"Entertainment,

Pure and Simple"

River Cities Reader

Biography

Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Jeffrey was known as the 'kid who is always smiling' and enjoyed finding ways to make others laugh. A favorite audience was the church congregation, much to the embarrassment of his parents who blamed hid odd sense of humor on his grandfather.

A high school juggling club got him started on a life changing path. Practicing with found golf balls Jeffrey learned from other students. With no intention of performing he enjoyed the challenge of figuring out new tricks.

Jeffrey became fascinated with box manipulation, a classic style used by WC Fields with origins in China. By applying mathematics he started developing tricks on his own. Eager to show his innovations to other jugglers he entered the 1984 Juniors Juggling Competition in Las Vegas and came in last place.

While the juggling didn't go as planned, he did make an impression with his playful personality and unusual tricks. He continued to practice studying films of Rastelli, Brunn, and Ignatov as a musician would study Bach or Beethoven.

At the University of Kansas (preparing to study architecture) Jeffrey performed at a local Renaissance faire where he found a new challenge: getting people to stop and watch. He applied his odd sense of humor to his act and by summer was traveling the country with his one man show.

Since then he has learned to make people laugh in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In the middle of the Pacific Jeffrey proposed on the back deck of a cruise ship and six months later The Lovely Miss Amber debuted in the show on the same ship.

Jeffrey is still fascinated by the nuances of comedy and juggling in the quest for self improvement. He has returned to Las Vegas to win a gold medal for his box juggling routine. Today he teaches his techniques to a new generation at juggling festivals and over the internet.