Paula Coutts- Australian Juggler

 The Southern suburbs of Sydney was an unusual place to find a female juggler in 1948, but that was the home of one of Australia’s most successful exports, Pauline Coutts.

Pauline, known professionally as Paula, was born in Sydney in 1930. Her father Arthur (b1904)  was a balancer and had appeared as a minor player on the Australian variety circuits before she was born. He encouraged his daughter in his profession and Paula’s first appearance was at 9 years old, in a picture taken at Bondi Beach. In the picture,  Arthur balances on one hand whilst Paula has her body wrapped around him. Thus began a successful vaudeville partnership- Paul and Pauline.

Before they got their professional start, both Pauline and Arthur worked for some time for the local post office in Kogarah. But fame was too enticing and when Pauline turned 18, father and daughter left Australia for the bright lights of England.

As Paul and Pauline, the pair toured the English provinces , Wales and Scotland for about 3 years.  Sometimes Pauline would perform twice, once with her father and once as Paula Coutts , lady juggler. In 1949 Paul and Pauline were presenting head and other balancing , feats of endurance and dental work. Paula was also juggling on the same bill. Advertisements from the time call her ‘cute and clever.’

In 1951 they returned to Australia. A picture was published in the local newspaper of Paula, doing the splits, balancing her father. It was an odd counterpoint to their original visual debut on Bondi Beach.  

At this time, Arthur seems to have returned to the post office, but Paula, in her unusual occupation as lady juggler, revisited  England. She was described as ‘a dainty Australian juggler’ ‘attractive’, and as presenting some unusual feats in her ball juggling specialty. Paula mainly juggled with balls, and was a skilful snooker player. 

Another performance during this time, was a spot in the Gene Kelly film, Invitation to the Dance. Paula appears in the circus segment, dressed as a clown, juggling balls and clubs. In a later interview Paula said ‘ Gene Kelly’s got what it takes.’

In celebration of her celluloid debut, her dad gave a brief interview to a local Sydney paper. He dismissed her juggling skills saying, ‘she was the worst of the lot’ , but ‘ she has the personality’. According to the proud father, Gene Kelly had wanted a boy juggler for the role, but was so impressed with Pauline that he offered her the part.  Arthur’s attitude towards Paula’s juggling was fairly typical at a time when female jugglers were rare. Unfortunately, her skills were often disregarded in favour of comments on her physique or personality.

In 1952 Paula joined other entertainers on a tour to the Middle East to entertain the troops.

In 1953 she returned home for a brief visit and was greeted by newspaper reports. She was quoted as being a smog refugee travelling home  for her health. The report was accompanied by Paula juggling three balls in a bikini. She was described as ‘small and shapely with a mass of red curls’. Her plan was to reunite with her father as Paul and Pauline. 

In 1954 the pair performed together  for the Hot Ice spectacular as the only non-skating act. Off stage, they gave the skating star, Pat Gregory, juggling lessons between performances. Hot Ice toured Australia for six months visiting Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. 

Paula’s appearances in Australia were sporadic over the next few years, She appeared in RSL clubs and for charity galas in the suburbs. In 1961 she joined a large cast in a show called Yellzapoppin. The show successfully toured New Zealand and Paula was pictured tossing tennis racquets in a photo spread. 

By 1963 she was back in England. She appeared in TV shows such as The Good Ol Days for the BBC and joined and performed for the CAA ( Creative Artists Association.) In 1964 she was described as ‘ that rarity, a girl juggler, not only efficient but dauntingly attractive.’  By 1973 she was back in Australia appearing on the Bert Newton Show.

From this date references to Paula juggling are quite rare. There is some evidence that she may, in later life, have taken to TV acting. It seems she passed away in 2022.

The Kiraku Brothers in Australia 1935

 

The Kiraku brothers, Risley performers who juggled with their feet, arrived in Australia in March 1935. The pair, Kamejiro Yoshida, aged 38, and Hirokichi Fuji, 35, were imported from London where they were performing regularly in theatres and music halls.

Hiro was from Gefu and had been apprenticed to an acrobatic troupe, The Hamamura troupe, by his uncle when he was ten. Kamejiro, from Kyoto, the older performer, was also a graduate of the same school. Both were sons of farmers and they had travelled the world as acrobats since they were children.

Tivoli owner Frank Neil paid a bond of 200 pounds to insure them before they appeared on Australian stages. He also committed to providing food, clothing and medical care and swore that their appearance would incur no cost to the Commonwealth.

Signed photo in my collection

Their first performances were in Western Australia, and they were sensational.

They took the stage costumed in tennis gear. Kamejiro- the older and stockier, in blue coat and trousers  and Hiro in a quirky hat with yellow buttonhole. Hiro provided the laughs, whilst Kamejiro was the base. The act began with Hiro performing some handsprings, then Kamejiro lay on his back on a couch and began to twirl his partner with his feet. The hardest trick was the foot to foot, where Hiro performed a full somersault landing with his feet on Kamejiro’s feet.

 Kamejiro then moved to the floor where he caught Hiro on his hands and ‘while supporting him in an upright position, rolled across the stage.’ The reviewer of the show was astounded by this feat of strength.

The Kirakus were immensely popular in Western Australia, but their stay was short. They were due to tour the east coast in a revue, Birds of the Night. However, before they left the west, Hiro authored an article for the local paper. In it, Hiro said that he preferred to be identified as a gymnast rather than an acrobat, as acrobats wore tights whilst he and Kamejiro wore flannels. He also detailed long and painful training sessions, broken bones, cut lips, concussions and endless hours of practice. He described his partner, who he called Kame, as like his brother and both as ‘happy go lucky.’ The full article is here.

From the newspapers- probably in costume

 In the last week of their stay in Perth, Hiro sprained a tendon in his foot, but he performed the next night with a smile. He had been on stage since childhood and was well acquainted with the painful repercussions of the Risley life.

The pair arrived in Melbourne in April. They were immediately employed in the revue ‘Birds of the Night,’ which starred Mrs Frank Neil. They were described as ‘probably the finest acrobatic turn ever presented at this theatre,’ and were undoubtedly the stars of the show.

They performed in Sydney in July and were warmly greeted. They stayed for the whole month and left the country in August.

Although their visit was brief, the Kirakus were widely regarded as one of the best Risley acts to perform in Australia. Their reception was particularly warm in Western Australia where they were photographed and interviewed. Their association with the Tivoli Theatre ensured their success with Australian audiences.

They returned to England and performed in pantomime and variety until 1940. Hiro was interned during the war while it appears that Kamejiro returned to Japan. Hiro died in England in 1968.

I used this excellent website about Japanese performers as a contributing source for this article.

 

Alfio Silvestri

 I recently acquired these pictures of Alfio Silvestri- there's not a lot of information about Alfio available, so I've posted what I know here hoping that somebody might know more. He was, by all accounts I've read, a very skilled juggler. 

In the graveyard of variety artists in England lies Alfio Silvestri, once hailed as ‘the greatest juggler on earth.’

He was born in 1909 and in his early years lived in Milan. When he appeared on the  British variety circuit  he was introduced as a famous continental juggler, and it’s probable that he honed his craft in the theatres of France and Italy.

In 1932 he debuted in the English variety theatres, he was 22, a slim young man with a polished act. He claimed to be the only person in the world who could juggle 10 balls while standing on one foot.

His speciality was ball juggling, he juggled footballs and billiard balls and his finale was catching balls thrown to him by the audience on a stick in his mouth. This audience interaction was much praised by critics.

Between 1932- 1955, he appeared in all the major music halls in England, Scotland and Ireland with this act.

Alfio Silvestri died in 1992 and was buried in Twickenham cemetery England by the Variety Artistes Benevolent fund.