William John Mauch (July 6, 1921 â€" September 29, 2006) and his
identical twin brother, Robert Joseph Mauch (July 6, 1921 â€" October
15, 2007), were child actors in the 1930s. They had starring roles in
the 1937 film The Prince and the Pauper, based on the novel of the
same name by Mark Twain.Billy and Bobby were born in Peoria, Illinois,
to Felix, an employee of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad and
Marguerite Mauch, née Burley. Billy was older than Bobby by ten
minutes. They began singing and acting in radio at the age of seven
and later appeared in print advertisements before signing a contract
with Warner Bros.After moving with their mother to Hollywood in 1935,
Billy was cast as the young title character in the film Anthony
Adverse because he resembled Fredric March, who was to play Adverse as
an adult. His brother Bobby was his stand-in for the role, but the
brothers, whose voice and appearance were almost indistinguishable,
later claimed that they had freely alternated who would play the part
in the takes. They were cast as lookalikes in The Prince and the
Pauper (1937), in which they co-starred with Errol Flynn and Claude
Rains, and were each paid $350 per week. The picture earned them the
cover story in the May 3, 1937 issue of Time magazine.The twins went
on to appear together in three films based on the Penrod stories by
Booth Tarkington, but Bobby ended his acting career shortly
afterwards.
identical twin brother, Robert Joseph Mauch (July 6, 1921 â€" October
15, 2007), were child actors in the 1930s. They had starring roles in
the 1937 film The Prince and the Pauper, based on the novel of the
same name by Mark Twain.Billy and Bobby were born in Peoria, Illinois,
to Felix, an employee of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad and
Marguerite Mauch, née Burley. Billy was older than Bobby by ten
minutes. They began singing and acting in radio at the age of seven
and later appeared in print advertisements before signing a contract
with Warner Bros.After moving with their mother to Hollywood in 1935,
Billy was cast as the young title character in the film Anthony
Adverse because he resembled Fredric March, who was to play Adverse as
an adult. His brother Bobby was his stand-in for the role, but the
brothers, whose voice and appearance were almost indistinguishable,
later claimed that they had freely alternated who would play the part
in the takes. They were cast as lookalikes in The Prince and the
Pauper (1937), in which they co-starred with Errol Flynn and Claude
Rains, and were each paid $350 per week. The picture earned them the
cover story in the May 3, 1937 issue of Time magazine.The twins went
on to appear together in three films based on the Penrod stories by
Booth Tarkington, but Bobby ended his acting career shortly
afterwards.
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