By David Cain In February of 2023, my twin brother Scott Cain was contacted by Bill Horn and Suzanne Palmieri, descendants of The Great Knetzger, a juggler he had written about in the past. They told him that they owned a trunk containing scrapbooks, photos, newspaper clippings, personal items, and props that belonged to Louis Knetzger. If you want a …
New Information and Discoveries About The Great Knetzger
By David Cain (Author’s Note: Much of the research for the article was initially done by Scott Cain. Much thanks to Scott for uncovering so much about The Great Knetzger.) The Great Knetzger, born Aloyius John “Louis” Knetzger in 1875, is a juggler who is now best known for some of his amazing posters, one of which recently sold online …
Show Review – Branson’s Grand Shanghai Circus
By David Cain In late October of 2025, I traveled to the tourist destination of Branson, Missouri (USA) to visit Diana Chirrick, the widow of famed juggler Michael Chirrick, which also makes her the daughter-in-law of Lottie Brunn. I did this in order to take possession of a carload of Michael and Lottie’s juggling props for the Museum of Juggling …
Drop Everything Podcast #144: Mickey O’Connor
ERRATUM: The title of the Karl-Heinz Ziethen book mentioned is 4000 Years of Juggling Host Dan Holzman talks with Juggler and visual comedian Mickey O’ Connor about his life and entertainment career.
Adding the Michael Chirrick / Lottie Brunn Collection to the Museum of Juggling History
By David Cain In April of 2025, the juggling world lost one of its brightest stars, Michael Chirrick. You can read the obituary I wrote for him by clicking here. In the months that followed, I chatted frequently with his wife, Diana Chirrick. She made the decision to donate Michael’s props and juggling memorabilia to the Museum of Juggling History, …
Wiiliam Everhart – New Findings about the Inventor of Hoop Rolling – Part 2
By David Cain (Author’s Note: Some of the information in this article is taken from Everhart’s Autobiography, Facts, Fame, and Fortune (1904). In this book, Everhart’s massive ego is obvious. Thus, some of the “facts” from that volume need to be taken with a grain of salt.) In Part 1 of this article, we learned how William Everhart got his start, …
William Everhart – New Findings about the Inventor of Hoop Rolling – Part 1
By David Cain (Author’s Note: Some of the information in this article is taken from Everhart’s Autobiography, Facts, Fame, and Fortune. In this book, Everhart’s massive ego is obvious. Thus, some of the “facts” from that volume need to be taken with a grain of salt.) At the height of his career, Willaim Everhart performed all over Europe and America …
Selma Braatz – The Girl Who Set the Juggling World Alight
By Dr. Steve Ward Throughout the course of history here have been records of female jugglers. Many ancient civilisations have depicted women juggling. They have appeared on tomb paintings in ancient Egypt and on pottery artefacts from both the Roman and Greek eras. However, it was not until the rise of the music halls and variety theatres in the nineteenth …
Billiard Table Jugglers – Part 2
By David Cain In Part 1 of this series, we examined billiard table jugglers Asra and W.C. Fields. In this part, we’ll examine some lesser-known jugglers that combined toss juggling and billiard trick shots. The Two Yvories Like the billiard table jugglers before him, Yvory also recognized the theatrical potential of so-called “jumpers”—billiard balls that inadvertently flew off the table …