Bill Brown of Owego, N.Y., an IJA Honorary Life Member, died Nov. 27, 1990, at age 94. He was a professional performer and did a Western-style act in cowboy dress, including rope spinning, baton twirling and juggling. He attended many IJA conventions, and had been to several Rochester Juggle-Ins during the past few years.
A clown, juggler, magician and friend to many, Randy Foster of San Diego died Feb. 24, 1991, of brain cancer. His mother, a professional nurse who cared for him during his illness, was at his bedside to the end.
Born Sept. 20, 1958, Foster stared doing magic in high school. He built and designed many magic props, and learned a little juggling. He met Kit Summers in 1977 and the pair began performing as "The Amazing Rainbow Circus." They were often seen in San Diego's Balboa Park, and traveled to Mardi Gras in New Orleans in 1980.
Beginning in 1981, Foster performed solo as Presto the Magic Clown in the San Diego area. He was admitted to Ringling Brothers Clown College and graduated there in 1987, then returned to San Diego to perform.
Many jugglers remember Foster from IJA conventions, some from his sale of Lectrosonics sound equipment. We will all miss the smiles he brought us.
Tribute to Randy Foster courtesy of his friend Kit Summers
Bengt Magnusson, an avid juggler, juggling theoretician and Ph.D. candidate in physics, took his own life on Monday, Feb. 11. He was 26 years old.
Magnusson was a native of Sweden, but came to America to attend the California Institute of Technology. He graduated in 1987 as an honors student in physics, and was just a few months away from completing requirements for his Ph.D. at the time of his death.
He was active in the Safety in Numbers Juggling Club in Los Angeles, and was a Life Member of the IJA. He could juggle nine bean bags, but enjoyed the theoretical side of the art as much as its practice. He co-authored an article on "The Physics of Juggling" which appeared in the November 1989 edition of "The Physics Teacher" magazine. He also recently helped devise a notation for describing juggling tricks, which he promoted through his participation in the electronic juggling listserver at Indiana University. He was quite active on the listserver, explaining his notation and offering other jugglers tips on learning tricks.
Besides juggling, he had a passion for photography and music, and kept a sketch book.
His friends were unaware of the turmoil in his life that led him to end it, and wish him peace in his eternal rest.