Jerry Schurr
The Entertainer

Jerry Schurr's Resume

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The Entertainment of Jerry Schurr

Courtesy of "Showboat Magazine" 1991

Jerry Schurr sometimes uses a spoon for eating.

But more often than not, he uses the spoon to play a tune.

And you can find him playing his repetoire of whimsical riverboat songs along the Bourbon Street thoroughfare in Showboat.

Jerry is one of the Hallway Entertainers performing Friday through Sunday each week with off-beat instruments such as a nose flute, washtub bass and auto harp, that have been proven to be extremely popular with Showboat guests.

When he is not performing at Showboat, Jerry is one of the nation's acclaimed printmakers, whose works of art have been hung in the Smithsonian, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and other leading museums and galleries across the country. His works have commanded prices in five figures.

"I play the spoons and other instruments because it is almost like therapy; it is exciting and spontaneous," he explained. "Art is so intense and I need a release, and playing the spoons is such great relaxation."

The 51-year-old Schurr, who graduated from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, took up spoon playing in 1963 when he attended a music festival and saw it being done. "The fellow there said there was nothing to it. All you needed was a sense of rhythm and the nerve to do it," Jerry said, "and I have that."

All you do, he explained, is take a pair of spoons and beat it, with rhythm, between your free hand and knees.

He had been spoon playing in a jug band (whose instruments looked like they were designed by Rube Goldberg) for the past 10 years when he got a call from a booking agent asking him if wanted to perform at Showboat.

"I thought it was a joke, but then I thought it would be great fun," he said. "A lot of people coming out of the casino or restaurant do a double take when they see and hear me. Then many of them join in spur-of-the-moment sing-alongs. It's terrific," he exclaimed.

What kind of spoons does Jerry play?

"You can use anything, from soup spoons to teaspoons. It all depends on what sound you want to produce," he said. "But when its warm, I use iced teaspoons. It keeps the music cool."