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| Overlooked No More: Lottie Brunn, the ‘Queen of Jugglers’ | Overlooked No More: Lottie Brunn, the ‘Queen of Jugglers’ |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| This article is part of Overlooked, a series of obituaries about remarkable people whose deaths, beginning in 1851, went unreported in The Times. | This article is part of Overlooked, a series of obituaries about remarkable people whose deaths, beginning in 1851, went unreported in The Times. |
| Lottie Brunn did not want to be introduced as the greatest woman juggler of all time. | Lottie Brunn did not want to be introduced as the greatest woman juggler of all time. |
| “Say ‘the fastest,’” she recalled telling the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which had proposed the tagline. “If nothing else, I was fast.” | “Say ‘the fastest,’” she recalled telling the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which had proposed the tagline. “If nothing else, I was fast.” |
| In 1957, she became the first woman juggler to perform alone in the circus’s center ring, according to David Cain, the archive director of the International Jugglers’ Association. She would fire rubber balls into intricate flight patterns and watch coolly as they rocketed above, alongside and even behind her sequined torso before snapping back into her hands. | In 1957, she became the first woman juggler to perform alone in the circus’s center ring, according to David Cain, the archive director of the International Jugglers’ Association. She would fire rubber balls into intricate flight patterns and watch coolly as they rocketed above, alongside and even behind her sequined torso before snapping back into her hands. |
| Other jugglers “were more about making things look pretty or flowy,” Cain said in an interview. “Lottie was just about exploding onstage.” | Other jugglers “were more about making things look pretty or flowy,” Cain said in an interview. “Lottie was just about exploding onstage.” |
| To this day, Cain said, Brunn is widely regarded as the fastest woman juggler in history. She worked for 12 years as an assistant to her brother, Francis Brunn, himself a colossus of juggling, before embarking on a three-decade solo career. Performing in circuses, nightclubs and variety shows, she earned the sobriquet “Queen of Jugglers” from Juggle magazine. | To this day, Cain said, Brunn is widely regarded as the fastest woman juggler in history. She worked for 12 years as an assistant to her brother, Francis Brunn, himself a colossus of juggling, before embarking on a three-decade solo career. Performing in circuses, nightclubs and variety shows, she earned the sobriquet “Queen of Jugglers” from Juggle magazine. |
| “As jugglers in general go, she was one of the greats, and as women jugglers go, even higher than that,” said Alan Howard, the magazine’s former editor. | “As jugglers in general go, she was one of the greats, and as women jugglers go, even higher than that,” said Alan Howard, the magazine’s former editor. |
| Brunn, who was not quite five feet tall, always performed in high heels, which made her record-setting tricks even more difficult. The “Brunn finish,” a many-limbed maneuver, was a hallmark of both her act and her brother’s. She would spin one ball on top of a three-foot-tall pedestal on her head and another on one finger, while juggling rings in one hand and twirling rings on one of her feet. She is also, Cain said, believed to be the first woman to juggle eight rings. | Brunn, who was not quite five feet tall, always performed in high heels, which made her record-setting tricks even more difficult. The “Brunn finish,” a many-limbed maneuver, was a hallmark of both her act and her brother’s. She would spin one ball on top of a three-foot-tall pedestal on her head and another on one finger, while juggling rings in one hand and twirling rings on one of her feet. She is also, Cain said, believed to be the first woman to juggle eight rings. |
| She shared the stage with celebrities including Tony Bennett, the Supremes, Milton Berle and the Three Stooges. She juggled on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and as a halftime act for the Harlem Globetrotters. | She shared the stage with celebrities including Tony Bennett, the Supremes, Milton Berle and the Three Stooges. She juggled on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and as a halftime act for the Harlem Globetrotters. |
| She stood out not just for her energetic style but also for her skills. | She stood out not just for her energetic style but also for her skills. |
| “Women were always the beautiful accessories of juggling acts,” Iman Lizarazu, a performer who often swapped juggling stories backstage with Brunn, said in an interview. “She was like, ‘No way. I’m the woman, and I’m the person who is juggling and blowing your mind.’” | “Women were always the beautiful accessories of juggling acts,” Iman Lizarazu, a performer who often swapped juggling stories backstage with Brunn, said in an interview. “She was like, ‘No way. I’m the woman, and I’m the person who is juggling and blowing your mind.’” |
| Lieselotte Josephine Brunn was born on Oct. 12, 1925, in Rossdorf, Germany, the second of four children of Michael and Paula (Schobert) Brunn. Her father, a national diving champion who operated a restaurant and a gymnasium in Aschaffenburg, had learned to juggle stones while in a French prison camp during World War I. He passed the skill on to his two eldest children using potatoes, oranges and toilet plungers. | Lieselotte Josephine Brunn was born on Oct. 12, 1925, in Rossdorf, Germany, the second of four children of Michael and Paula (Schobert) Brunn. Her father, a national diving champion who operated a restaurant and a gymnasium in Aschaffenburg, had learned to juggle stones while in a French prison camp during World War I. He passed the skill on to his two eldest children using potatoes, oranges and toilet plungers. |
| In 1939, as World War II was breaking out across Europe, Lieselotte left school to assist her brother in juggling acts in theaters around Germany. They performed as part of a propaganda variety show around army bases in Nazi-occupied France and Belgium until landing a contract in neutral Sweden in 1942. “It was the only way to get out,” Brunn was quoted as saying in a 2008 article in Juggle magazine. | |
| They arrived in the United States with their father in 1948 to tour with the Ringling Brothers circus, leaving their mother and sisters — and their German names, Lieselotte and Franzl — behind. | They arrived in the United States with their father in 1948 to tour with the Ringling Brothers circus, leaving their mother and sisters — and their German names, Lieselotte and Franzl — behind. |
| Lottie was perhaps overly proficient as Francis’s assistant during their three seasons with Ringling Brothers. “I did a lot of juggling in his act, and it took away from him in some ways,” she told Brad Zupp for his book “Success! Interviews With Performers About Fame, Fortune and Happiness” (1995). | Lottie was perhaps overly proficient as Francis’s assistant during their three seasons with Ringling Brothers. “I did a lot of juggling in his act, and it took away from him in some ways,” she told Brad Zupp for his book “Success! Interviews With Performers About Fame, Fortune and Happiness” (1995). |
| In the early 1950s, Brunn moved from the periphery of her brother’s career to the center of her own. | In the early 1950s, Brunn moved from the periphery of her brother’s career to the center of her own. |
| In 1951 she married Theodore Chirrick, an assistant manager and ringmaster with the Polack Brothers Circus, and gave birth to their son, Michael Chirrick. She returned to juggling in 1952 as a solo act. | In 1951 she married Theodore Chirrick, an assistant manager and ringmaster with the Polack Brothers Circus, and gave birth to their son, Michael Chirrick. She returned to juggling in 1952 as a solo act. |
| Her husband helped manage her career in addition to cooking, driving and buffing fingernail indentations out of her rubber juggling equipment. “He did everything but juggle,” Michael Chirrick, who often joined his parents on the road, said by phone. | Her husband helped manage her career in addition to cooking, driving and buffing fingernail indentations out of her rubber juggling equipment. “He did everything but juggle,” Michael Chirrick, who often joined his parents on the road, said by phone. |
| Brunn’s schedule was relentless. In 1953, she played 360 one-nighters with the comedy bandleader Spike Jones, who composed an up-tempo soundtrack to her act. In 1959, she juggled four times a day for eight weeks at Radio City Music Hall on a bill that included the Rockettes. | Brunn’s schedule was relentless. In 1953, she played 360 one-nighters with the comedy bandleader Spike Jones, who composed an up-tempo soundtrack to her act. In 1959, she juggled four times a day for eight weeks at Radio City Music Hall on a bill that included the Rockettes. |
| She considered her debut at Radio City to be her best performance. “I felt I was in heaven,” she told The New York Times in 1997. “The spotlights were like clouds.” | She considered her debut at Radio City to be her best performance. “I felt I was in heaven,” she told The New York Times in 1997. “The spotlights were like clouds.” |
| Throughout the 1960s and ’70s, Brunn juggled in London, Paris and Taipei, on cruise ships across the Atlantic Ocean and with the Rudy Brothers Circus in Germany and the Shrine Circus in Texas. She practiced before every show and on her days off, kneeling when the ceiling was not high enough. | Throughout the 1960s and ’70s, Brunn juggled in London, Paris and Taipei, on cruise ships across the Atlantic Ocean and with the Rudy Brothers Circus in Germany and the Shrine Circus in Texas. She practiced before every show and on her days off, kneeling when the ceiling was not high enough. |
| “She didn’t miss a day,” said her son, who also became a professional juggler. | “She didn’t miss a day,” said her son, who also became a professional juggler. |
| Brunn retired in 1985, at age 60, after developing arthritis in her wrists and shoulders. She and her husband lived in a mobile home near Hackensack, N.J., while she taught at the Big Apple Circus and at Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Clown College. In 1992, she received a lifetime achievement award from the International Jugglers’ Association, and in 1998 she was inducted into the Circus Ring of Fame. | Brunn retired in 1985, at age 60, after developing arthritis in her wrists and shoulders. She and her husband lived in a mobile home near Hackensack, N.J., while she taught at the Big Apple Circus and at Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Clown College. In 1992, she received a lifetime achievement award from the International Jugglers’ Association, and in 1998 she was inducted into the Circus Ring of Fame. |
| For all her success, Brunn occasionally expressed frustration over the skepticism she was met with as a woman. She was sometimes paid only half as much as her brother, and the respect she commanded in the circus world did not always translate to the nightclub circuit. | For all her success, Brunn occasionally expressed frustration over the skepticism she was met with as a woman. She was sometimes paid only half as much as her brother, and the respect she commanded in the circus world did not always translate to the nightclub circuit. |
| Still, she told Zupp, impressing audiences was all the more exciting if they were dubious: “They never expected a woman juggler.” | Still, she told Zupp, impressing audiences was all the more exciting if they were dubious: “They never expected a woman juggler.” |
| Brunn died on Aug. 5, 2008, in Branson, Mo., where she had moved in 2004 to be near her son. She was 82. The cause was esophageal cancer. | Brunn died on Aug. 5, 2008, in Branson, Mo., where she had moved in 2004 to be near her son. She was 82. The cause was esophageal cancer. |
| Shortly before her death, she reflected on her career in an interview for the 2006 documentary “Trailblazers: Women Who Juggle.” | Shortly before her death, she reflected on her career in an interview for the 2006 documentary “Trailblazers: Women Who Juggle.” |
| “Juggling is hard,” she said. “It takes a lot of nerves, it takes a lot of work, and you want to make a living at it. If you can do that, then you accomplish something.” | “Juggling is hard,” she said. “It takes a lot of nerves, it takes a lot of work, and you want to make a living at it. If you can do that, then you accomplish something.” |