Kolb and Dill

[1] 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.

"[2] 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.

[4] 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.

[9] 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.

[14] By June 25, Kolb and Dill are no longer mentioned as part of Irwin's "Majestic Burlesquers" in an act at the Suburban.

[19][20] Two more changes with venues, with the Chicago Opera House, Masonic Temple Theater, and Sans Souci occurred in mid-August.

[25] Kolb and Dill continued to perform at the Orpheum until at least October 4, before returning to Chicago's Hopkins theater in early November.

[31] On March 17, Kolb and Dill were again part of Fred Irwin's "Majestic Burlesquers" which were to perform for a week in the Trocado Theater.

[41][42] On June 30, the San Francisco Chronicle referred to Kolb and Dill as the main attraction of the first act called "Pousse Cafe" and mentioned that the theater was packed with a large attendance.

[57] A production with Mrs. Charles W. Rhodes, had Kolb and Dill "be-Dutch" the act which featured Wagner on March 25 and April 4.

[65] Kolb performed as "Specky" in "The Big Little Princess" and a strong man in "Quo Vass Iss" and Dill continued in the role of a Dutch comedian.

Their roles in "The Beauty Shop" production, by J. P. Crawford,[78] resulted in well-preserved details of the acts from the local newspapers.

Kolb and Dill play the roles of C. Schwabber Pilsner and Jay Bierpump Culmbacher, president of the "Pretzel Trust".

[83] On January 7, 1904, it was announced that Kolb and Dill would depart for a thirty-week tour of Australia with a company backed by Henry James.

[84] Kolb and Dill's contract included a salary and percentage basis, but exact details were not released in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The tour was planned to leave the second week of May and include a two-week stop in Honolulu, Hawaii, before opening in Auckland, New Zealand, and moving on to Sydney, Australia.

[citation needed][86][87] The production also held a two-week performance at the Grand Opera House, opening with "Hoity Toity" on April 17.

[92] On June 24, 1903, Kolb and Dill attended a boxing match to watch Jim Corbett fight Yank Kenny and Sam Berger; the theatrical celebrities' presence was prominently noted in the first paragraph of the article.

[94] As evidence of their success, the February 8 debut of Weber and Fields act did not reduce Kolb and Dill in the opinion of the San Francisco Chronicle.

[95] The Oakland Tribute went further and bluntly stated, "Weber and Fields are not as good in "Dutch" farce as are Kolb and Dill at Fischer's in San Francisco.