The first movie I ever remember watching was Freaks, directed by Tod Browning, which was made in 1932.

It left a lasting impression that I would watch it repeatedly every few months. One actor in the movie stood out to me. His name was Harry Earles.

Harry Earles was a stage name and would also perform under the name of Harry Doll. He was born on April 3, 1902, as Kurt Schneider in Stoplen, Germany. Acting and performing was a natural thing for Harry because he and his family were all performers. They called the group “The Doll Family.”

The Doll Family consisted of family members Kurt, Hilda, Frieda, and Tiny. They were popular in the circuses and sideshows in the United States from 1915- until the group decided to retire in 1958. They regularly performed circuses like Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, singing, dancing, and performing.

Kurt and his sisters migrated from Germany to California in 1916 due to their father’s insistence that they should work in show business. Soon after they arrived in California, Kurt and his sisters met Bert W. Earles and his wife, who were agents and quickly had the group signed to them. Kurt and his sisters, Hilda and Frieda, decided to change their names. Kurt became Harry Earles, Hilda changed her name to Daisy Earles, and Frieda became Gracie Earles. All four of them changed their last name to Earles, after their manager, to have a more memorable last name for films.

(Daisy Earles and Harry Earles are pictured above.)

However, all four changed their last name again in 1926 to Doll when their manager unexpectedly passed away.

Harry was the first out of the four to have a film career when he was hired to be part of a Tod Browning/ Lon Chaney movie called “The Unholy Three” (1925).

Harry played a character named Tweedledee. He is part of a gang from a show side of the circus who get together and rob many businesses.

When sound was becoming a new feature of movies, “The Unholy Three” was made again in 1930 with a different director, but Harry was asked to be part of that movie as well. Harry and his family did double duty, performing in the circus and many comedies with Laurel and Hardy.

It was not until 1932 that Harry and his sister Daisy were the main actors in the movie by Tod Browning called Freaks:

There was a lot of backlash to this movie when it was released, and it was banned in England or deeply re-edited in many countries, including the US.

Tod Browning with the Doll family pictured above.

Harry went on to play a feature role as part of the Lollipop Guild in The Wizard of Oz.

Harry is the one in the blue on the right. His sister was also part of the film and played extra roles as Munchkins during the Yellow Brick Road scenes.

However, there were not a lot of role options for Harry and his family, so they went back to touring through sideshows until they all retired in 1958.

Harry and his family were very close, so they pooled their earnings from the circus and bought a house in Sarasota, Florida, to all live in. They ordered custom furniture to make the home more livable, and they all lived there until their deaths. Harry passed away on May 4,1985, at the age of 83.