Entertainer. She was a Hungarian-born circus performer for Barnum & Bailey and was the first Tinker Bell at Disneyland. In 1905, Kline immigrated to the United States with a dance troupe. She lived at the Clara de Hirsch home for immigrant girls. She started as a burlesque dancer, but moved on to perform in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as Tiny Duchée. There, she met rodeo trick rider Otto Kreinbrink (stage name Otto Kline). Two years later, they married. When he died during a ride, she took over and learned acrobatic tricks, including the "aerial iron jaw act", where she would be suspended by the mouth on a long glide wire. In 1961, Walt Disney began a search for a Tinker Bell to wow crowds at Disneyland. At the age of 70, Kline was hired to glide down a wire connecting the Matterhorn to Sleeping Beauty's Castle, stopped by a mattress at the end of the wire. She retired and died in 1964, leaving the bulk of her estate to the Clara de Hirsch Home.
Entertainer. She was a Hungarian-born circus performer for Barnum & Bailey and was the first Tinker Bell at Disneyland. In 1905, Kline immigrated to the United States with a dance troupe. She lived at the Clara de Hirsch home for immigrant girls. She started as a burlesque dancer, but moved on to perform in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as Tiny Duchée. There, she met rodeo trick rider Otto Kreinbrink (stage name Otto Kline). Two years later, they married. When he died during a ride, she took over and learned acrobatic tricks, including the "aerial iron jaw act", where she would be suspended by the mouth on a long glide wire. In 1961, Walt Disney began a search for a Tinker Bell to wow crowds at Disneyland. At the age of 70, Kline was hired to glide down a wire connecting the Matterhorn to Sleeping Beauty's Castle, stopped by a mattress at the end of the wire. She retired and died in 1964, leaving the bulk of her estate to the Clara de Hirsch Home.
Bio courtesy of: Wikipedia
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