Horvath’s Midgets
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Horvath’s Midgets (owned and operated by S. Horvath) were a troupe from Hungary who billed themselves as “The Smallest People in the World”. While based in Europe they toured the U.S. several times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, sometimes with the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey sideshow. Decked out in evening clothes, the little people sang opera, danced ballet, performed magic and pantomime and generally cut up comedy capers for the enthralled throngs.
To find out more about the variety arts past and present, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold. And don’t miss Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, to be released by Bear Manor Media in 2013.
January 22, 2013 at 12:47 pm
Thanks for this. I wasn’t familiar with them. If you have any info to share about the Singer Midgets (many of whom later appeared in the Wizard of Oz), I’d love to see it.
January 22, 2013 at 5:35 pm
As a matter of fact, yes! We have a post on Singer’s Midgets scheduled for May 3 (Leo Singer’s birthday). I hope you’ll stay with us that long!
January 22, 2013 at 6:39 pm
Wouldn’t miss it. Thanks. This is
one of my favorite blogs.