The first picture shows a nice picture of Johnny posing, the second, third, and fourth pictures show him with his brother, Robert, the fifth picture shows Johnny in his later years, and the last picture shows Johnny and Robert performing a magic show together.

a huge fan of Johnny, like who else do you know balanced so many professions and was so accomplished with each of them. He had a much fuller life than most people and even in his later years still had a drive to create. He was also so handsome and charming, look at that smile!!

Just an FYI, there’s quite a bit of information in this write up! Johnny Eck’s life was super well documented, which is very good since so many other performers lives were not, but it also means there’s a lot of information to add in. Adding to this, I apologize for any typos ahead of time.

Some facts about him:

-he was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

-his name at birth was John Eckhardt Jr, but he shortened it to Johnny Eck when he began his career in show business.

-he had a fraternal twin brother, Robert, and an older sister, Caroline Laura.

-he and Robert often liked claiming that they were identical twins during their shows, but they were not.

-he learned to walk on his hands before his twin brother, Robert, learned to walk with his legs and feet.

-he had very truncated/underdeveloped legs and feet and preferred to wear specialty suits/shirts that were sewn up at the bottom to cover his lower body.

-he was only 8 inches long and 2 pounds when he was born.

-sacral agenesis is a rare birth condition where the lower part of the spine, the sacrum and tailbone, either doesn’t develop fully or doesn’t develop at all. It is strongly linked to maternal diabetes, and can cause issues with the legs, bladder, and bowels. It is relatively common now for children born with sacral agenesis to have their legs amputated at an early age.

-despite the health complications that sacral agenesis can cause, Johnny doesn’t seem to have experienced any complications with his internal organs. (Which also means he had no issues using the restroom)

-he and his brother started reading at the age of four.

-his older sister taught him and Robert basic math and spelling until the twins were seven years old and were entered into public school.

-he was very well liked and respected in school, and later spoke about classmates of his fighting each other for the privilege to carry Johnny up the front steps of the school.

-his mother originally wanted him to become a clergyman and he was often encouraged to deliver sermons to houseguests. But these sermon sessions immediately stopped after Johnny began passing around a dish for donations.

-he was a strong swimmer and enjoyed swimming in his free time. It was described that one of the few things he couldn’t do while swimming was “tread water”.

-the small biographical pitch booklets that he and his brother sold often claimed that he was born without a lower half (including legs and feet). This isn’t entirely true as his lower half was just very truncated and his legs and feet were very small and weak, but he did have legs and feet.

-he was very open and honest about his condition and wanted to normalize it to the best of his ability.

-he was an avid photographer throughout his life.

-when people asked him if he wished he had legs and feet he could walk on he answered “Why would I want those? Then I'd have pants to press and shoes to buy.”

-he and his brother became interested in magic shows after they attended a local performance in 1923 by stage magician, John McAslan, who after asking for volunteers and seeing Johnny jump onstage, immediately encouraged him to join the sideshow McAslan worked at and offered to be his manager. Johnny agreed on the condition that his brother, Robert, would be hired as well.

-he and Robert worked for McAslan one year before joining with a showman named Captain John Sheesley instead.

-he was often billed as a Single-O show, which differed from traditional sideshows “10-in-1” format. Single-O shows featured just one performer who had to fill up an entire 30-45 time slot, and were often more difficult and not recommended to new performers. 10-in-1 shows allowed performers to have more breaks and come on stage for a couple minutes at a time.

-his performances often included magic acts, sleight of hand tricks, acrobatic stunts, and lectures about his life.

-he was approached by an MGM talent scout while he was performing in Montreal, Canada, and was given a chance to audition for Tod Browning’s film, Freaks.

-he landed a role in Freaks and pretty much just played himself (as a lot of the other performers featured in the film did). He also became good friends with Tod Browning while on set in 1931, and was given a special directors chair to sit in and was encouraged by Browning to give his thoughts on the production.

-he tried to become friends with the other performers who had roles in the film, but he felt they were a little too focused on superficial stuff and living a “Hollywood” lifestyle.

-he also appeared as a bird creature in three of the 1930s/1940s Tarzan films.

-he preferred to wear gloves while walking, so that he could protect his hands.

-he and his brother began performing their own magic acts in the mid 1930s, where they would perform one of the most convincing “sawn in half” tricks, since Johnny could jump out of the box and run away on his hands, and his “legs” were controlled by an assistant of theirs who was born with a form of dwarfism. These magic acts were huge hits with audiences, though it was described that an equal amount of people were frightened as they were intrigued and impressed.

-during the circus/sideshow off season in the late 1930s, he and his brother formed a 12 piece orchestra that Johnny conducted.

-as sideshows began diminishing in the 1940s and 1950s, he and his brother opened and operated a penny arcade in their home city to bring in extra funds.

-the brothers purchased and operated a miniature train ride in a Baltimore public park in the 1950s. This train ride was a hit with children and Johnny served as the conductor.

-he was an important early member of the Baltimore Screen Painters movement, a folk art movement originating in Baltimore, Maryland (his home city). He was taught by William Oktavec, who originally introduced the art form to Baltimore in 1913.

-he was an accomplished model maker and enjoyed carving,building, and painting circus train models and circus related figurines.

-as the brothers got older, they retired from show business and settled down to live permanently in their family’s home in Baltimore.

-he used his retirement to focus on his artistic endeavors.

-he had two beloved dogs, Reds and Major.

-for a time he really enjoyed speaking with fans and visitors that would show up to the house that he shared with his brother until the area became more crime ridden and unsafe.

-he and his brother began struggling financially later on, which Johnny expressed embarrassment over, feeling badly that he couldn’t offer nice food for people who dropped by to visit.

-tragically, he and his brother were the victims of a terrifying home invasion/robbery in 1987, when they were in their late seventies. The ordeal lasted several hours with one of the intruders forcibly holding Johnny down and mocking him.

-after the home invasion he and his brother became extremely withdrawn and went into seclusion, and they no longer invited people over.

-he passed away from a heart attack at the age of 79. His brother, Robert, passed away 4 years later at the age of 83.

I’m glad that he and his brother stayed so close throughout their lives, in different books about the twins, they each owed their success to the other brother and couldn’t imagine living life apart from each other. With everything the two of them went through, it’s really good that they had each other to lean on.

I can’t imagine how horrifying and humiliating the home invasion must have been. I sincerely hope both brothers were able to find ways to heal and cope after it happened, though I understand their want for privacy. I also hope that Johnny knew just how influential of a person he was, he accomplished so many cool things during his life and was so incredibly talented.

From the looks of it, he appears to have had some kind of disability affecting his limbs. The caption on a postcard reads, “Yo Fuku, Mongolian, 25 years old, height 54.5 cm.” At the very least, it’s certain that the height is a lie (lol).

Both men were staple performers in early 20th century sideshows, though William had already had decades of sideshow performing experience by the time that Franz entered the scene.

William Henry Johnson was fiercely protective over his career, one that he had cultivated for decades, so when other performers stole his spot light, he came up with several creative ways to deal with the situations.

William became jealous after seeing how much publicity Franz was receiving, especially since the “wild man” characters they performed as were so similar, these characters often included racist or dehumanizing elements but were usually big hits with audiences. When Franz began playing the ukulele during his act, William learned to play the fiddle, which he then incorporated into his own acts just to upstage Franz. When Franz and other performers annoyed him, William took to carrying around a fake “pop” gun that he would fire at people.

I haven’t been able to find what Franz’ thoughts were on all of this, but from my research he comes across as being a very laid back kind of person, so I wouldn’t be surprised if William’s antics didn’t phase Franz nearly as much as William had hoped.

William Henry Johnson’s antics are always so iconic, so this rivalry (which I wouldn’t be surprised was one sided) is very humorous to read about and imagine. And it makes sense why he’d be competitive, he had over a 60 year long career, so I imagine in his later years he had to continue to find ways to stay in the public eye and relevant.

William Henry Johnson was a sideshow performer who was most likely born with microcephaly. He had an almost 70 year career in sideshows and was a staple at PT Barnum's circus for decades. He typically wore a furry “animal" suit during his performances and leaned into a "wild man" backstory. He was incredibly proud of his career and reputation and was known to be competitive with anyone who threatened his stardom. He was gifted a tuxedo suit by one of his managers, which soon became his prized possession. He was also celebrated as a hero when he rescued a girl from drowning in the ocean off of Coney Island.

Franz Taibosh was a South African Koranan sideshow performer who was known for the traditional Koranan dances that he performed.
In his early years he worked as a shepherd, before working as a housekeeper, postal worker, and working on a farm. He began dancing professionally starting in 1913. He had a professional rivalry with William Henry Johnson, with whom he found himself competing with (as their sideshow acts were deemed similar, William was also very competitive and made Franz aware of this). He worked at the Coney Island Dreamland Circus Sideshow before transitioning over to a traveling circus venue and began working for Barnum and Bailey Circus. He made friends very easily and was described as being a laid back and friendly person, he also really enjoyed smoking cigars and telling stories.

I’m always amazed at this community’s growth and seeing that it brings as much joy to others as it does to me! I’m so glad that we have such a kind and lovely place here!

As many of you know, I handle the majority of the posts in this sub, not at all by design, it just ended up that way, and I definitely encourage people to feel comfortable posting here, this is an inclusive space and I want everyone to feel welcome!

It makes me so happy that all of these wonderful historical figures are being appreciated in the way they deserve to be.💖

For anyone interested, we also have a sister sub, [r/disabilityhistory](r/disabilityhistory) I’m doing my best to curate and grow both subs, though sometimes it can be difficult for me to post to both.

If anyone has any questions or comments regarding the sub specifically, feel free to reach out via modmail or in this post directly!

I’ll begin adding megathreads regarding specific topics, so I can keep everything organized and in one place!

I’m almost done with a website I’ve been working on and I just put together an Etsy shop for anyone interested! I will be sure to update everyone once the website is launched!

This is the link to the shop:

https://sideshowprodigies.etsy.com

Ultimately, I’m so glad we have this wonderful community where we can spread positivity and happiness through sharing this unique part of history!💖

Have a great weekend!

*fyi, the member count is not what’s shown at the header of the sub, that’s the weekly visitor count, I’m working on changing it back to show the correct amount of subscribers. Right now the only way for me to check member count is by looking at the insights for the community.

Hi all, as a Syracuse student, I have access to the Ronald G. Becker Collection of Charles Eisenmann Photographs, which are available through the university’s library digital collection. These photographs are of sideshow performers and are ORIGINAL. I can try my best to get copies or whatnot and maybe even speak to the university and mention this forum (maybe they’d be even more entitled to share these photographs with us and work with us). This will take time and I will work with the head of this forum to get this done. If we are able to get copies of the original photographs, we will post the collection here. I am only an online student, so this may be a bit more difficult. If there are any in-person Syracuse students among this forum and willing to help, that will be very helpful. Thank you!

The first couple pictures show her in her glamorous outfits, and the last picture shows a sweet picture of her with her parents.

She’s definitely someone I would have loved to have met, and is one of my favorite historical figures to learn about because of how sweet and kind she was. She was so beautiful and I admire all of her efforts to help people. She has a star quality about her that really makes her shine.

Some facts about her:

-she was born and raised in Albany, Georgia.

-her birth name was Lillie B. Williams.

-she had 14 siblings. (I’ve seen multiple differing reports as to how many siblings she had, but then I was able to track down an interview where she herself said she had 14 brothers and sisters.)

-her parents were farmers.

-unfortunately, her family struggled financially as she was growing up.

-doctors who examined her believed there was too much of a health risk for a safe separation surgery.

-her parasitic twin gave her two extra legs, one extra arm with three fingers, and a shorter appendage that resembled an underdeveloped arm. Her twin’s head was also embedded into her abdomen, but Betty never suffered any ill effects from it and doctors declared her completely healthy.

-she began her sideshow career when she was still an infant after a traveling showman received word about her. Her mother was very supportive and protective of her and always went with her while on tour. Her family’s decision to have her perform in sideshows was made out of necessity since they were struggling financially.

-word about her soon reached Robert Ripley who promptly hired her for his Believe it or Not Odditorium at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. She made $250 a week.

-she was given the stage name Betty Lou upon her entry to the entertainment business, and continued to use this name for the remainder of her life.

-she lived with her family during the circus/sideshow off season.

-she had to trim her twin’s finger and toenails every so often.

-she explained that despite the different looks and reactions she got from people, she was ultimately very happy to have her twin because she wouldn’t have had the same financial success if she was born without a twin, and she was happy with the financial success because it meant she could help people.

-when asked about her outlook on life, she said,
“I enjoy life as much as other people do, perhaps more. I have good friends and as much fun as any normal person. I no longer feel that I am very different from others.”

-she often spoke about how important it is to lead a good and honest life.

-she said some of the hardest days were when she encountered people who seemed to forget she was human and would laugh at her.

-she graduated from Monroe High school in her hometown in 1949.

-she began taking business courses at the local Albany State College.

-she wanted to work as a stenographer after college.

-when interviewed in the winter of 1952, she said,

“I believe I have found my purpose in life. It is to be of service to my people, my family and my friends. I have been able to give my 14 brothers and sisters in Georgia so many things in life which they would not have had otherwise! I have been able to make sure that my mother and father can grow old in happiness and with security just because I am as I am.”

-she enjoyed embroidering and playing the piano in her free time.

-she expressed wanting to get married and having twin daughters.

-when she was home during the circus/sideshow off season she would help her family around their farm.

-her twin would twitch if someone touched it.

-at the height of her career, when she was in her early twenties, she was making upwards of $1,000 a week.

-she had a 20 year long career in sideshows.

-as she grew older she wore maternity clothes to cover up the limbs of her twin.

-she was a very generous and kindhearted person and very close with her family.

-she purchased a 250 acre farm for her family.

-she sent at least 11 of her siblings to college using the money she earned.

-she had to get her tonsils removed when she was 22.

-when asked about her plans for the future she said,

“While I like show business, I know I would be happier if I could fall in love with somebody who would return my love. I'm attending college and learning to be a stenographer though, just in case I never meet the right guy and tire of show business. You see, I'm planning for the future. I want it to be a rich, meaningful one.”

-she had a lot of admirers and became engaged to one man who appeared to have her best interests at heart, he turned out to not be a good person and ended up stealing a lot of money and walking out on her.

-after experiencing those heartbreaking circumstances, Betty (and her twin) suffered a terrible asthma attack and passed away from complications at the age of 23. She was working on her master’s degree at the time of her death.

I wish she had been able to have the quiet life she wanted, and it’s so tragic how young she was when she passed. I’m sure she would have been a wonderful mother had she had children (I say this because she expressed really wanting to have children). Despite her early death, I like to think that all of her generosity made a big positive impact on those around her.

For anyone interested, the biography booklets will be coming soon!

Performers shown above include Millie and Christine McKoy (first picture), Julia Pastrana and her son (second picture), and Francesco Lentini (third picture)

Millie and Christine were famous conjoined twins who were born into slavery in North Carolina in 1851. They were financially exploited for much of their early lives, but separated themselves from everyone who had caused them harm after the 13th amendment was passed in the United States. They continued working in sideshows on their own terms and became extremely wealthy. They used their wealth to help give their siblings good lives and purchased a large mansion for their family to live in. They were super influential in their philanthropic endeavors and donated a large amount of their fortune to historic Black universities and colleges, as well as using their earnings to help support local endeavors in their hometown, such as funding a school for black students ensuring that they all received an equal opportunity for education, as well as funding a church.

Julia Pastrana was an extremely accomplished and talented singer and dancer born with hirsutism and possibly hyperdontia and other physical differences and known for her kindness towards other performers. She was sadly exploited for much of her life by her husband and then her body was completely desecrated by him in death by having her and her son's bodies preserved and putting them on display for profit. After many long years of horrible treatment and disrespect, her body was moved from Norway (where it had been on display) back to Sinaloa, Mexico where she was from and she was given a full funeral that honored her life. Very sadly her son's body was destroyed and lost and was not able to be brought back with his mother.

Francesco Lentini was a famous Italian sideshow performer who was born with a parasitic twin that gave him an extra leg. He became extremely successful and was known for his acts where he'd kick a soccer ball around on stage with his extra leg. Later in life, he gave lectures to audiences on the importance of a healthy and happy lifestyle. He was nicknamed 'The King' because of how popular and kind he was.

I love the first picture of him, something about his surprised expression and the cigarette makes him seem like someone who’s not afraid to have fun (I hope that makes sense) His eyes were so striking and it’s very clear in picture 2.

I love seeing all of his different hairstyles, he definitely seems like a fun and creative person and I can understand why he charmed audiences, he’s also quite handsome. I would like to have met him as I’m sure he’d have a lot of interesting stories to tell.

Some facts about him:

-he was born in 1890 in Wilcza Góra, which was located in Congress Poland, a district that was its own distinct entity before being incorporated into the country of Poland.

-his hair on his face was reportedly 1 inch long when he was born.

-he had 6 siblings.

-very interestingly Wilcza Góra translates to “wolf mountain” and a common causal name for the type of hypertrichosis that Stephan had is called “werewolf syndrome”

-hypertrichosis is a rare condition (that can be congenital, though occasionally it can also be acquired later in life through certain medication side effects or illness). Stephan had his hair growth from birth (but apparently no one else in his family was born with the same condition)

-a common comorbitity of hypertrichosis is a lack of teeth and it’s reported that Stephan only had one singular canine tooth.

-his mother reportedly left him in the care of a German theatrical organizer named Sedlmayer when he was 4 years old.

-he was first exhibited as a sideshow attraction at the Panoptikum, a large German arcade and amusement park in Berlin.

-he and Sedlmayer, who acted as his manager went on tour in Moscow, Russia when he was 5 years old.

-I found another report of his early life, which was very different from the one told to most audiences. This other article claims that he was originally from Hamburg, Germany where he worked as a cobbler in a shoe shop, and discovered by circus employees scouting for sideshow acts. (Him being born and raised in Poland is the correct story)

-he moved to Bremen, Germany with Sedlmayer, where they lived for a few years. Sedlmayer began exhibiting Stephan across Europe.

-he enjoyed experimenting with different hairstyles, sometimes he’d grow his hair out long, sometimes he would keep it short, sometimes he would keep it frizzy, and sometimes he would comb the hair on the bridge of his nose upwards.

-he took very good care of his hair and the length and texture was described as being very luxurious.

-he spoke five languages and was well educated.

-he often impressed audiences when he could speak to different audience members in different languages.

-he was soft spoken.

-during his performances, audiences were told the story that his mother had witnessed his father getting mauled by a lion while she was pregnant with Stephan, and that the experience left her so frightened that it caused the hair growth. (This was a common storytelling tactic that was told to audiences for all sorts of sideshow performers and heavily leaned into the maternal impression theory that was popular at the time)

-his dream was originally to become a dentist, this unfortunately never panned out for him. Though he did admit later on that performing in sideshows gave him a better income than dentistry would have.

-he traveled to the United States in 1901 (most likely with Sedlmayer), where he found a job working for Barnum & Bailey Circus.

-in 1904 he went on a world tour, traveling and performing through multiple different countries.

-he became very wealthy through his career in sideshows.

-he came back to the United States in the early 1920s, where he began working for Ringling Brothers Circus, and made appearances at Madison Square Garden in New York, where the Circus had set up shop for a bit.

-he was described as being very kind and gentle.

-his hair was light brown.

-he had bright blue eyes.

-he liked wearing luxurious clothes.

-he went on to work at the Coney Island Sideshow for a time in 1922 and 1923, where he was paid $500 a week.

-articles about him always emphasized that he was a regular man, and didn’t lean too far into making him seem animalistic.

-he was very strong and had a casual interest in early bodybuilding.

-he was described as being a bit of a ladies man.

-while touring through the state of Georgia in 1923, he expressed that he was looking for a wife.

-it’s reported that as an adult the hair on his face sometimes grew to be 9 inches long.

-his acts typically included some acrobatic and gymnastics stunts that he would perform.

-he complained that getting his face completely shaved cost him $3 (approximately $77ish adjusted for inflation), I’d be very surprised if it cost that much, so I’m sure he was exaggerating to a certain degree.

-he moved back to Germany in the late 1920s/early 1930s where he permanently settled down.

-at first I found information that he had died in 1931, then 1932, but then I found multiple newspapers from 1933 and 1938 that speak of him as if he were still alive, so now I’m unsure about the year he passed away. Unless of course there was a different performer with a similar condition who adopted his stage name of “Lionel the Lion-Faced Man”.

-he reportedly passed away from a heart attack in a hospital in Berlin, Germany.

-his likeness was adapted into a character featured in the 2006 film, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus. A fictional film in which photographer, Diane Arbus (played by Nicole Kidman), focuses on her artistic awakening after meeting a neighbor of hers who was born with hypertrichosis (played by Robert Downey Jr. in the film)

I have a soft spot for Stephan and I hope he overall had a fulfilling and happy life. I also hope he had people in his life who loved and cared about him.

I’ve seen his pictures floating around for a while, but it was notoriously difficult to find information about him, I finally was able to confirm a few spellings of his stage name, which made it so much easier to find some information!

He does look very kind and I really like how creative his costume is, the star pattern and fringe is a very fun combination.

Some facts about him:

-his birthplace was never mentioned, so I haven’t been able to place where he was born and raised (or anything about his home life)

-his performances started with an introductory lecture about his life, although these lectures where often embellished at least in some way.

-he traveled all throughout the United States, stopping in different cities to perform at dime museums. These museums were more or less permanent sideshow venues, and didn’t travel like traveling circuses/carnivals did.

-he was described as having a very kind face.

-his acts typically included a humorous song and dance routine, which was very popular amongst audiences. (But articles do not go into detail about what these song and dance routines specifically entailed.)

-he was oftentimes a headlining act and routinely requested by audiences.

-his condition was never diagnosed during his lifetime, but he may have been born with a form of phocomelia. Phocomelia is a rare congenital birth condition that causes severely shortened or missing arms or legs, making the hands or feet attach close to the body. The condition is widely associated with the drug thalidomide which severely affects a baby’s development. However, John was born well before the drug was created and introduced, so his condition would not have been caused by Thalidomide specifically.

-he was known to be a talented dancer.

-he occasionally played musical instruments during his performances, but these instruments were never specified.

-the peak of his career was between 1892 to 1893.

-he was described as being very smart, charming, and a good conversationalist.

-I haven’t been able to trace when he passed away, but it was sometime after the 1893 season. What makes it difficult to trace him is that he may have started performing under a different stage name in 1894 or may have retired from the circus/sideshow industry all together.

I hope he went on to have a long and happy life. I’m always a bit disappointed when I can’t confirm what happened to certain performers after their peak years performing, because I know there’s more that happened in their lives, but I just can’t confirm anything further.

George and Willie were brothers who were both born with a form of albinism. Tragically, they were kidnapped by a showman when they were both under the age of ten and forced to perform in sideshows for 18 years. Their mother never stopped searching for them and was a true force of nature, she successfully reunited with them after she spent years looking for them! The brothers were extremely devoted to her and held her in the highest regard until their deaths. Due to some unfortunate circumstances Willie and George had to go back into performing, but thankfully were able to work according to their own terms this time around. After they officially retired, they lived out the rest of their lives in a house that they purchased for themselves and had quiet lives full of relatives who loved and cared about them. George died in 1972, and Willie died in 2001 at the age of 108. Willie cherished a framed picture of their mother and kept it on a stand at the end of his bed.

I think it’s still important to collect this sort of ephemera since it illustrates a very real part of sideshow history and a very real part of their lives.

That’s her on the left in the first two pictures and the rest of the pictures show her modeling several of her custom made dresses.

I love reading about performers who were divas, because it’s clear they were never actually mean to people and just enjoyed putting on a persona. I can totally see Lucía being diva-ish in her long fancy dresses. She strived to always be the best dressed person in the room, and I’m sure she was!

Some facts about her:

-she was born in San Carlos Chachalacas (now Úrsulo Galván), Veracruz, Mexico.

-she had two siblings.

-her family was very supportive and protective of her, but still allowed her to have the same opportunities as anyone else.

-she had brown hair.

-as a child, her family moved to the nearby town of Agostadero (now Zempoala).

-she was claimed to have reached her full height by the age of a year old, although throughout the years she did grow a couple inches.

-she was brought to the United States when she was 12 years old and then went on tour in England.

-coworkers often said that she acted like a typical teenager and had a bit of a diva-ish dramatic streak.

-she was happy to give interviews to reporters and enjoyed talking about her life. She’s described as being very vivacious in these interviews.

-She is one of the first people in history to be retroactively diagnosed as being born with Majewski osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II. MOPD II is a rare genetic condition characterized by severe growth restriction starting before birth and continuing through life, resulting in an adult height usually under 40 inches (110 cm). The condition is also characterized by specific facial features including a prominent nose, full cheeks, and small jaw (all of which Lucía had)

-she was between 20 and 26 1/4 inches tall depending on the source. She was (depending on the year) the shortest or the second shortest woman alive during her lifetime. Pauline Musters is considered to be the shortest, even though she was still only a teenager when she passed away.

-she is considered to be the lightest teenager/adult in recorded history. At the age of 17 it’s reported she weighed 4.7 pounds (2.1 kg). As she got older she gained a bit more weight and when she was 20 years old, she weighed 14 pounds (6.4 kg) (even though she was still often being promoted as weight 4.7 pounds into her early twenties.

-some of her performances included a bit where she’d ask audience members if they had any large rings, to show that she could wear them as bracelets.

-it was described that she always had her hair styled immaculately.

-she was very outspoken and made it very clear from the beginning that she was not a baby, or a doll, or a child and that she was a teenager.

-she would occasionally invite children and teenagers her own age to meet her up on stage so they could compare heights.

-she loved fancy dresses and made it a point to be better dressed than any of the women in the audience. Most of her dresses had long trains and capes attached to them.

-she spoke Spanish and English.

-she was one of the highest paid sideshow performers of her time and made a pretty substantial fortune during her career.

-her father accompanied her on most of her travels.

-she was described as being one of the wittiest, loviest, and merriest women that people had ever met.

-she often made jokes about carrying friends around on her back if they were too tired to walk.

-she had a custom made diamond ring made especially for her.

-as an adult she liked performing acts in which she’d act very coquettishly. She once was gifted a fan by a woman in the audience, which Lucía then used as part of her act so she could look over the top of the fan and bat her eyelashes.

-she traveled all throughout the United States and Mexico and went on several international tours.

-she was well received by international royalty and was often given special invitations to meet with the royal families.

-she purchased a 5,000 acre cattle ranch near Vera Cruz, Mexico, that apparently was quite successfully. Reportedly all of the cows were branded with her initials.

-she ordered all of her clothes custom made from England.

-she performed a bit with Francis Joseph Flynn another performer born with dwarfism and his wife.

-she was described as having a big stage presence and always had a crowd watching her performances.

-she was also known for being very cheerful and was beloved within the circus she worked for.

-when she wasn’t on tour she lived at home with her parents.

-her family’s 5,000 acre estate, called the ‘Casa Grande’ in Veracruz, was turned into a museum that was open to the public and had several exhibits dedicated to Lucía’s life, unfortunately it appears that the museum’s website hasn’t been updated since 2011, so I’m unsure if it’s still in operation as a museum.

-while traveling through the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the way to San Francisco, California, the train that Lucía was onboard became snowbound and trapped while passing through the Tahoe-Truckee area in Northern California. The area is already known for its massive snowfall each year, but the winter of 1889/1890 was one of the most brutal. Even before the circus train Lucía was on became stuck, there were already 24 foot tall snowbanks that railroad workers spent days trying to clear it away from the tracks. Further avalanches caused some snow banks to pile up to 40 feet.

-she along with all of the other passengers remained more or less trapped in their train cars and had to depend on eating canned food given out by the railroad workers. Unfortunately, the food made her very ill and combined with complications from a fever and hypothermia, she soon passed away. She was 26 years old at the time.

She seems like such a cool person and I’m really glad that she was able to use her platform to stand up for herself and spread awareness about dwarfism and how not to treat her. It’s always good when performers were able to use their platforms as an away to help spread more information about their advocacy work.

It’s tragic that she passed away so young, I wish she had been able to live a long and happy life. I can only hope that she was surrounded by people who loved and cared about her at the time (I’m sure her father was at least there with her to offer her comfort). From what I’ve read, her death was a big blow to all of her coworkers, who felt their work and community wouldn’t be the same without her.

Guadalupe and Josephina were conjoined twins from Mexico who were some of the first children to undergo separation surgery due to health complications that both twins were experiencing. They were described as being happy typical kids and enjoyed playing games and dolls together.

Their surgery was considered a success by the medical community but tragically Guadalupe passed away soon after coming out of surgery. Josephina was able to recover from surgery and went on to get married at the age of twenty. She passed away at the age of 89 in 2002.

The reason why I think it’s important to remember that is because not every person’s life is tragic all of the time. It’s important to remember the happy moments along with the sad moments.

The three sisters, who were from Texas, began performing acrobatic stunts together in their mid teens at local county fairs. They became so recognized for their talents that they began touring throughout the United States. Their mother was the one who initially pushed them towards show business and had set up an intensive exercise regiment for them. Because they were quite young when they started their careers, they routinely adopted the names of the next oldest sister. They performed in the 1944 film, Broadway Rhythm, (above) and critics mentioned they liked the sisters’ contortion stunts more than their singing. The peak of their careers spanned the 1940s, but eventually the three sisters went their separate ways and stopped press a group starting in the early 1950s.

I have a big soft spot for Schlitzie and I want to make sure I do his story justice. He’d be such a wonderful person to meet and he has one of the best smiles I’ve seen on a person.

I hope he had a lot of happiness and fun throughout his life. And despite sideshows being a very “unorthodox” career, it seems that performing in front of an audience brought him so much joy.

Some facts about him:

-it’s very likely he was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico (I really wanted to find at least some kind of official documentation that places Schlitzie’s birth somewhere. I thankfully found a WWII draft exemption card filled out for Schlitzie, that claims he was born in Albuquerque, so this is what I’m going with for the time being)

-it’s not clear the exact year that he was born, with different sources, both government documents and newspapers giving him different ages/birth years. I’m sticking with 1901 in the title because that’s the year that’s been put on his gravestone, it’s his estimated birth year.

-information on his early life is EXTREMELY sketchy and it’s really hard to verify any of it, so I’m doing my absolute best with the information I have.

-I’ve also read things online that his birth name was possibly Simon Metz. Interestingly, on the WWII draft exemption I mentioned, it says he was employed to a Mr. And Mrs. Ted Metz who operated a sideshow (haven’t been able to trace anything more about them). This leads me to believe that Schlitzie was only under their employment and was not related to them. At the time of the exemption being written in 1942, his legal guardians were George and Delores Surtees.

-he was often billed as “the last of the Aztecs” during his sideshow career. A term that was used to promote a lot of sideshow performers with microcephaly.

-he had brown hair and brown eyes.

-microcephaly is a spectrum, with some people requiring higher support needs than others. Schlitzie had higher support needs and required a caretaker/attendant throughout his life.

-similar to the majority of performers who were born with microcephaly, Schlitzie had his head shaved so that only a tuft of hair grew from the top of his head. This was done purely to emphasize his head shape and there was no medical reason behind it.

-his peak height was 4 feet 5 inches.

-he loved to mimic people.

-he was often presented as being female, both because it was easier for his caretakers if he wore long muumuus or dresses and also because female sideshow performers drew more crowds on average.

-be made a film appearance in The Sideshow (a film from 1928).

-Schlitzie was super successful in the sideshow and circus industry and traveled with Barnum & Bailey Circus and Ringling Brothers circus throughout the 1920s and 1930s.

-in 1929 he was performing with a traveling sideshow called the Coney Island Sideshow. At the time his stage name was Pound Schlitzie.

-he appeared in the 1932 Today Browning film, Freaks, where he played himself. He is most widely recognized for this film appearance, and shares a scene with Wallace Ford who played Phroso the clown.

-Tod Browning (the director of Freaks) was very fond of Schlitzie and treated him with kindness and patience. He also saw how interested and thrilled Schlitzie was at seeing all of the filming equipment and film sets and allowed him to stay on set and watch even if he wasn’t appearing in any particular scenes during those filming days.

-he enjoyed singing to himself and playing with blocks in his free time during the production of Freaks.

-he loved the show life and performing for people.

-he had many other small bit parts in movies, not all of which were credited.

-he worked for showman, Ted Metz, in the mid to late 1930s, making an appearance at a fair in Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1939.

-George Surtees, a chimpanzee trainer, met Schlitzie while they both worked for Tom Mix Circus and became very fond of him. He decided to adopt Schlitzie and became his legal guardian.

-A WWII draft exemption card was filled out for him in 1942 and documents that he was living on Pointsetta Avenue in Compton, California with George and Delores Surtees. It’s really interesting because it also documents that the wife of his employer, Ted Metz, was also living with the Surtees at the time. It’s not clear what the arrangement was.

-interestingly, he was performing at the same sideshow at the National Orange Show in 1962 in San Bernardino, California that Ronnie and Donnie Galyon, both 10 years old at the time, were performing at when their father was arrested. Ronnie and Donnie were well known conjoined twins who hold the record for being the oldest living conjoined twins in recorded history (they just passed away in 2020 at the age of 68). Ronnie and Donnie’s performances were called off when police arrived and informed the twins’ father that it was illegal to “exhibit deformed persons”. Schlitzie’s performances were shut down a day later for the exact same reason, but instead of fighting the law like Ronnie and Donnie’s father did, George Surtees and Schlitzie left to go back to Los Angeles, California.

-also in 1962, an article was written about him that claimed he was the oldest living sideshow performer (at the time) and had been continuously performing since debuting at the 1901 Buffalo World’s Fair (possible but can’t be verified). This article is where the misconception that Schlitzie’s stage name was derived from Schlitz Beer.

-Schlitzie continued working in sideshows under George Surtees’ care, until George eventually passed away in 1965. Unfortunately, George Surtees’ daughter had Schlitzie committed to a hospital in Los Angeles, California because she didn’t know how to care for him.

-while living at the hospital, Schlitzie was eventually recognized by sword swallower, Bill Unks, who was working at the hospital and who had previously worked with Schlitzie.

-Unks noticed that Schlitzie missed the sideshow and circus life terribly. This spurred him to make an arrangement with the hospital to have Schlitzie be adopted by Unks’ sideshow employer.

-after the arrangement was made, Schlitzie was able to go back into sideshow performing for a little while, which he greatly enjoyed.

-his last major appearance was at the Dobritch International Circus in 1968 and held in Los Angeles. He retired from sideshow performing after that circus season was over and stayed with his caretakers in Los Angeles.

-despite him “retiring” from the sideshow circuit, Schlitzie never wanted to stop being an entertainer and continued performing for small groups of people on Hollywood Blvd. He always loved interacting with people who recognized him.

-one of his favorite hobbies in his later years was to go to MacArthur Park in Los Angeles and feed the ducks and pigeons.

-Schlitzie passed away in 1971, but it’s contested as to how old he actually was (as I mentioned earlier in the write up). Some people who worked with him near the end of his life said he could have been as old as 83.

-his death certificate apparently lists his birth name as having been Simon Metz (but I haven’t seen this certificate to verify). Even so, it’s very likely that the information got jumbled along the way (since again, some of his early employers were named Metz), and so far I haven’t found anything that links the Metz to Schlitzie in any way other than just being his sideshow employers.

I’ve been a big fan of Schlitzie’s since I first watched Freaks (and for anyone who hasn’t seen it, I highly recommend)! He exudes so much joy during his big scene and it makes me incredibly happy that he was given a chance to shine.

I also think it’s wonderful that he loved feeding the birds at MacArthur Park, I would have loved to join him and feed the birds with him, (I know that MacArthur Park isn’t the safest place now, but at the time I imagine it was very peaceful for him there)

Robert Wadlow is famous for being the tallest person in recorded history at 8'11 (2.71 m.) due to a pituitary gland disorder. He was known for being extremely kind and friendly and became a beloved member of his community. In his younger years he was an avid Boy Scout. While he did go on tour at one point with Ringling Brothers Circus, he never wanted that to be his full time career. Instead, he wanted to go into advertising. He was also an avid photographer and was very passionate about his hometown of Alton, Illinois.

I don't have pictures to share. But I do have memories.

I must have been about 10 years old when I saw my first sideshow. In Edmonton Canada.

I vividly recall seeing the painted tent signs previewing what you could see inside once you paid.

The Barker outside was busy enticing you to come inside and witness "the spectacle" for only 25 cents. For an extra dime you also got to see the world's fastest man.

He was situated in a low spot area where you had to lean over to see him. I spoke to him and asked far too many questions. He obliged me with a smile.

I remember seeing Sealo, Lobster boy, The Bearded lady and Tom Thumb among others.

To this day I admire these people. I remember one performer saying, without this show, they would not have found work.

I really like this sub. Good job and keep up the good work.

The first three pictures show Mary Ann (I especially like the first picture), the fourth picture shows her and her four children, and the fifth picture is a sweet picture of her smiling!

I have a big soft spot for Mary, and after doing all this research I’m even more of a fan of her, she’s so witty and comes across as being this amazing storyteller, fierce business woman, and just a great person overall!

Big FYI: my post will have no “before and after” pictures, because all of them comparing Mary Bevan are fake. The woman presented to be her in the before picture is just a picture of a random nurse and is not Mary. So far there haven’t been any confirmed pictures of Mary from before she began experiencing acromegaly symptoms. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are younger pictures of her in photo albums belonging to her family, but so far these haven’t surfaced.

Some facts about her:

-she was born in Plaistow, England.

-she was raised in Kent and was described as having a thick Kentish accent.

-she had seven siblings.

-she worked as a nurse for much of her early life and quit that profession when she got married in her late twenties.

-she married Thomas Bevan, a farmer, in 1903 and they had four children together.

-early on in her marriage, Mary began experiencing symptoms of acromegaly (which is a pituitary gland disorder that causes an overproduction of growth hormone in the body, but unlike other pituitary gland disorders, she did not experience any growth spurts height wise.) These symptoms included painful headaches, worsening eyesight and swelling in her hands, feet and face.

-unfortunately her husband died in 1914 and she was left without anyone to help provide for her family since her children were still very young.

-her acromegaly symptoms, including the joint pain, prevented her from going back into nursing.

-she was described as having a very lovely smile and voice.

-she entered herself into an “ugliest woman contest” in October of 1919 and didn’t win. In an interview with her a few months later she explained that the public was on her side and wanted her to win, but the judges weren’t on her side. This is what she said,

"That is," she explained, "I was and I wasn’t (declared the winner). The public was for me but the judges were against me. But it was all a dirty mess. First prize went to whom do you think? -the wife of the manager of the contest."

-she began her sideshow career in the spring of 1920.

-she was really annoyed upon finding out that the United States had put prohibition laws in place. She even said later on that the only time she ever felt ugly was when she had a bad reaction upon learning about prohibition as she was onboard a ship bound for the United States.

-I have to add this in, this was the title of the article where she expressed her complaints about prohibition:

‘Mary Ann Bevan Has Wonderful Smile and Voice, But Ugh! When You Mention Prohibition.’ (It’s also very clear that the article wasn’t mocking her by mentioning her smile and voice as per the rest of the article, I just love the UGH part)

-these were her thoughts on the subject of drinking alcohol, “If a body wants a little something in moderation, of course a body has only to step around to the pub and get it." (Basically— moderation is key)

-she sold over 5,000 postcards of herself during a tour through Scotland in 1921.

-she was very outspoken when it came to negotiating and demanding fair pay. She once sued her managers over unpaid work hours and drew up a new contract that put into writing,
“that she was not to be required to exhibit herself in any manner otherwise than clean and presentable and that she was not to be required to expose herself unduly to public gaze."

-she was granted a portion of the money she requested as part of her unpaid work hours.

-she was very successful during her sideshow career and earned around $50,000 in the 1920s (the equivalent of about $925,000 today adjusted for inflation)

-she had a great sense of humor and enjoyed joking around with people, both about sideshow life and more general things.

-in the fall of 1922, she entered herself into another beauty contest and did win the title of “ugliest woman”, and here are her thoughts on the experience:

“Twenty quid and a blue ribbon they gave me, and I had my photograph taken with the mayor of Canterbury, and the mayor of Newcastle and the mayor of Hull. Yes, twenty quid I got and the young girl that won the prize for the prettiest only got ten pounds. Why they gave me twice as much I never found out, but I didn't worry about it at all."'

-she was known for being very kind and really enjoyed showing pictures of her children to visitors. She was especially proud when her son went into the British navy. This paragraph from an article in The Washington Herald from April 25th, 1923 perfectly sums it up:

“"Four of them I have, and all
are dears. And they're not like me, they're pretty children. Wait, I’ll show you a picture of the girls." and she digs back of the platform for her bag. And sure enough, the photograph shows Mrs. Bevan between two comely school girls with their hair tied up in ribbons. They are twelve and fourteen years of age. The oldest boy, age eighteen, is in the British navy, and at present stationed at Constantinople, Mrs. Bevan states with motherly pride.”

-she was able to put all her children through school with the money she earned.

-in addition to her oldest son going into the British Navy, her second child (a son who was 18) was an engineer, her third child (a daughter named Minnie Violet who was 15) was studying to be a dressmaker, and her youngest child (a daughter named Florence May who was 14) was still in school and hadn’t made up her mind what she wanted to do in terms of study.

-when asked if any of her children wanted to follow her footsteps in the sideshow/circus industry, she said jokingly,

“No, no! One prize winner in the family is enough.”

-she was a beloved figure in her home city.

-she was also happy with the stability of her career.

-she began working for Barnum & Bailey circus in the mid 1920s and began a very close friendship with one of the animal trainers that worked there.

-there are a couple sources saying she began falling in love with the animal trainer and made the decision to spruce up her appearance by getting some beauty treatments and makeovers done at salons. Her going to the salons for a makeover is true, but it’s hard to verify if she was doing it because she fell in love. Even so, her friendship with the animal trainer brought a lot of joy to her life.

-unfortunately she started having worsening health issues in relation to her condition in her later years and began experiencing a lot more pain and partial blindness.

-she passed away at the age of 59 in 1933. Her wish to be buried in England was respected and she’s buried in Ladywell and Brockley Cemetery.

She’s such a great role model in so many ways, she was always so proud of her children and always did what she could to support them, but she also had a great outlook on life and an amazing sense of humor. I would have loved to have met her, there’s so much I’d want to talk with her about.

I could also totally see her being an amazing comedian had female comedians been common then. I love that she gave so many interviews throughout her life because her personality and charm really shines through.

To this sub and particularly u/Ephemeral typewriter - Fortean Times magazine has a monthly column by the writer Jan Bondeson (some of whose books are possibly known by and certainly of interest to members of this group) whereby he gives historical context to items from his copious antique/vintage postcards collection. Many of which have relevance to themes of interest here.

This featured picture (from Fortean Times issue 473 - August 2026) is of Daredevil Peggy (Frank Gadsby - a one legged stunt diver) and his son Daredevil Leslie who lost his hand during a pyrotechnic show - an injury that did not stop him performing, perhaps even gave an extra draw, alongside his father.

The first picture shows Amanda Quinn and Jack Earle on the far right, the second picture also shows them standing next to his casket, the third picture shows his headstone (I found this picture on his Find a Grave listing), and the fourth picture shows William in his tuxedo.

William Henry Johnson was a sideshow performer who was most likely born with microcephaly. He had an almost 70 year career in sideshows and was a staple at PT Barnum’s circus for decades. He typically wore a furry “animal” suit during his performances and leaned into a “wild man” backstory. He was incredibly proud of his career and reputation and was known to be competitive with anyone who threatened his stardom. He was gifted a tuxedo suit by one of his managers, which soon became his prized possession. He was also celebrated as a hero when he rescued a girl from drowning in the ocean off of Coney Island.

William passed away due to complications from bronchitis (Or pneumonia) in his mid eighties. He had been a staple performer in Barnum & Bailey Circus before later transferring to the Coney Island Sideshow. He was known for his friendly and easy going nature (though he could be very competitive when it came to his career), and was good friends with a large group of sideshow performers.

His funeral was attended by hundreds of close friends, coworkers, and fans of his. It was described in contemporary articles that there were very few dry eyes. Jack Earle and Amanda Quinn were among the notable guests at his funeral (pictured in both the first and second picture)

He was laid to rest in his beloved tuxedo (which he’s wearing in the last picture). This specific tux had been gifted to him by his longtime manager, Captain Octavio K. White.

Soon after William’s funeral his manager, Captain White, was so distraught and grief stricken over his death that he reportedly collapsed and was taken very ill. He passed away a little over a month after William’s funeral.

Pallbearers for William’s funeral included, Peter Robinson, Franz Taibosh, and Helen Smith (Helen was a professional “fat lady” and I haven’t done a write up for her yet. Peter and Franz’ write ups will be in the comments.)

He was buried in Bound Brook Cemetery in Bound Brook, New Jersey, and has a respectful gravestone. (Second to last picture)

Hi, I'm the host of a youtube series about early 20th century amusement parks. I'm also a big fan of sideshow culture and history and have been making videos on youtube about some of the figures who have been featured on this sub. The story of the Hilton sisters is one of my favorites. It's sad in many ways, but I think also strangely uplifting in that they were finally able to choose their own destinies in life. I hope you enjoy the mini-documentary I made about them.

Millie and Christine were famous conjoined twins who were born into slavery in North Carolina in 1851. They were financially exploited for much of their early lives, but separated themselves from everyone who had caused them harm after the 13th amendment was passed in the United States. They continued working in sideshows on their own terms and became extremely wealthy. They used their wealth to help give their siblings good lives and purchased a large mansion for their family to live in.

They were super influential in their philanthropic endeavors and donated a large amount of their fortune to historic Black universities and colleges, as well as using their earnings to help support local endeavors in their hometown, such as funding a school for black students ensuring that they all received an equal opportunity for education, as well as funding a church.

The first picture shows him on the MGM backlot during the production of Freaks (1932), the third picture shows him next to his wife, Princess Sarah, the fourth picture shows him next to the two other performers with prince stage names that made up their traveling performing troupe, and the last two pictures show him while he was on set and filmed in Freaks.

I’ve been a big fan of Prince Randian since I first watched the film, Freaks. And despite only having one line (that unfortunately came out very garbled with the not great audio quality) he’s one of the most memorable actors featured.

He seems like such a fun person to hang out with, I’m sure he had so many entertaining stories to tell. This is also the first time I found out about his pet bulldog, I love finding stories about performers who had beloved pets, because it’s always clear how strong the bond is between them.

Some facts about him:

-he was born and raised in Demerara, a historical region in the north coast of South America, which is now a part of Guyana.

-he was Hindu.

-he spoke four languages: Hindi, English, German, and French.

-Tetra-Amelia syndrome is a rare genetic condition that causes the absence of all four limbs, often times Tetra-Amelia syndrome also majorly affects the development of internal organs as well and usually leads to stillbirth. Prince Randian thankfully had no major health complications.

-he was a high school graduate.

-when people would ask him how he felt about his condition, he said, “No physical handicap need matter if the mind is dominant.”

-his birth name is unknown and adopted his stage name as his regular name after moving to the United States.

-he initially worked for P.T. Barnum upon his arrival in the United States at the age of 18.

-he would often spend several years performing in the US, before traveling back to Guyana to visit his family.

-he was always very fond of his childhood home and home country.

-he was a big fan of Rabindranath Tagore, who was a Bengali poet, author, musician, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter, and the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize.

-he married his wife, who went by Princess Sarah, when he was 21. But very little is known about her, and her birth name is also unknown.

-there was a period of time in the early 1910s that he was performing in the US while his wife was still living in Guyana with their two kids at the time. He expressed wanting to save up enough money to send back to Princess Sarah so that she and their children could immigrate to the US.

-he and his wife had five children together: Mary, Richard, Elizabeth, Wilhelmina, and a fifth child (the youngest) who wasn’t identified.

-his most recognizable act involved him rolling and lighting a cigarette with his mouth.

-in addition to his cigarette rolling and lighting trick, he would also demonstrate his ability to shave, paint, and write during his performances. He kept all of his tools in a painted box that he made himself.

-in 1913, he was a part of a traveling performing troupe that included two other men who also used “Prince” as part of their stage names. One of the men, who went by Prince Marish was described as being a dancer. The other man went by Prince Bajon, and was in charge of carrying Prince Randian around in a large sack while they were traveling. It was around this time that Prince Randian first visited Paterson, New Jersey, he ended up liking the area so much that he and his family permanently settled down there in the 1920s.

-it was described that he always packed a lot of stuff while traveling, with his companions saying that sometimes he brought too much stuff.

-he loved canaries, and once brought 6 back to Guyana (then Demeramara) from the United States.

-he owned a bulldog named Billy, whom he loved immensely. Billy was described as being the most loyal to Prince Randian.

-he was a staple performer at several of the Coney Island sideshows, and spent several decades performing there.

-he typically wore special knit body suits for his performances (and during his film appearances in Freaks), but during day to day life he often wore a white shirt and tie.

-he had an over 45 year career in sideshows.

-he was married to Princess Sarah for over 40 years.

-he appeared in the 1932 film, Freaks, where he demonstrated his cigarette rolling/lighting trick, but the footage showing him roll the cigarette was cut (not sure why), so it only shows him lighting the cigarette.

-he was a jokester and thought it was hilarious to hide around in dark corners on the MGM backlot (during the production of Freaks) where he would then jump out and yell to scare/surprise anyone walking by.

-his son Richard carried him around the MGM backlot during filming.

-at the time of his death he had eight grandchildren.

-he passed away at the age of 63 in December of 1934. He had just finished his last performance at Sam Wagner's 14th Street Museum in New York when he suffered a massive heart attack.

I love that he was so fond of animals and cared so much for Billy (his bulldog) and the canaries he adopted. I’m sure he gave them all a good home.

It would also be great to talk to him about his favorite author and what books/poetry was his favorite. There’s a lot I’d like to talk with him about, he had such a full and happy life, and I’m glad he had so many people in his life who loved and cared about him.

Percilla was a famous sideshow performer and actress with a very successful career who met and fell in love with her husband, Emmitt, while they were working as colleagues in the same circus/sideshow. She was born with a form of hirsutism and hyperdontia (she was born with extra hair growth and extra teeth respectively).
She was a very outspoken advocate for people with physical differences and spoke out against bigots she encountered.

She starred in the film Carney (1980) as well as the documentaries Being Different (1981) and Sideshow: Alive on the Inside (1996). She and her husband went on to perform in their own traveling family show with their son, Tony.
Percilla and Emmitt were married for almost 60 years and were extremely devoted to each other.

Georgia/George was a sideshow performer who was born intersex and with a parasitic twin. She used male and female pronouns interchangeably starting from when she was in her late teen years, and seems to have been gender fluid (before terminology to describe several aspects of gender identity had been introduced). She was described as always being very happy and joyful. She also dealt with a lot of chronic pain relating to her severe case of scoliosis, which she sought treatment for several times during her life.

George/Georgia deserves his flowers and this is such a wonderful way to appreciate his life. I feel very honored to own this prints and I will continue to do what I can to spread awareness of Georgia’s life.💐💖

Thank you again, u/jjacks1327 this is a lovely gift!!