George Moore is not a juggler that many, if any, readers will be familiar with. Not much is known about him, but what we do know is quite interesting. George Moore was born on August 31, 1889 in Philadelphia, PA (USA).
He performed in vaudeville and specialized in juggling very odd and / or oversized props. He married another vaudevillian from Philadelphia, Mary Henney of the Henney Sisters, who had a dancing and music act. The couple met in a show in Williamsport, PA in 1913 and were married in 1915. In the 1930s, George Moore appeared in several Columbia Pictures’ five minute short films as “the juggling chef,” starring along side comedians such as Henny Youngman and Roscoe Ates. You can see two photos from one of these shorts, The Drugstore Follies (1937), below.
In most of George’s performances, he dressed as a chef and juggled oversized props. Below you can see him juggle a huge butcher’s knife and two large cooking pans.
Below is the only video known to exist of George Moore. It was filmed by Bobby Jule and is shown here for the first time. It shows George juggling three and four clubs as well as eating the apple with three apples. Then it shows two routines that you’ll want to watch more than once. The first shows him juggling a broom, a large coal bucket, a wash basin, and a fire shovel. The second shows George juggling an ironing board, a pair of long john underwear, and a giant iron. Finally, the video ends with George spinning a giant wagon wheel on a pole.
George performed in USO shows during World War II and the Korean War. George retired from performing in 1959.
George and Mary moved to Malverne, NY (USA) early in their marriage and lived there the rest of their lives. They remained married for 73 years, until Mary’s death in 1988. George celebrated his 100th birthday in 1989. It’s not known what year George passed away.
In July 2017, three of George Moore’s clubs were put on sale by this family. With the great help of juggler Michael Karas and the generosity of Arthur Lewbel, Daniel Holzman, and Thom Wall, the Museum of Juggling History was able to acquire the clubs, which are very unique. They are five sided, mirrored, and very old. Below is a photo of George Moore’s great, great niece, Jennifer, who passed the clubs on to Michael Karas on behalf of the museum.
The clubs are now in on display in the Museum of Juggling History in Middletown, Ohio (USA).
If you know anything more about George Moore, I’d love to hear from you about this unique juggler.
David Cain
David Cain is a professional juggler, juggling historian, and the owner of the world's only juggling museum, the Museum of Juggling History. He is a Guinness world record holder and 16 time IJA gold medalist. In addition to his juggling pursuits, David is a successful composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and singer as well as the author of twenty-six books. He and his children live in Middletown, OH (USA).