By David Cain
Lucy Gillet was an extremely talented juggler. She juggled six plates while balancing a long bird perch on her chin and a flower pot on her forehead. She also performed nine balls in her act. Despite these incredible toss juggling feats, she was best known for her foot juggling and balancing stunts.
Lucy Gillet was born in Berlin, Germany in 1895 and often performed under the name Lucy Gillette. Her father was juggler Fred Gillet (born Franz Kurweg), who also performed under the names of Fred Martell and Martinet. Her mother’s name was Zelma. Lucy started juggling at the age of ten. The earliest reference I’ve found regarding her is a newspaper clipping saying that her father was arrested for child cruelty because he was training his 14-year old daughter in juggling and acrobatics. This cruelty was recently corroborated by her granddaughter, who stated that Lucy’s father would beat her with a cane when she didn’t perform to perfection. These beatings eventually resulted in Lucy becoming deaf. She performed in England in 1908, traveled across Australia in 1913, and toured the USA in 1914 and 1915.
1913
Although Lucy was German-born and had lived in England for quite some time, she was advertised as “The Lady from Delft (a city in the Netherlands) and dressed in a “quaint Dutch costume” that highlighted her femininity. Her act was set in a kitchen and she mainly juggled with household utensils and furnishings, including plates, chairs, tables, lamps, and potted plants. Her act began with Lucy seated on a chair in a Dutch-themed blue setting. She quickly blew out a lamp and began to juggle various items in the room. She balanced a candle on her foot and kicked it to her forehead. She also juggled three chairs. She balanced a table on her forehead while juggling five balls. She then tossed the balls into vases that rested on the balanced table. The finale of her act consisted of balancing a round table on two poles and then letting it fall to her feet, where she then juggled it with her feet.
Lucy was billed in various ways throughout her career, including as the World’s Greatest Juggler. Below are some reviews, advertisements, articles, and photos from throughout her career.
1910
1911
1912
1913
1913
The following two articles are from 1913.
The following article shares about Lucy’s experiences riding in a Zepplelin / blimp and early airplanes.
1914
1914
1917
1917
1917
1918
1918
1919
1919
1919
1921
1921
Lucy married Aage Diderichsen in 1924 and performed with him as Bob and Lucy Gillette, with Lucy providing the juggling and Bob doing humorous eccentric dancing.
1925
1926
1927
1927
1929
The couple divorced in the 1940s. Lucy died in New York in 1975.
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).