Lyman Twins of Altamonte, famous Vaudeville stage actors

The comedians settled in Seminole County after retiring from a 15-year career, thrilling audiences around the country.

It’s not every day that genuine celebrities move to town! The citizens of tiny Altamonte Springs were delighted when the famous “Lyman Twins” decided to retire a mile west of their fern-cultivating village in 1911.

During the height of the Vaudeville era, Howard and Herbert Lyman were headliners that packed theaters for up to a dozen performances in some large cities. Their gags became legendary and inspired many that came after them, including the Marx Brothers.

Howard and Herbert were originally from Michigan and started performing locally in Grand Haven at 17 years old in 1895. Two years later they got their first break and started touring with the Holden Comedy Team.

At that point, the twins were unknowns and not featured on the billboard. The obscurity allowed them to invent the “broken mirror” bit. They mimicked each other’s every wild movement in front of (what appeared to be) a floor-length mirror. The audience was clueless that they were actually looking at a simple wood frame — no mirror. They roared with laughter when the gag was finally revealed after the twins…