As I look through the 13,000 photos in the archives of the Museum of Juggling History, I occasionally come across photos of famous jugglers doing tricks or using props that are unexpected. Imagine coming across a photo of Enrico Rastelli doing diabolo or Anthony Gatto swinging poi. Well, below are examples that I’ve found that seem equally incongruous. I hope you enjoy them.
The first image shows Enrico Rastelli doing a head to head balance on top of his father as they each do devil stick. When you think of Rastelli, devil stick probably doesn’t usually come to mind.
The Rastellis
Bobby May was famous for a wide variety of juggling skills, but cigar box juggling was not one of them.
Bobby May
Rudy Horn was famous for juggling rings and for kicking up cups and saucers on a tall unicycle, but the following photo is the only one I’ve seen that shows him juggling rings on a unicycle.
Rudy Horn
Kris Kremo is famed for his work with three balls, three hats, a derby, three cigar boxes, and even four suitcases, but the following photos show he is capable of other juggling skills as well.
Kris Kremo
Kris Kremo
Kris Kremo
Kris Kremo
When you think of Bob Bramson, you think of hoop rolling and hoop juggling, as he is considered one of the two greatest hoop jugglers of all time, along with Howard Nichols. Therefore, the following photo of Bob doing an impressive double ball spin stack is unexpected.
Bob Bramson
Tommy Curtin is famous for many juggling skills, but those who know him now probably don’t think of him as someone who would have done a version of the Brunn Finish.
Tommy Curtin
The same is true for Dick Franco.
Dick Franco
Michael Moschen is known for his innovative and artistic juggling work, so the two following photos might come as a surprise to many readers. Battle axe juggling and passing around a clown (with Penn Jillette) in a mall are pretty unexpected.
Michael Moschen
Michael Moschen and Penn Jillette
Photos of IJA Officers are quite common, but the one below is a bit unexpected when you notice that one of the officers (back row, middle) was Massimiliano Truzzi, one of the greatest and most famous jugglers of all time.
Nick Gatto is best known as the coach of his stepson Anthony Gatto and as a famed acrobat, but few know that he was a talented juggler, as the following photos show.
Nick Gatto
Nick Gatto
I’m sure that I will come across many other similar photos of jugglers using unexpected props. If you have some that you think would be good to share, please feel free to send them my way.
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 15 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 sixteen books. He and his children live in Middletown, OH (USA).