George Rowland
George Rowland was considered by many of his peers to be the greatest African-American juggler of the Vaudeville era. He was born George Watkins Rowland on March 1st, 1885 in Water Valley, Mississippi. His parents were circus performers who passed away when George was ten years old. George continued to live with the circus and became a very talented juggler. He stated that he never went to school a single day in his life. He worked with balls, knives, plates, parasols, ping pong balls, cigar boxes, and a 16- pound bowling ball that he told the audience was a 35 pound cannonball. He would do a neck catch with the bowling ball, which eventually caught up with him, resulting in a broken vertebra in his upper spine.
George was usually just billed as “Rowland – Tramp Juggler”, but sometimes was billed as the Brainstorm Juggler.
1908
Rowland appears to have made his stage debut outside of the circus around 1907.
1907
Rowland’s reviews were consistently very positive.
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George Rowland
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Rowland was so successful that he was soon booked internationally.
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In 1910, Rowland sailed to Europe to perform at the Follies Bergere in Paris. He stayed in Europe until 1933.
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George Rowland
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George Rowland 1911
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1932
During his career, he performed in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. He married a ballet dancer named Clara Catrina Rowland.
Clara Rowland
They had a daughter named Georgina. In their old age, George and Clara lived in the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, a retirement home for show business performers. He was known to still juggle at the age of 80.
George Rowland being goofy at the age of 88
Although I can’t be 100 % certain, it appears that George passed away in 1978 at the age of 93.
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).