Russell Nesbit

Russell Nesbit was an acrobat, coach, and leader of the Flying Nesbits, who performed live and on television beginning in the 1950s. He was also an art model in the Washington metropolitan area from the late 1940s until the 1990s. He died in November 2001 of colon cancer at the age of 81.

Early life Charles James Russell Nesbit was born (c. 1920) in Statesville, North Carolina, They were also part of the half-time performances with the Harlem Globetrotters and breaks during games of Negro league baseball teams while touring with the Birmingham Black Barons and the Indianapolis Clowns. On road trips, parents and a tutor accompanied the troupe. Commenting on the Detroit Stars, Lawrence D. Hogan notes that in 1955 the team was likely better known for the performance of the Flying Nesbits.

In the 1950s they were on live TV, with appearances on The Original Amateur Hour and the ABC program Super Circus. A specialty of the troupe was "risley", Nesbit juggling a young member of the team on his feet while doing a shoulder stand. While continuing to perform as amateurs for prizes or expenses, they would audition to become a professional circus act, but had only brief runs. Ebony magazine reported John Ringling North saying that "Nesbit would be a great Big Top performer — if he were white".

In 1962 Nesbit walked down the interior staircase of the Washington Monument on his hands. The 898 steps required one hour and 38 minutes, besting a prior time set in 1951. Not having permission from the Interior Department, the stunt was done with only a photographer, an editor from Ebony Magazine, and his girlfriend to record his time. A previous attempt in 1953, also without permission, had been stopped just short of finishing by a park ranger.

As part of the Civil rights movement, the Flying Nesbits performed at marches in DC, such as Solidarity Day and at the Poor People's Campaign, both in 1968.

Art modeling Acrobatics never becoming a full-time profession, Nesbit had a variety of "day jobs". One occupation that spanned decades was modeling for art classes at the art schools and colleges in the Washington area, often for the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design. for the "Little Paris Group" founded by Lois Mailou Jones and Céline Marie Tabary as an alternative for African-American artists ignored by the arts establishment in Washington, DC. He continued posing into his 70s, often taking acrobatic postures such as headstands. Delilah Pierce Alma Thomas