26 January 2005

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.

2 comments:

durlx said...

...I heard the term "Frick and Frack" used to refer to two individuals for most of my life, (my mother used the term), but never knew where it came from.

Exguyparis said...

Wow...
Frick and Frack.

I am REALLY loving your trips down memory lane!

Moi