Biography

Hard to believe, but before 1976 Dick Franco had never set foot on a stage! It was summer of 1971 in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio that his buddy, Joe Sullivan, taught him how to juggle three balls. “It was really hard” says Dick, “It took me a couple of days to get it going, but finally I got it! It was like getting hit by a truck! Everything stopped and all I could see was those three balls going around in front of me.”

A few years passed, Dick was a part time college student at Youngstown State University and was working full time as a truck dispatcher. He was still juggling! By 1974 juggling had become the motivating factor in his life. School and work began to take second place. While still maintaining a full schedule, Dick managed to find the time to practice six hours a day. In four years he developed an amount of juggling skill that would normally require fifteen years of expert instruction. It wasn’t long before he was paying more attention to juggling than he was to his job or school. Something had to give!

In 1975 Dick quit his job and hit the road to look for work as a juggler. Things went slow at first. He worked a lot of small circus shows and sometimes would end up working on the streets and passing the hat when there was no other work to be found. Finally, in 1977, while performing in a Fort Wayne, Indiana shopping mall, Dick was seen by a talent scout for the world famous Harlem Globetrotters basketball show. They loved his act and signed him to a three-year contract that took him to more than twenty countries!

In late 1979, in France, Dick got off the Globetrotter tour and decided to try his luck where the competition would never be tougher, on the European nightclub circuit. He was an overnight success and was held over in Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and finally at the world famous Savoy Hotel in London. While at the Savoy, Dick was invited to compete in the prestigious “Circus World Championships” competition. Although he was new to Europe and the clear underdog, Dick firmly established his name in Europe by winning the Gold Medal and title of “World Champion” which he successfully defended in 1986 and still holds today!

Word of Dick’s Gold Medal conquest spread across Europe and reached the desk of Prince Ranier of Monaco who was the host of the prestigious Monte Carlo Circus Festival. Dick was invited to attend the seventh annual festival in 1980. The festival is comprised of forty acts of different nature, aerial, animal, single acts and troupes all competing for prizes. In the previous six festivals that featured more than 280 artists, no juggler had ever won a major prize. Dick figured little chance to do well against such competition and was happy just to get the exposure. On the second night of the competition he presented a flawless routine and received what was to be, by far, the grandest ovation of the event. On the final gala night Dick performed once again and was presented with the “Silver Clown” award by Princess Grace of Monaco and also received two other “special prizes” from the European press, a feat unprecedented in circus festival history! Following the festival, Dick rode his wave of success all over Europe to play nearly every major theater, hotel, night club and television show!

Dick returned to the USA in 1981 to continue on his roll by playing all of the best entertainment venues in America. He’s become a regular in Las Vegas, Reno, Miami and Atlantic City where he still holds the record of the longest running variety entertainer! In 1982 he was featured on ABC TV’s hit series “That’s Incredible” where he juggled up to 5 pingpong balls using only his mouth! In 1982 Dick began searching for a new idea to present in juggling. Never to be outdone, he figured out how to juggle 3 running chainsaws, OUCH!, a feat he has since performed on more than 25 major Television shows and has become world famous for!

After 25 years, Dick is still a very active and busy performer. He still jumps back and forth between Europe and America, on and off the cruise ships and has recently discovered Japan as being a place where his talents are greatly appreciated!

In addition to his juggling and performing talents, Dick is also an avid painter! His renderings of jugglers grace walls the world over and depict famous jugglers of the Vaudeville era. He has also authored two of the most popular instructional books on the art of juggling. His very first video project just happens to be the work his is most proud of. It’s a documentary on the life of his friend and mentor, Cleveland, Ohio born Vaudeville performer, Bobby May. Entitled “A Great American Juggler”, this thirty-minute film has shown on television worldwide!

With Dick Franco …one thing is for sure….the best is always getting better!