HACKENSCHMIDT and COMPANY

Colonist, Volume LII, Issue 12767, 8 February 1910, Page 2

HACKENSCHMIDT and COMPANY

The new English vaudeville entertainers ar© to appear at the Theatre Royal for a fow evenings, commencing next Thursday evening under the direction of Messrs Baker and Talbot. This new organisation is for the most part comprised of imported artists, who include Clifford Eskell, a niigiciah who performs all his tricks without the aid of mirrors or stage proper: ties, his feats are guaranteed original ; Mark Osborne, the London musical entertainer, who earned a big reputation in his refined work at th© piano ; while Blanche Carelli is possibly the finest lyric soprano that has been heard in New Zealand; Hackenschmidt ,the famous Russian wrestler possesses a record in athletics such, as few, if any, men hold in the world to-day, both in prowess and in the arena. The inspiring and prodigious physique of George Hackenschmidt fascinated Bergas, the famous German sculptor, to such an extent -"-hat ho made the mighty Russian many tempting monetary offers to remain in the German capital for a period and sit, or rather stand, for studies of the ancient masters. Bergas completed one heroic statue of Hackenschmidt, as "Prometheus Bound," besides which, it is said, even the classic Hercules no longer apears gigantic. Hackcnschmklt's father was German, and his mother Swedish; He was born in th© city of Jurief, in the Baltic provinces of Russia, on July 20th, 1877. After graduating from the local gymnasium he went to St. Petersburg to j study civil engineering at the univer- ! sity, but at this time he defeated Paul Pons, champion wrestler of the world. Since then he has thrown all champions delivered into his' hands. The box plans are now open at Jacksons.