Kolb and Dill

Kolb and Dill was the stage name of the vaudeville team founded by Clarence Kolb and Max Dill. Background Kolb and Dill were born in Cleveland, Ohio, and were boyhood friends who decided to go into show business together. The book Vaudeville Old & New lists their prominence and earliest records dating to 1901. Early acts The earliest newspaper mention highlights Kolb and Dill's act as part of a new bill at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, in 1899. On September 3, 1899, the Cedar Point listed a change in their bill which noted that "Ferrell and Starck, comedy trick bicyclists, always keep their audiences in a roar with their humorous act and will be complimented in their mirth-provoking efforts by Kolb and Dill, the German comedians." The ad on the fourth page of the paper, however, positioned their act over Ferrell and Starck and noted that the production would be a Sunday matinee and run daily for the week. The act they were performing was named "Together Side by Each" and described by the paper as "very funny" and noted that the bill listed some of the best performers of the vaudeville stage. The Times of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, featured an article on September 24, 1899, that noted Fred Irwin's "Majestic Burlesquers" were going to be performing at the Trocadero and that Kolb and Dill, billed as the German comedians, were a part of the act. Fred Irwin was a noted producer whose "Majestic Burlesquers" was new, but popular in December 1898. The performance at the Trocadero was noted as having "plenty to keep the large attendance fully entertained." Kolb and Dill would continue their act as it moved to the Star Theater in Brooklyn, New York. The Indianapolis News noted that the act had performed in the Empire theatre on February 5, 1900, again citing Kolb and Dill's continued role in the bill. A week later they were noted in Saint Louis, Missouri, on February 11, 1900. They had a performance at Sam T. Jack's Theater on March 4, 1900. The performance later moved to Kernan's Theater for a week of performances in mid-March. The "Majestic Burlesquers" would return to the Trocadero in May 1900.