with a company backed by Henry James. The group was known as the American Travesty Company. Kolb and Dill's contract included a salary and percentage basis, but exact details were not released in the San Francisco Chronicle. Kolb's wife, Charlotte Vidot, was also going to be a part of the trip. 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. Later the trip was announced to include New Zealand. The acts on the tour were "Fiddle Dee-Dee", "Pousse Cafe", "Whirly Gig" (Whirl-I-Gig) and "Hoity Toity". After their final act on March 6, Kolb and Dill headed to New York only to return for more performances prior to their tour. Kolb and Dill returned on April 11 only to perform at the St. Mary's Alumni Concert in San Francisco's Alhambra Theater on April 12. The production also held a two-week performance at the Grand Opera House, opening with "Hoity Toity" on April 17. The second week featured "Fiddle Dee-Dee" and "Whirl-I-Gig", before departing for Australia, though "Big Little Princess" was also added to the bill. Kolb and Dill's farewell act was on May 1 and they departed for Australia on May 5 on the Sierra at 2:10 p.m. heading to Honolulu. Popularity 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. Kolb and Dill's fame in traveling around the Midwest before staying at the Fischer's for three years was noted by a column in The Inter Ocean noting that Weber and Fields may not compare to Kolb and Dill's fame, despite having imitated their method and jokes, when the originals come to San Francisco. 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. 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." References Vaudeville performers