Groebli, Werner Fritz

▪ 2009

“Frick” 

      Swiss ice skater and comedian

born April 21, 1915, Basel, Switz.

died April 14, 2008, Zürich, Switz.

delighted audiences for more than 45 years (1934–80), first as half of the skating comedy team Frick and Frack and then as Mr. Frick after his partner, Hansruedi Mauch (“Frack”), was forced to retire in the 1950s because of health problems. The pair, who joined the Ice Follies in 1939, executed their slapstick comedy routines on the ice with perfect timing and exceptional athleticism, and Groebli continued to do his trademark cantilever spread eagle (in which he bent backwards at the knees to within inches of the ice) until well into his 60s. He was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1984.

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