Saturday, December 15, 2007

JERRY SALAZAR


JERRY SALAZAR,

Student of Cellini master in his own right.

San Francisco - Fisherman’s Warf ‘s sidewalk Icon.


full time working pro on the sidewalk for over 40 years probably a lot more I don‘t remember how long.

Cellini talks about him in “The Royal Touch” he’s been around for years.

you can not see it in the picture, but he’s wearing knickers, it’s his signature look.

When I first saw jerry I had no idea who he was. He was doing a 3 ring routine on the sidewalk in the Fisherman’s Warf area.

He did it to music through his amp but he didn’t speak till it was over, then he went into patter for his cups and balls which had a couple of interesting moves, one that will fool you… another one of his signatures.

He was protective of his spot, very old school in his ways of thinking about territory, and this has worked well for him over the years in one of the most dangerous places to work in the country.

I asked him if he wanted to see my show and he gave me permission to work his spot for the one show. He was very strict and it was all business till I started performing and his face changed.

He was like a little kid I saw his first smile and he got excited, I realized that he just loved magic and show business you could tell why he got into it and why he had stuck with it for so many years.

After my show he took me out for coffee and we spent the evening talking shop and smoking cigarettes.

He told me about the old days with Cellini and all the old pros.

If you get a chance check him out, if your ever in Frisco on the Warf.

Class act, fun to watch, very elegant atmosphere. What I loved was he still does the trick called, “the sidewalk shuffle.”

Photobucket

HE HAS AN EXTREMELY CONVINCING CHARACTER OF A RUDYARD KIPLING PROFFESSOR TYPE, VERY CHARMING AND INTERESTING, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT FOR THE SPECTATOR NOT TO BE INTERESTED.

He’s written a book on the rings, you can track it down on the web.


to show you how much of an icon he is. he's in this mini documentry of buskers on fishermans warf, frisco;

2 comments:

Mike Russell said...

I was delighted to see your article about Mr. Salazar. I knew him back in the 70's, when we were both members of IBM ring 38. He was a character then, and it's great to see him still going strong!! Thanks.

Unknown said...

I met Jerry around 1984. It was great to read the article and see Mark's video on the warf. Gives me many memories