Tiny Kline (born Helén Deutsch,
[Kline, Tiny. (2008). ''Circus Queen and Tinker Bell: The Memoir of Tiny Kline''. Edited by Janet M. Davis. University of Illinois Press.] June 21, 1891 - July 5, 1964) was a
Hungarian-born
[Tinker Bell bio](_blank)
on MousePlanet. Retrieved on 2009-10-14. circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
performer. She performed with
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey and as
Tinker Bell
Tinker Bell is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie's 1904 play '' Peter Pan'' and its 1911 novelisation '' Peter and Wendy''. She has appeared in a variety of film and television adaptations of the Peter Pan stories, in particular the 1953 ...
at
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
. Kline's most well-known act was the "slide for life," a variation of traditional
iron jaw performance in which she slid down a wire from tall buildings or other structures by her teeth.
Early life and career
In 1905, Kline
immigrated
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...
to the United States with a dance troupe.
New York port records indicate that she was born in Magyar, Hungary and was 15 years old when she arrived. She lived at the Clara de Hirsch home for immigrant girls.
She started as a
burlesque dancer
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. and performed in clubs and music halls. Kline made headlines in 1912 when a ''Pittsburgh Press'' article titled "Witnesses forget and dancer gets off with costs," detailed a misdemeanor charge against the performer following "an alleged ultra-risqué performance in a singing hall in Bloomfield" earlier that year. The article stated that Kline was arrested for dancing in "what the authorities declared
icwas too scanty attire." The witnesses could not corroborate the charges and Kline was allowed to go after paying her court fees.
Marriage to Otto Kline
In 1914, Kline moved on to perform in the
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as Tiny Duchée.
[Ladley, Diane A. ''Haunted Naperville.'' Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2009. 87.] There, she met and later married rodeo trick rider Otto Kreinbrink (stage name Otto Kline). In April 1915 he fractured his skull during a performance at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
and died of injuries. After her husband's death, she began to use the name Tiny Kline. In 1917, on the second anniversary of Otto's death, Kline performed in the Roman standing race at the same venue, stating "we circus people have to learn to hide our sorrows under many bright colors. Otto has been dead two years, but I haven't found anything in life to take his place. That is why I wanted to learn to ride. I thought it might take me back to where he is."
Iron Jaw
In 1919, Kline began years of training for the iron jaw performance, after incurring fellow performer
Lillian Leitzel
Lillian Leitzel (born Leopoldina Alitza Pelikan; 2 January 1892 – 15 February 1931) was a German-born acrobat who specialized in performing on the Roman rings, for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. The inaugural (posthumous) ...
grew angry at her for performing on the still rings, Leitzel's specialty.
Kline eventually perfected her signature "slide for life" act, in which she would slide down a wire, typically from tall buildings or structure, by her teeth.
One of her most notable slides for life occurred in 1932 when Kline slid from the top of the
Hotel Edison
Hotel Edison is at 228 West 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Opened in 1931, it is part of the Triumph Hotels brand, owned by Shimmie Horn and Gerald Barad. Thomas Edison turned on the lights when it opened. It accommodated 1,0 ...
to the roof of the Prospect Theatre in New York City's famed
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
, a distance of more than 200 yards at a height of 27 stories.
[ Kline was arrested after the spectacle and charged with disorderly conduct.
]
Later life and death
In 1961, Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
began a search for a flying Tinker Bell
Tinker Bell is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie's 1904 play '' Peter Pan'' and its 1911 novelisation '' Peter and Wendy''. She has appeared in a variety of film and television adaptations of the Peter Pan stories, in particular the 1953 ...
to wow crowds at Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
. Kline was hired to glide down a wire connecting the Matterhorn to Sleeping Beauty's Castle. She retired from playing Tinker Bell in 1964. Kline was scheduled to return as Tinker Bell that same year, but she died from stomach cancer before coming out of retirement.
At the time of her death Kline left the bulk of her estate to the Clara de Hirsch Home for Working Girls. She is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood Inglewood may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Inglewood, Queensland
* Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area
*Inglewood, South Australia
*Inglewood, Victoria
*Inglewood, Western Australia
Canada
* Inglewood, Ontario
*Inglewoo ...
, Los Angeles, California. Her simple gravestone says "Tiny Helen Kline. Our Tinker Bell."
References
External links
*
Tiny Kline performs slide for life over Broadway in 1936
1891 births
1964 deaths
Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States
American circus performers
Disneyland
Burlesque performers
Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery
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