Bobby May

Bobby May (born Ludwig Mayer) (1907-1981) was the most famous American juggler of the vaudeville era. He was an inspiration and mentor to many of the world’s top jugglers. He performed in vaudeville, music halls, circuses, roller skating shows, and ice skating shows.

bobbymayclubThis is one of Bobby May’s performance clubs. Acquired as part of the Paul Bachman Collection.

BobbyMayClubs

These are three of Bobby May’s over sized Harry Lind clubs. It’s believed that these were used by Bobby in his ice skating or roller skating shows. They were eventually passed on to Ken Sherburne, a juggler mentored by Bobby. Donated by Stuart Sherburne.

MayHatThis is a Bobby May performance top hat. Inside of the hat, Bobby wrote “Last hat and cigar”. Donated by Bill Dietrich.

mayballThis is a Bobby May performance bounce ball. Bobby performed many bounce juggling tricks, including bouncing five balls off of a drum while balancing upside down on his head. Acquired as part of the Paul Bachman Collection.

This is a Bobby May performance bounce ball. Bobby performed many bounce juggling tricks, including bouncing five balls off of a drum while balancing upside down on his head. Donated by John McPeak.

BobbyMayBlackHatThis is a Bobby May performance top hat. Acquired as part of the Paul Bachman Collection.

BobbyMayCigarThis is one of Bobby May’s wooden cigars that he used in his act. Donated by Regina Spah.MayHatGil2This is one of Bobby May’s performance tops hats. Donated by Regina Spah.

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These are Bobby May’s performance clubs. Purchased from Joe Sullivan.

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These are Bobby Mary’s bounce balls. Purchased from Joe Sullivan.

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This is Bobby May’s fake umbrella cane. Purchased from Joe Sullivan.

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This is Bobby May’s derby hat. Purchased from Joe Sullivan.

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This is Bobby May’s head stand pedestal. Purchased from Joe Sullivan.

Click here to see a wonderful video of many of Bobby May’s most famous tricks.