October 1914 Adelaide Critic NewspaperLeannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-90784257722388594902023-03-07T12:26:00.004+11:002023-03-07T12:26:49.132+11:00Visiting Jugglers of the 1950s and 1960s I've been looking at some programmes and found these lovely pictures of jugglers who visited Australia during the 1950s-1960sRudy HornFrom the programme of The Diamond Horseshoe at the Tivoli Melbourne c1958/59An amazing feature of his act is that he juggles seven balls on a drum in time to music without missing a beat.Alcetty- c 1958/59 From Funfiesta Programme Tivoli SydneyThe D'angolys- Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-91071688994762337562023-02-26T16:58:00.001+11:002023-02-26T16:58:21.753+11:00Frank, Lank and Alice- 'The only juggler in Australia juggling three clubs in one hand..." Frank, Lank and Alice was a prominent Australian juggling
trio during the First World War. Frank, born David Francis Uren, was the
straight man and most skilled juggler, Lank, W .Thompson, was a juggler and
comedian, whilst Alice, Alice Johnson, was a contortionist and juggler.
David Francis Uren was born in Victoria in 1894. His father,
Thomas, was a miner, who later bought a pub near Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-19276658600326167012023-02-20T13:21:00.003+11:002023-02-20T13:31:58.040+11:00New Postcards- but Alas! No jugglers Some interesting postcards from the NSW Postcard Collectors Fair yesterday...Quong Tart- not associated with Theatre History, but one of Sydney's most amazing citizens during the Victorian era. He was a legend. This is an early 20th Century cigarette card. I was really surprised to see him represented on a cigarette card. A postcard of a drawing of the Royal Hotel in Sydney- I think Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-13246818668733537812023-01-17T20:55:00.001+11:002023-01-17T21:34:55.538+11:00Mozetto or Rupert Ingalese ' No "one" is born a Juggler' Most of the story of Mozetto aka Rupert Ingalese aka Frederick Priest has been written by juggling historians Reg Bacon and Thom Wall. Thanks to them both for their help with this- I've just focused on the Australian bits....You can check out Reg Bacon's website or pick up Thom Wall's edition of Ingalese's bookIn 1912 an unusual juggler came to Australian shores. He
travelled Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591534546335255446.post-71828713682543868232023-01-10T12:14:00.001+11:002023-01-17T20:56:45.752+11:00Madame Charlene I found this today. It's a picture of Madame Charlene of Charlene and Charlene. She played the xylophone skilfully while he juggled. Apparently her gowns were glorious. They came to Australia three times. This is a damaged photo from Theatre Magazine 1910.Leannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343913433501351601noreply@blogger.com0