As you may have figured out by now, I know a lot of supremely talented people. One — who has powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men — is a juggler, comedian and magician named Charlie Frye. He and his spectacular wife/partner Sherry tour the world with an act that is like a piece of expert ballet, only funny and amazing. I used to go see Charlie in Vegas revues (for a long time, he was the star act in the Folies Bergere at the Tropicana) and even drunken frat boys would get impatient for the topless ladies to clear the stage so Charlie could come back out and juggle more Indian Clubs.
One of the first times I took Carolyn to that city, we went to see Charlie and Sherry do what they do so well, and went out to a late dinner with them after. Charlie was still in a performing mood so he started juggling everything on the table — and I mean everything, including a bowl of New England Clam Chowder I'd ordered. He didn't spill a clam. At one point, he balanced a spoon on his nose, did a little flip of his head and suddenly, it was tucked behind his ear. This is not humanly possible but he did it…and you'll see him do it in the video below. Carolyn turned to me after and said, "You have unusual friends." She meant that in a good way.
Here are two videos of Charlie doing impossible things. The first is a promo for his act, and I don't think it does him justice, but it'll give you some idea of how good he is…
And now, here's Charlie doing magic — the classic Cups and Balls, done about as well as it can be done. This is from a series of videos he has out called Eccentricks. On them, Charlie teaches you how to do an array of neat things…magic, juggling, physical comedy and little stunts that can make you, as they say, the life of any party. They're just great and if you don't want to learn to do this kind of stuff, I'll bet you know a youngster who'd flip for them. Order from Charlie's website.