George Hoffman 1912 - 2008
That Uncle with the Handlebar Moustache and the Magic Dice
Frank Miles of Toronto, Canada writes to us with this tribute to his late uncle, George Hoffman.
"My uncle, George Hoffman, passed away yesterday at nearly age 96 here in Toronto. For the past 4 years or so, he kept his moustache fairly trimmed. Before that time, he had a pretty wild handle bar moustache. Between the 'stache and his crazy eyes, he looked like a real character. He lost his wife, my Aunt Iris, earlier this year (age 97) and passed away July 5 at home."
George can be seen in this 1947 cutting from The Herald, as the Handlebar Club was launched:
"Now, at age 96, it is unlikely you have many members who knew him. However, if you check out your archives, there is George Hoffman putting on a show for the cameras in 1948."
HANDLEBARS across the ocean. The Handlebar Club toasts member George Hoffman, who is emigrating to Canada with his 8¼-inch moustache.
"When Uncle George arrived in Toronto from the UK in 1948, he was given celebrity status by the newspaper. He once showed me a picture of himself on the cover of a Toronto newspaper, celebrating his arrival, surrounded by 4 lovely stewardesses!!"
"Only a couple of years back, he told me a bit about his younger years. He mentioned joining the Handlebar Club and meeting a Jimmy Edwards, who taught him a trick that opened many doors for him. You see, Uncle George was famous in the family for two things: the moustache, and his magic dice."
"He had this trick where he rotated dice and had you guess the number of spots. Once you were confident in the number of spots that would appear, something would happen and you were left scratching your head at why the number of spots had changed. He infuriated many of my cousins when they were young and myself (no one has figured it out). He would bring his dice to family functions and do the trick for unsuspecting friends of the family. It was like a right of initiation into the family, getting fooled by that uncle with the handlebar moustache and the dice."
"Fifteen years ago he was hospitalized for a week. Aunt Iris knew he was doing better when he asked her to bring in his magic dice, as she knew he was going to put on a show for the doctors and nurses - at age 81!!"
Frank Miles