Who Are the Real Frick and Frack? Probably Not Who You Think
The friendly nicknames used on both #RHOA and #RHONY actually originated from a famous ice skating duo.
Porsha Williams and Phaedra Parks from The Real Housewives of Atlanta have come to be known on and off the show as Frick and Frack.
“I’ve heard that I’m Frick because I’m shaped like an ‘i’ and you’re Frack because you’re shaped like an ‘a’ with your donk [booty],” Porsha told Phaedra last week on Dish Nation.
However, Porsha and Phaedra aren’t the first Housewives to take on the Frick and Frack monikers, which are often given to bosom buddies who are partners in crime. That honor belongs to Ramona Singer and Sonja Morgan from The Real Housewives of New York City, who happily claimed those nicknames (along with the popular Ramonja) circa Season 5.
Sonja Morgan and Ramona Singer were the original Frick and Frack of the Housewives.
But do any of the ladies actually know the origins of Frick and Frack? How familiar are you?
Werner Groebli and Hansruedi Mauch were two Swiss ice skaters who performed under the Frick and Frack name for almost 30 years, according to the New York Times. They were both skilled athletes as well as brilliant physical comedians who employed humor while defying gravity, routinely outshining their colleagues in the touring Ice Follies revue. The spirit of Frick and Frack’s funny synergy stuck, sending their nickname into the annals of timeless slang history.
Werner (Frick) passed away at age 92 in 2008, the New York Times reported, adding that the duo's talents were such that they never had to rely on other gimmickry to entertain. The publication also revealed that Werner and Hansruedi called themselves Frick and Frack because their parents didn't approve of their careers, and that the word frick was a name for a real Swiss town and the word frack was slang for a frock.
Watch Frick and Frack execute original moves like rubber legs and the cantilevered spread eagle (basically a Matrix-like move) in the 1943 feature film Silver Skates; they also made an appearance in the 1944 film Lady, Let’s Dance.
Porsha and Phaedra, you now have the perfect Halloween costume idea for next year. See some past not-so-friendly drama between the ladies of RHOA, below.
