About the Book
Jester Prince is the story of The Flying Karamazov Brothers comedy/theatre/musical/juggling troupe and their rise from San Francisco street corners and Renaissance Fairs to Broadway, television, film, and Carnegie Hall. It traces how the author's Ashkenazi and Scots-Irish ancestry launched him into a childhood in suburban Los Angeles just as the Hippie Revolution exploded, inspiring a biology prodigy to take up the juggling balls that would change the course of his life and open unexpected possibilities. In college, he and the unpredictable, ambitious Sephardic guy across the hall began to explore ways to invent handmade theatre, trying anything that worked, from madrigals to magic, tap dance to martial arts to ballet, to juggling sickles, hatchets and torches. The troupe's climb, step by wild step from the bottomest bottom to the heights of fame (if not exactly fortune), is paralleled by the author's own attempts to live out his bold ideals of anarchistic community in both his professional and personal lives. Adventures with cultural icons and celebrities abound, including: living with counter-culture hero Ken Kesey, traveling with the Grateful Dead, doing laundry with poet Allen Ginsburg, and brandishing knives and guns with Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson; juggling in Jimmy Carter's White House, then insulting Ronald Reagan on stage at The Kennedy Center; film-making in Morocco, on horse- and camel-back, with Danny De Vito, Michael Douglas, and Kathleen Turner; stage and TV shows with Robin Williams, Dolly Parton, Frank Sinatra, Jay Leno, and Jerry Seinfeld; chats about The Theatre with monumental playwright Sir Tom Stoppard; and shenanigans aplenty with fellow "New Vaudevillians" Avner the Eccentric, Bill Irwin, Artis the Spoonman, and Penn & Teller. Their travels brought them around the (primarily) English-speaking world, from London's West End, the Edinburgh Festival and Ireland's biggest TV show to festivals and theaters in Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, and Israel, running their odd comedy experiment on vastly different populations and observing the sometimes surprising effects. The Karamazovs explored dozens of ways to evocatively demonstrate the inherent musicality of Juggling, and did their best to forever quell the feeling of universal disappointment for both audiences and jugglers when a club is dropped. Though the act of juggling with its philosophical, neurological, and metaphorical implications was their first love, the book aims to end the misconception that The Flying Karamazov Brothers have ever been "just" a juggling act.
Includes How To Juggle instructions!
About the Author :
Howard Jay Patterson is a musician, composer, author, actor, juggler, bandleader, and environmental ecologist, best known as a founding member of The Flying Karamazov Brothers. The troupe helped launch the "New Vaudeville" movement, blending comedy, juggling, theatre, music, dance, and social commentary in performances worldwide, including Broadway and London's West End, major international festivals, extensive North American and global tours, and collaborations with leading orchestras including the National Symphony, Boston Pops, and the Cincinnati Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Their work earned an Obie Award, an Emmy, and nominations for Olivier and Ovation awards, along with hundreds of television appearances, including "The Tonight Show" and "Seinfeld". The Karamazovs collaborated with artists such as Robin Williams, Dolly Parton, Bobby McFerrin, and The Grateful Dead, and set attendance records with their version of Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors", which represented the US in Classic Theatre at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Theater Festival, and which became PBS' first "Live from Lincoln Center" broadcast that was neither classical music nor dance. Their theatrical works include ""L'Histoire du Soldat", "The Flying Karamazov Brothers in The Brothers Karamazov", "Room Service", "The Three Moscowteers", "Club Sandwich", and "L'Universe", a collaboration with MIT. They also appeared in the major motion picture "The Jewel of the Nile," in which Mr. Patterson was an uncredited fight choreographer and wherein they did most of their own stunts. Howard has worked extensively as an environmental educator and field ecologist. He was trained by the Hon. Al Gore to present live versions of "The Inconvenient Truth", and devised an eight-minute lightening version which he presented in variety shows. He currently co-manages the Boise Eliot Native Grove habitat restoration pollinator pocket park project, and lives in Portland, Oregon, where he is blissfully enjoying extensive time with his delightful grandsons.
Review :
Reviewed by Carol Thompson for Readers' Favorite Howard Jay Patterson's Jester Prince: How the Flying Karamazov Brothers Reinvented Theatre and Saved the World, Almost chronicles the unlikely rise of The Flying Karamazov Brothers, from improvised performances on San Francisco streets and at Renaissance Fairs to stages including Broadway, Carnegie Hall, and television studios worldwide. The memoir opens with Patterson's family history and childhood in suburban Los Angeles, set against the social upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s. A gifted science student drawn to curiosity and experimentation, he finds his way to juggling while searching for a form of expression that combines intellect, play, and communal experience. In college, a chance meeting with a daring, imaginative roommate sparks an ongoing experiment in handmade theater. What follows is a detailed account of the troupe's formation and evolution as they blend juggling with music, movement, comedy, and theatrical invention.
Howard Jay Patterson's writing is energetic, reflective, and detailed, suited to a story built on motion and invention. He moves comfortably between personal reflection, cultural observation, and backstage storytelling, giving readers a clear sense of how ideas were tested, discarded, and reshaped over time. The pacing mirrors the rhythms of a long, creative life. Readers who enjoy memoirs about the artistic process will appreciate how Patterson explains his experimentation, failure, and revision without reducing them to simple lessons. Theater lovers, performers, and anyone curious about collaborative creativity will appreciate the behind-the-scenes look at touring life and ensemble work, along with the accompanying photographs. Jester Prince invites readers into a world where play and discipline coexist, and where art is treated not merely as a spectacle but as a shared inquiry performed before a live audience. It's one of the most fascinating books I've ever read.
Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite
Jester Prince by Howard Jay Patterson is a monumental memoir of one of the founding members of the famous vaudeville-style juggling group, The Flying Karamazov Brothers. The author takes us on a journey from his earliest days in Los Angeles to his seminal time at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he and his friends honed their skills. A succession of performances at various Renaissance Fairs led to Broadway, television appearances, a role in the movie The Jewel of the Nile, and ultimately all entertainers' dream, a performance at Carnegie Hall. The Karamazov Brothers would change personnel from time to time, as individual circumstances changed, but the author's role continued for thirty years until his retirement in early 2007. Readers will be swept along on a momentous journey of thrilling the world with extraordinary feats of juggling, comedy, music, and satire.
The author carries you along on a roller-coaster of emotions and experiences in his incredible life story. The Flying Karamazov Brothers truly were a product of their time. Their unique brand of entertainment, combining juggling with serious political commentary, as well as comedic banter, was perfect for a generation looking to assert their own unique lifestyle ideals on a conservative nation. The highlight of the many anecdotes and stories was the time the group spent filming The Jewel of the Nile in Morocco. You will enjoy the excitement of a major movie production and the skilled stunts the group was expected to perform. The glitterati that they rubbed shoulders with remind readers of just how successful these entertainers were. From Robin Williams, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Seinfeld, and Dolly Parton, the number of A-List celebrities they met was just phenomenal. As a non-musical person myself and one who is rather uncoordinated, I did appreciate the author outlining the basic principles of learning to juggle. What it made me understand was the commitment and passion needed to succeed in an industry where they would forever be struggling to show their skills as true entertainment and art. Jester Prince is one of the best memoirs I have read in a long time, and I highly recommend it.
Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
In his memoir Jester Prince: How the Flying Karamazov Brothers Reinvented Theatre and Saved the World, Almost, Howard Jay Patterson shares a life spent keeping The Flying Karamazov Brothers in motion. What begins as juggling with Paul becomes paid work after the group names itself on the road to Expo '74. From that point on, Howard commits to making the act public. He moves the group from Renaissance Faires into fixed engagements, then into larger theaters, and eventually onto Broadway. As the scale of the work increases, Howard's responsibilities increase with it. Touring expands beyond the United States and draws his family into the traveling life as he continues to push the company forward while adapting to the demands created by success, until injury and exhaustion start calling the shots.
Jester Prince by Howard Jay Patterson lured me in with a cover that reminded me of Fleetwood Mac's Rumors cover, and kept me reading with a supremely conversational writing style. It feels like a conversation across a table; immediately approachable with prose that is grounded in lived experience. Patterson's language is incredibly visual, the standout being his account of arriving at the Edinburgh Festival, where rain darkened the stone streets and backstage superstition quietly made sure that behavior was on point. Most of what he describes is often more cinematic than the excellent photography beside those very descriptions. Troupes are becoming less common. Patterson situates his work inside a specific social and historical setting, the mostly international touring culture in the late twentieth century, and the shifting reception of experimental performance within public festivals. Overall, Patterson gives us a vibrant time capsule from a perspective that is fresh, distinctive, and alive. Very highly recommended.
