Lately I've found myself deeply interested in the history as well as the current incarnations of the circus side show. Though it is plagued with pain and alienation I've developed a real respect for the people whose lives I've come to learn about. It wasn't a simple life, especially for these people who were often treated as human chattle, yet many of them persevered and developed in the face of adversity in a time when society at large wanted nothing more from them then to gawk and stare. These were people who were often deeply intelligent and sensitive but had to figure out ways to protect themselves from the public at large. (Though at the time I'm fairly sire that the public at large was convinced that it was they that needed protecting.) Here are some of my favourite performers that I have discovered...
Mary and Elizabeth Chulkhurst were a pair of conjoined twins born in 1100 (before the advent of the freakshow) to a well to do family in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, we might not even know of their existence if it was not for the fact that they sold molded cakes with their image on it. These were sold with the profits going to the poor and needy in their area. When one passed away the idea that they should be separated was postulated, however the surviving twin rejected the notion saying "As we came into this life, so shall we exit it." Though really with the quality of medicine in 1100, who can really blame them?
Here's a picture of the cake mold.
Another character in sideshow history that I quite admire is that of "Clifford Thompson" or "Count Olaf" the 81/2 foot tall norwegian farmer from North Dakota. He was often billed as a descendent of the King Olaf the Viking, and was thus a "Viking Giant." I can practically hear P.T Barnum rubbing his hands together from here. Aside from the distinction of simply being one of the tallest people ever on record Clifford was a member of the Elks. He was also a dairy farmer and would often endorse milk at county fairs holding a sign that said "Look what milk did for me!" Later in life he earned his law degree in under two years and was thus the tallest practicing lawyer on record. Though he married dancer Mary Mars, who he met while in Barnum's show in 1939, I can't find a record of them having children.
The last person I'm going to talk about today is my favouite. Zippy the Pinhead was a Liberty Corner, New Jersey native and the catalyst in my interest in the sideshow as he is in many ways a favorite son of Jersey. Famous for his unusually tapered head freak shows would tout him a a micro-cephalic, yet he displayed none of the educational difficulties associated with the disease. In fact Zip, as it would seem, was a shrewd showman, using his unusual physical appearance to pull his poor African-American family out of poverty. After he had ceased touring with both Ringling Brothers and PT Barnum Zip settled down in Coney Island. During his exhibition time there Zip once saved a young girl from drowning in the ocean off the boardwalk. After rescuing the girl and returning her safely to her parents Zip disappeared to avoid the accolades of the crowd. It seems that this man, who would often screech and howl behind bars in a furry suit as a "missing link" felt uncomfortable with being on display in the more average sense. Or maybe he was afraid it would blow his cover as being of inferior intelligence. In fact Zip's last words were to his sister, "Well, we fooled 'em for a long time, didn't we?"
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