[6][7] The name came from the original Dante, Oscar Eliason (1869–1899),[8] who had been killed in a tragic hunting accident in Australia years earlier.

[11] Dante and his troupe, consisting of between 25 and 40 performers, made several global trips and appeared in many U.S. theaters.

His stage trademark was to utter three nonsense words, "Sim Sala Bim"[12] (taken from the lyrics of a Danish children's song),[13][14][15][16] during his performances to acknowledge applause.

Dante also appeared as himself in Racket Busters (1938), A-Haunting We Will Go (1942), and Bunco Squad (1950),[22]: 126  and played a character role in Jean Renoir's The Golden Coach (1952).

[25][26][27] With television, the public stayed home more often, and the world of variety theatre suffered drastically.

Gone were the variety theaters of the world, and with it were the large traveling magic productions that had thrilled and mystified millions for generations.