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As both magician and mnemonist, he was a direct, gleeful scion of the 19th-century midway pitchman and the 20th-century borscht belt tummler.

If you don’t count the years when he worked as a drummer, a “tummler” and a teenage comic in the Catskills, Mel Brooks began his show business career in television, writing for Sid Caesar at the dawn of the medium.

One of his earliest jobs in the Catskills was as a social director, who is often referred to as a tummler, at the Homowack Lodge, where he hosted shows at night and organized activities to keep guests happy during the day.

Operations manager Kleo Tümmler admits it's a challenge: "We are built to take care of people for a few days. Sometimes they have to stay here for two weeks, maybe three weeks."

Ms Tümmler and her colleagues appear committed to making life as easy and comfortable as possible for the people here.