In the last half of the 19th century hardly a name in the wolrd of papular entertainment was better known than the Hanlon brothers. As daredevil acrobats they dazzled audiences in every part of the world. Superb pantomimists, they became the toasts of Paris with their macabre sketches and fantastic trickwork which included an on-stage smash-up of a horse carriage, a realistic train wreck, and a haunted house scene with pursuits, leaps, juggling feats and a decapitation illusion! The plot employed a mixture of circus techniques, stage magic, music and explosive scenic effects. The brothers' brilliant pantomime and knockabout comedy laid the groundwork for Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and many other comedians of the sient film era. As masters of acrobatic feats, comic effects and theatrical illusions, the Hanlon brothers have never been surpassed. This book, the first complete study of the Hanlon brothers, is the result of twenty years of research by the author.