Joe Jackson Sr. (born Joseph Francis Jiranek; 1873–1942) was an Austrian

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

champion and a member of a world champion

bicycle polo A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. B ...

team before he became an

entertainer An entertainer is someone who provides entertainment in various different forms. Types of entertainers

* Acrobat * Actor * Archimime * Barker (occupation), Barker * Beatboxer * Benshi * Bouffon * Cheerleader * Circus arts, Circus perform ...

. Born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Jackson became a champion racing cyclist at an early age. Later he became a trick bicycle rider and traveled over much of Europe. While appearing at the Crystal Palace in London, the handlebars of his bicycle came off. He waved the handlebars wildly as a gesture of despair. The laughs from the audience brought down the house and it gave Jackson the idea for his famous act. From then on he was a comedian. In all his years on the stage, Jackson did his act in pantomime. Preferring intimate settings, Jackson worked almost exclusively in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

and European one-ring circuses. His act took him to England, Europe, Russia,

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, Turkey, and the United States. During the New York World's Fair, he appeared in the ''American Jubilee''. Shortly afterward, he opened a restaurant and resort in Bellvale, Greenwood Lake New York, where he made his home. In his late years he devoted most of his time to managing his eatery, making only infrequent stage appearances, mostly in New York, when he felt like it. He was also a capable magician. He encouraged his son to take over the act. Junior did the exact routine with every gesture exactly as done by his father. During a recent (to that time) run at the Music Hall, Junior substituted for his father for one performance and nobody knew the difference. Junior carried on the act in Los Angeles with the

Ice Capades The Ice Capades were traveling entertainment shows featuring theatrical ice skating performances. Shows often featured former Winter Olympic Games, Olympic and United States Figure Skating Championships, US National Champion figure skating, figur ...

.''Billboard'', May 23, 1942 Following a performance at

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

's Roxy Theater, on May 16, 1942, he took five curtain calls; he turned to Buck Wheeler, the Roxy stage manager, and said "They're still applauding." Then he walked over to the backstage elevator and, while applause was still being heard, died of a heart attack. He was inducted into The International Clown Hall of Fame in 1994. He was married to Maria 'Rialto' Truccot Prols, a former singer, who ran Mother Rialto's tavern in

Bellvale, New York Bellvale is a wooded Hamlet (New York), hamlet in the town of Warwick, New York, Warwick in Orange County, New York, Orange County, New York (state), New York, United States. Situated in the morning shadow of Bellvale Mountain along New York State ...

with him and their later daughter-in-law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Joe Circus performers from Austria-Hungary 1873 births 1942 deaths Austrian vaudeville performers Austrian cyclists American vaudeville performers Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States