Frick & Frack

I continue to marvel at how a visual from a film can retrieve a whole world from the past. tonite I watchd a little Monogram feature from 1943 calld "Silver Skates." it was abt an ice show & brought back such fond memories. I was 7 when I saw my 1st such show Ice Capades. abt 4 months later I saw the Ice Follies for the initial time. both shows paid annual visits to Cleveland when I was a boy & Mom & Dad & I went as often as we cd.

tonite's film featurd the comedy duo of Swiss skaters Frick and Frack. they came to the US in 1937 & were stars of the Ice Follies. Werner Groebli & Hans Mauch were famous for performing the cantilver spread eagle. I saw them twice before Mauch became ill with a bone disease (he died in 1979). Groebli   billing himself as Mr. Frick   went on as a solo for years. I saw his act 3 times. this year he turns 90. I read that he splits his year between Palm Springs & Zurich.

amazingly it's been more than a half century since the team performd together but their name remains a part of pop culture. besides 2 of the Backstreet Boys appropriating the name it's been used for cats   dogs   mice & even our current president & his veep.

it was a delight to see Frick and Frack perform again. & to remember as well those skating stars of the past: Donna Atwood   Richard Dwyer   the Old Smoothies. I still have all my programs. they're torn & tatterd but bring back endless happy childhood memories.