[DISCLAIMER] I really wasn’t sure where to put this question. While it’s definitely a specific answer that I’m looking for, my rule of thumb for GQ is that questions should have an aspect of mystery, UL, or at least allude to the sorts of things that everyone wonders about. You know, the sorts of things Cecil would answer in the column.
Some guidance here would be helpful.
[/DISCLAIMER]
So who was that juggler who used to appear on the late night TV shows of the era? He was tallish, baldish, and thin, and used to juggle oddly matched things like meat cleavers and marbles. Later, he was a cast member in a news parody show called The News Is The News, but the show didn’t last.
He also reminded me of the Duke & Duke floor trader in the final scenes of Trading Places.
If it wasn’t Simon Jones or Trey Wilson (Lynne Thigpen :)), then IMDb won’t help you.
I can tell you his name- Michael Davis- but I can’t provide much information about him.
I do recall that he juggled Mack the Knife, George the Axe, and Beaver The Cleaver.
Is that the guy who used to eat an apple while he was juggling it?
Yeah, that’s him. And he sometimes ate the egg on “accident.”
It was probably George the Axe of which he said “This is the actual hatchet that George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree. I had to replace the handle and the blade, but it occupies the same space metaphysically.”
Once when I saw him on TV, a little girl had written in to ask him to juggle some particularly lethal objects (I don’t remember what). He read the letter to the audience, and then said something like,
“So you want me to risk MY life and limb by juggling <these objects>. You really think that’s worth it? Well, I think it’s worth it!”…and then he proceeded to do it.
I’ve a bit on tape he did on the Tonight Show back in the late 80’s where he was about to juggle 5 ping pong balls. It went something like this (paraphrased):
“In a sense, I’ll have 8 balls in the air. (points to face) The eyeballs. But, why bore you with my problems.”