Eccentric comedian, singer, dancer.
John Rumbelow was born at White Hills, near Bendigo, Victoria but spent much of his early life in Geelong. After his family relocated to Melbourne he pursued a career on the stage, finding much success as a comedian and animal impersonator. He likely adopted his professional name when he joined the cast of Williamson and Musgrove's 1896 revival of Djin-Djin, the Japanese Bogie Man at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne. A critic for the Punch newspaper records that the diminutive comedian 'fairly electrified the house with his singing and dancing' (5 November 1896, p.8). Little Gulliver later worked in musical comedy, pantomime and vaudeville, and was invariably billed as the "pocket" or "midget" comedian. He died of pneumonia in Dunedin while touring New Zealand John F. Sheridan's company.
Source: Clay Djubal. Australian Variety Theatre Archive. [sighted 7/06/2018]
