Francis and Lottie Brunn
Francis and Lottie Brunn were an internationally celebrated juggler act, consisting of the siblings Franz Josef Brunn (born November 15, 1922 in Aschaffenburg ; † May 28, 2004 in Frankfurt am Main ) and Lieselotte (Lottie) Brunn (born October 12, 1925 in Aschaffenburg, † August 5, 2008 ). Ernest Montego , also an internationally known juggler, was the half-brother of the two siblings.
life and career
Her parents were Michael Alois Brunn (1898–1980), a trained piano maker who later worked as an innkeeper, and was three times German master in diving, artificial diving and 10-meter diving, and Paula Josefine Schobert (1902–1989).
As a boy, Franz Josef (Franzl) Brunn trained his feeling for the ball while playing football, and in 1936 he became a member of the junior Olympic team in diving. After visiting the show People, Animals, Sensations in Berlin's Deutschlandhalle in 1936, he decided to become an artist. He attended an artist school and appeared in public for the first time in 1939. With their father as manager and an appearance in Berlin's Varieté Plaza at a gala on the occasion of Paul Lincke's 75th birthday, the two siblings began their careers in 1941, which also took them to the USA after the end of World War II and gave them guest appearances all over the world . Lottie Brunn initially only assisted her brother, but soon developed such a skill in juggling that she eventually earned the reputation of “the fastest juggler in the world”. Francis Brunn, who in addition to juggling ten elements at the same time was also known for his spectacular tricks with a single ball, which he let wander over the entire body with virtuoso body control, later also incorporated dance elements of Spanish flamenco into his performances. The siblings had their last joint appearance in 1951 in Los Angeles. Both then continued their careers as extremely successful solo artists.
Lottie Brunn married Theodore (Ted) Chirrick in 1951, their son Michael Chirrick followed in her footsteps in 1970 and also became a juggler. Francis Brunn met Alexandra (Sasha) Malomusch in Buenos Aires in 1957, they married and Sasha became his new assistant. In 1961 daughter Christina was born. In 1970, after a stage accident in the Parisian Lido , in which he sustained a hip injury, Brunn had his first health problems; Elbow, wrist, knee and hip operations followed. 1973 son Raphael was born. Since 1988 Francis Brunn has been a guest again in Germany. In 1989 he celebrated his 50th anniversary on stage in the Tigerpalast in Frankfurt am Main. In 1994 he ended his career as a juggler. He remained closely linked to the founders of the Tigerpalast, Margareta Dillinger, Johnny Klinke and Matthias Beltz († 2002), until the end of his life. Francis Brunn died on May 28, 2004 as a result of complications after heart surgery. The memorial ceremony took place on May 31, 2004 in the Tigerpalast, the funeral speech was given by Johnny Klinke. He was buried on June 5, 2004 in George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey, where his parents' grave is also located.
Further career stations
- 1942: Wintergarten , Berlin, Amsterdam, with Willi Schäffers in the cabaret of the comedians , Berlin, Krystall-Palast, Leipzig
- 1943: Deutsches Theater Munich, appearance with Charlie Rivel at the Ronacher , Vienna, Circus Schumann, Copenhagen
- 1944: Performances in Barcelona, Prague, Helsinki and Oslo, stays in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö
- 1945: Guest performance in Paris
- 1946: New York (three-year contract)
- 1948: Performances in Madison Square Garden , New York and in Boston
- 1949–1951: Tour with Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus in the USA, appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show
- 1952: Francis Brunn's solo career begins in Las Vegas
- 1954: Canada, Perry Como Show, Waldorf-Astoria , NYC
- 1956: Gran Teatro Buenos Aires , show with Harry Belafonte
- 1957: Lottie Brunn works as the first and so far only juggler in Ringling's middle ring
- 1958: Las Vegas, shows with Frank Sinatra , Sammy Davis Jr. and Jerry Lewis
- 1959: Australia, Melbourne and Sydney with Danny Kaye , Eisenhower's Birthday Ball at the White House, Washington. With Ernest Montego in the lead role in celebrating Friedrichstadtpalast Berlin (East), the Rastelli -Revue A ball rolls through the world premiere
- 1962: Galas on the east coast of the USA, appearance on the Bob Hope Show
- 1963: Appearance at The Prince of Wales Theater, London in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and The Queen Mother on November 4th a. a. with Marlene Dietrich and the Beatles
- 1969: appearance a. a. with Siegfried and Roy at the Lido, Paris
- from 1970: various appearances in German and European TV shows and in America
documentary
- 2003: The Dance of Sisyphus - Director: Bert Schmidt
literature
- Karl-Heinz Ziethen: Non Plus Ultra - Enrico Rastelli and the best jugglers in the world - Francis Brunn, Sergei Ignatow, Anthony Gatto. Die Jonglerie Lüft KG, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-9801140-9-0
- Reinhold Batberger : The juggler of the century Francis Brunn. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig 2008, ISBN 978-3-458-17414-1
Web links
- Francis Brunn in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Francis Brunn in Juggling - Hall of Fame (English)
- Francis Brunn, Circus Juggler Extraordinaire, Dies at 81 Obituary, New York Times, June 6, 2004 (English)
- Lottie Brunn obituary, The Times, August 20, 2008
- Excerpts from The Juggler of the Century