Frick and Frack

1953 press photo of Frick (bottom) and Frack (top)

Frick and Frack were a comedic ice skating duo of Swiss skaters who went to the United States in 1937 and joined the original Ice Follies show. "Frick" was Werner Groebli (21 April 1915 – 14 April 2008), born in Basel. "Frack" was Hans Rudolf "Hansruedi" Mauch (2 May 1919 – 4 June 1979), also born in Basel. Frick and Frack were known for often skating in Alpine Lederhosen while performing eccentric tricks on ice, including the "cantilever spread-eagle", created by Groebli; and Mauch's "rubber legs", twisting and bending his legs while skating in a spread eagle position. Only a few skaters have successfully performed the duo's routines since.

Michael Mauch, the son of Hans, described the origin of their names: "Frick took his name from a small village in Switzerland; Frack is a Swiss-German word for a frock coat, which my father used to wear in the early days of their skating act. They put the words together as a typical Swiss joke."[1]

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