From conway@bdt.com Sun Mar 26 09:20:51 GMT 1995 Article: 18519 of rec.juggling Path: hal.COM!bdt.com!news From: conway@bdt.com (Andrew John Conway) Newsgroups: rec.juggling Subject: Re: Magnus Nicholls centennial Date: Sun, 26 Mar 1995 00:56:12 -0800 Organization: None Whatsoever Lines: 54 Distribution: world Message-ID: References: <3l202j$n17@hijinks.hal.COM> NNTP-Posting-Host: conway.bdt.com In article <3l202j$n17@hijinks.hal.COM>, barry@hal.COM (Barry Bakalor) wrote on Magnus Nicholls: > [snip] >If anyone has any information about this little known chapter in our >juggling heritage, this would be an excellent time to share it with the >rest of the juggling world.... Magnus Nicholls has a remarkable flair for self-publicity. When he first performed in the states, in New York, ticket sales were not going well, and the local promoter suggested that they drop the prices for the rest of the run. Magnus stormed into his office and demanded instead that ticket prices be doubled. When the price increase was reported in the newspapers it generated such interest that the remainder of the shows sold out. While he was in the midwest, rumours started that Magnus obtained his remakrable juggling skills from a pact with Satan. He had the good sense not to deny the rumours - in fact, he may have been the one starting them! While devoted christians held exorcisms and burned him in effigy outside theatres, the general public rushed to see him. Perhaps to add to the air of diabolic possession he was immensely secretive about his practice sessions. If he could not obtain private space in a gym or hotel ballroom, he would demand that the theatre be cleared of all staff for two hours every morning, so that he could rehearse. One devoted follower bribed a theatre carpenter so that he could watch Magnus practice from a hiding place in the wings. He reported that time and time again the great man would run through every move in his routine, but without using any props - moving his hands and body as if the balls and knives were there, but concentrating on form and style. Several times during the morning, he would even drop his imaginary props, and have to bend down to pick them up. When Rastelli became more famous than he was, Magnus felt bitter about this, until they performed in Vienna at the same time. At this distance in time it is impossible to say if there is any truth in the suggestion that Magnus was seduced by Rastelli's wife in Rastelli's own dressing room. The often quoted remark of hers that she "didn't know which was the better juggler, but Magnus was certainly the better lover", is definately apocryphal. It's sad that with his life long desire for publicity that Magnus should be so little known today. A major reason for this dates back to the time that Magnus's son Pierre met one of the most widely known authorities on the history of juggling. They went out to dinner together, and when Pierre offered to split the bill rather than paying it all, the historian became so annoyed that he removed all references to Magnus from his work. Andrew conway@bdt.com My home page is now at http://www.bdt.com/home/conway/