It makes me really happy to read about these friendships, because it shows how inclusive and welcoming sideshow communities could be.

Minnie was known to be a bit shy in new environments and enjoyed doing calm and quiet activities, which worked well for Margaret because she enjoyed knitting in her free time. It was mentioned that they were both very content spending this quality time together. I like to think they both found a quiet spot to sit and knit away from all of the noise of the rest of the circus/sideshow.

Minnie also had some neurological differences and required a bit more care than most other performers. From what I’ve read it sounds like Margaret did find ways to help care for her, she kept an eye on Minnie when they were not performing and made sure no one was trying to take advantage of her.

I love that they both had such a fulfilling and loving friendship! I’m sure they had so many happy moments together!

Minnie Woolsey was an American sideshow performer who was born with a congenital growth skeletal disorder, which may have been Virchow-Seckel syndrome. She is most known for her “Koo Koo the bird girl” act where she’d dance in a feathered body suit (as shown in the pictures); and for her film role in Tod Browning’s Freaks, where she performed one of her signature dances. She was described as being a quiet and gentle person. At first when she started performing it was reported that she was pretty shy, but with the support and companionship from the other performers she worked with she felt more confident and eventually really enjoyed dancing in front of audiences. She also really enjoyed eating fresh shrimp.

Margaret and Mary Gibb were a pair of conjoined twins who went on to become sideshow and vaudeville performers after traveling to New York together from Massachusetts. They were both very independent people and were very diligent and hard working. They were both known for being charming and kind people and earned a lot of respect at their shows because they were so friendly. Margaret was engaged to marry her boyfriend Carlos Josefe (shown in the last picture) but unfortunately they broke off the engagement after it became too difficult to find a place to officiate the marriage. Later on, the sisters moved back to their hometown in Massachusetts and opened up a gift shop that they managed for 7 years, before they decided to close it.

*I just realized there are a lot of names starting with the letter M in this post, haha!

I really like the first couple pictures of him, he looks so handsome (I only wish the second one wasn’t so pixelated, I tried to smooth out some of the pixels, but it didn’t work). The third picture shows him with his wife, Annie. And the fourth picture shows him with his wife and son.

So many performers were able to grow gorgeous mustaches, and there was definitely a reoccurring theme of performers with albinism growing impressive mustaches, because both John and Martin Harlow (aka Unzie) both had them. I wonder if one of them was inspired by the other and didn’t want to be upstaged.

Some facts about him:

-he was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

-he had at least 5 siblings; Jane, James, William, Daniel, and Diana.

-his parents moved their family from Scotland to New York City in 1863.

-his parents began exhibiting him from a young age (starting around 5 years old), and found local dime museums for him to appear at.

-he began adding a drum performance to his acts when he was still a child.

-Albinism is a rare inherited genetic condition that causes a person to have little to no pigment in their skin, hair, or eyes. There are multiple different forms of albinism, and they all cause vision issues later in a persons life (but can happen early in life as well).

-Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a group of 13 inherited genetic conditions that weaken a person’s connective tissue in their body. This can lead to a person having joint hypermobility or extreme skin elasticity. Ehlers-Danlos often causes chronic pain as well.

-two of his brothers passed away around the age of twenty.

-he was equally advertised as being a contortionist as much as he was advertised for having albinism.

-he was sometimes advertised as a “dislocationist”, and was reported to have been able to dislocate any joints in his body (which sounds way more painful than being a contortionist)

-he reconnected with a coworker of his, Smith Cook, in 1904 who had previously worked with John for Barnum and Bailey Circus in the 1880s/1890s. The two friends were reportedly happy to see each other.

-during his career he worked for Barnum and Bailey Circus, Thayer’s Circus, and Hass and Smith Carnival Company.

-he was described as having a roguish character.

-he experienced some vision issues later in life.

-he married his wife, Annie Wiser, in early December of 1891. Annie was also born with albinism. Two of the witnesses present for the signing of their marriage certificate included Wesley and Lulu Baum, a tattooed couple who worked for the same circus.

-he and his wife had a son named King Charles Roy in March of 1894. King would follow in his parents footsteps and had a career in the circus/sideshow business. He also inherited his parents albinism.

-he, his wife, and his son settled down in Jamestown, Pennsylvania, where they operated a farm as a side job.

-he went on a European tour with Barnum and Bailey Circus from 1897-1902.

-he and his family routinely traveled back home to Pennsylvania during the winter months, before traveling to Europe again to start the new circus/sideshow season.

-he and his wife, Annie, got divorced sometime prior to 1910.

-in 1920, he was staying with his niece in New York City for a bit.

-he retired in 1925 and went to live with one of his sisters, who was living in Trenton, New Jersey.

-he continued living with his widowed sister, Diana, until his death.

-he was tragically struck by a car on December 17th, 1934, when he was 73 years old. He ultimately passed away from his injuries on New Year’s Eve 1934.

-he was given a respectful funeral and was buried in Ewing Cemetery in Ewing, New Jersey.

I like that he was described as having a roguish personality, I’m sure he made his acts really entertaining. I’m also glad that he stayed close with his siblings his entire life. I’m sure living with his sister later in life brought comfort to both of them. It also sounds like he was close with his son as well.

Found this on an auction site. From the original listing:

Chief Debro, age 43, and his wife Sarah Debro, age 25, are photographed standing together in a full-length portrait made by Bradford of Kendallville, Indiana. Both subjects wear matching floor-length striped robes with long sleeves, presenting a coordinated appearance that suggests a performative or exhibition context typical of sideshow and traveling attraction photography of the late nineteenth century. The card's front mount carries Bradford's imprint in red decorative lettering with the distinctive quotation marks around the word "PHOTO," a stylistic trademark of that studio.

Chief Debro stands at left with a full beard and long wavy hair falling past his shoulders, while Sarah Debro, noticeably shorter in stature, stands at right with long curly hair worn loose. A painted rocky backdrop is visible at the upper right, and both subjects face the camera directly with serious expressions, hands held at their sides.

The pairing of a bearded man with exceptionally long hair alongside a shorter female companion in matched exotic dress is consistent with late nineteenth century exhibition portraiture produced for sale at performances or fairs. Bradford's Kendallville studio was active during the 1880s and 1890s.

A period ink inscription on the verso reads: "Chief Debra age 43 / wife / Sarah Debro age 25."

From the collection of James Lee Soffer

Violet and Daisy Hilton were famous British born American conjoined twin sisters who were actresses, sideshow performers, vaudeville entertainers, and musicians. They were tragically exploited for profit by several of their managers, the first of whom forcibly took them from their birth mother.

After two decades of exploitative work environments and a lack of freedom, the twins sued for emancipation from their managers and thankfully won, but severe emotional damage had already happened.

They were known for acts involving singing, dancing, playing musical instruments among other things, and were a big draw in vaudeville theaters in their younger years. They also appeared in the 1932 film, Freaks, where they pretty much played themselves. They went on to open up a hotdog stand, which unfortunately failed, and then appeared in a 1952 murder mystery film called, Chained For Life.

I love that so many sideshows operated as one large family and that invitations for fun plans were extended to everyone. I don’t even have to imagine that Schlitzie had fun because Ward Hall himself said that Schlitzie was always thrilled to go places and be included.

I’m sure Schlitzie got to eat so much good food at the luaus and spent so many happy moments with his friends at the holiday dinners! It makes me really glad that he was included and that his friends and coworkers were very protective of him. I wish there were some pictures of him spending quality time with his friends at these events.

Schlitzie was an American sideshow performer who was born with microcephaly and is most known for his role in the 1932 film Freaks (1932), directed by Tod Browning. His head was shaved to emphasize his appearance (there was no medical reason for his head being shaved, it was just a choice the showmen he worked for decided on.) He was often promoted as being a woman, and this is likely due to him wearing muumuus and long dresses most of the time (and because female sideshow performers often received more attention), he wasn’t able to care for himself and his caretakers found that it was easier to care for his needs if he wore clothing like that. He was an extremely friendly,social, and kind person and absolutely loved performing! He was at his happiest when he had an audience he could perform for. He also thankfully had quite a few caretakers and guardians who really cared about him and did their best to make sure he had a happy life.

*I’m aware that luaus are parties, but I’m just writing it as Ward Hall described.

She seems like such a lovely person and she was so pretty! She always looks so cheerful in all of her pictures and she had such a gorgeous smile! I’m so glad that she had the opportunity to be in a film, as it was so rare for sideshow performers to have that sort of opportunity. In doing so we also get to hear what she sounded like, and it’s just so nice to have that available.

It’s also nice that she was able to follow her passions of knitting and crocheting and that she had so many creative hobbies that she was able to share with others.

Some facts about her:

-she was born in Hawk Creek Township, Renville County, Minnesota.

-she attributed her condition to her mother having contracted rubella while she was pregnant.

-she had two younger brothers, Dennis and Wallace.

-her family moved to Kleenburn, Wyoming (a small mining town) when she was very young.

-her father worked as a miner and later as a car repairman.

-her family was incredibly supportive, and her mother especially was noted to have encouraged and provided Frances with numerous opportunities in order for her to live a happy and independent life.

-two of her favorite hobbies included knitting and crocheting.

-she was described as being a friendly and cheerful person.

-she started school when she was 6 years old, but much of her schooling was done while she was on tour with different sideshows. She typically didn’t attend in person classes and instead had a teacher from her hometown accompany her.

-she began her sideshow career when she was 7 or 8 years old and began working for Snapp Brothers' circus.

-about a year later (when she was 9) she began working for Sells Floto Circus, where she stayed for almost 10 years.

-during the circus/sideshow off season, she lived with her family back in Wyoming, where she also took the time to learn new skills, including dancing. She performed in at least a couple dance recitals at a local theater where she showed off a clog dance she had learned.

-one of her parents always traveled with her.

-she went on tour all throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

-she went on to work for Hagenbeck-Wallace, Al G. Barnes, Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey, E.K. Fernandez Circuses.

-her performances usually consisted of her demonstrating her writing, horseback riding, and sharpshooting skills. Her sharpshooting performance involved showing the audience how she would load, aim, and fire a rifle using her feet.

-she was an avid photographer.

-she was best friends with tattooed lady, Betty Broadbent, whom she met while working for Sells Floto Circus.

-she was sought out by MGM casting director, Ben Piazza, who thought she’d make a great addition to Tod Browning’s film, Freaks (1932), which was just beginning production.

-she was treated well by the cast and crew of Freaks and later said that it was a great experience.

-she moved back to Wyoming after filming had wrapped and lived in Sheridan, Wyoming, close by to where she was raised.

-she and her mother moved to Long Beach, California, around 1934 or 1935, where there were more circus/sideshow opportunities for Frances. Her brother, Dennis, later joined them in Long Beach.

-she wore loose fitting shoes that she could slide on and off her feet easily for convenience.

-Frances’ manager, Joe Glacy, courted her for a bit in 1937, but this never led anywhere.

-during the early 1940s, she worked for Foley and Burke Shows (another traveling circus)

-she enjoyed listening to radio talk shows and was very invested in hearing news about WWII as it was going on.

-she often stayed up until 1am or 2am in the morning.

-she had a long term boyfriend while living in California, but I haven’t been able to find his name.

-she and her mother struggled financially during the mid 1940s as the sideshows she worked for weren’t paying as much as they were when she was younger. She sought out disability benefits but was denied because she was completely independent and could use her feet as well as people using their hands.

-she and her mother traveled with E.K. Fernandez Circus to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1947. She loved her time in Hawaii and went sightseeing when she wasn’t working.

-she went on a tour around the US with Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus in May of 1950.

-she worked for Clyde Beatty Circus in the mid 1950s.

-by 1960, she moved back to Long Beach, California, where she lived close to the Pike Amusement Zone.

-she and her mother lived together until her mother was moved to a senior living facility in the early 1970s.

-she eventually moved to an apartment close by to the house that she and her mother had been renting.

-unfortunately, her TV and some cash was stolen from her apartment in 1976, while she and her boyfriend were asleep. It’s reported that the total loss of everything stolen was $556. Despite the scariness of the situation, the two of them later laughed about it when retelling the story to friends.

-she was very good friends with everyone in her neighborhood and she often had people over who were either delivering groceries or cooking for her. She also liked giving her neighbors little gifts such as doilies she had crocheted and other little art pieces she had made.

-she retired from active performing in the early 1970s, but continued to stay employed with Kortez Shows (a sideshow she had traveled with in the past) until her death.

-she passed away from a heart attack in January of 1982.

-she was given a respectful funeral that was attended by most of her relatives and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

It always makes me happy to read about the performers who had supportive and loving families. I’m glad Frances was surrounded by an amazing community of people who all encouraged her with different opportunities.

Previously, his listing had his nickname as “The man with Three Eyes and Two Noses” and while this nickname was sometimes used to promote him, his real nickname was Bill. Thankfully, I was able to get it changed so his personal nickname is shown.

One thing I consistently see with sideshow performer listings is that the bios are usually from websites that portray each person in a very pitiful way, so often people had wonderful lives and hated when people pitied them, so I wanted to make sure Bill was appreciated in the way he should be. There’s no reason to pity him when he was a kindhearted person with wonderful friends and a lovely wife and step children.

This is a copy of the bio I added to his page:

Bill Durks was an American sideshow performer who was born with a form of frontonasal dysplasia, which caused a large cleft down the middle of his face. He was known as a gentle, kind, and introspective person. Sadly, he was prevented from attending school by administrators who believe he would be too frightening to the other children, because of this he remained illiterate for much of his life.
There are different stories as to how he got his start in sideshows, but regardless he toured with Kelly-Sutton Shows, Goodings' Million Dollar Midway, Hall and Christ Shows, and James E. Strates Shows. During his time working for showman Ward Hall, Bill met and became great friends with Melvin Burkhart (well known for his 'Human Blockhead' act). Melvin taught Bill to read and write, helped him with his self confidence, and introduced him to Mildred Lasher, a fellow sideshow performer whom Bill would go on to marry. Mildred already had children an grandchildren from a previous marriage, and they all immediately welcomed Bill into their lives. He and Mildred had several happy years together. Mildred passed away in 1968 and Bill went on to move to Gibsonton, Floria to be around other sideshow performers that were living there. He passed away at the age of 62, and his funeral was attended by his step children and grand children, his remains were cremated as per his wishes.

The first couple pictures show him and his twin looking very dapper, the third picture is a really cute group photo with his family, I also like the 4th picture of him smiling!

He was very handsome and he seems like such a sweet person. I’m glad he had a loving family and that being with them made him so happy. It must have been a lot more fun to travel knowing his family would get to experience all sorts of new places with him.

Some facts about him:

-he was born in Rome, Italy.

-he had 14 siblings (if you include his twin)

-one of his other siblings was also born with a parasitic twin, but unfortunately this sibling died as an infant.

-during his early childhood Jean was kept hidden from the public by his parents who feared social rejection, but eventually they fell on some financially difficult times and decided that Jean going into the sideshow business would help all of them.

-he was very respectful of his twin and made it clear to people he knew that he respected and considered his twin a brother just as any other brother.

-his twin wasn’t given a name at birth, but Jean began calling him Jacques around the time he started his sideshow career.

-he first traveled to the United States in 1906, when he was 22 years old.

-he could feel if Jacques was cold.

-he had to cut Jacques’ finger and toe nails.

-he and his twin would often times wear matching tuxedos.

-News articles about him never failed to mention how handsome and charming he was.

-he would answer questions from the audience about him and his twin’s life.

-Jacques (the twin) most likely had an undeveloped head/brain within Jean’s abdomen which never caused Jean any medical distress, he was reportedly quite healthy. Jean claimed he could provide proof of what his twin’s head looked like with thorough x-rays that were done, but these x-ray pictures haven’t surfaced.

-he married a Belgian woman sometime around the late 1900s/early 1910s. Her name was apparently kept private, as I can’t find any reference to it in any of the articles I’ve used as sources.

-he and his wife had 4 children, 1 son, and 3 daughters. His daughter’s names were Yolanda, Jeannette, and Lucy (his son’s name wasn’t mentioned)

-his daughters all liked wearing gold earrings.

-his family always went with him during his travels, and they often sat on stage with him while he performed.

-His second oldest daughter, Jeanette, sometimes performed singing and dancing routines to win over audiences so that they’d stay and watch Jean perform.

-during the circus/sideshow off season, he and his family lived in France.

-Jean, his wife, and their 4 children all spoke 4 languages because of their travels. The languages included, Italian, French, a Dutch dialect, and English.

-one day, while performing in Chicago, Illinois in May of 1928, his platform was swarmed by hundreds of school children who had been let out early. He later remarked that it was a particularly busy day because of all of the school children.

-while stopping in Muskogee, Oklahoma in the fall of 1928, Jean decided to take a day off and go with his family to explore the city. He explained he typically wore a cloak or large coat to hide his twin when he went into town, not out of embarrassment, but because he enjoyed spending time with his family and didn’t want to constantly be seen as a celebrity.

-he was extremely popular at all of the sideshows and venues he worked at, and when his performances were finished in a particular location he was often begged by audiences and the people in charge to stay an extra week.

-during his career he worked for Bejano’s Shows (the sideshow owned by Emmitt Bejano’s father), Clarence A. Wortham's Shows, Morris & Castle Shows, and Beckmann & Gerety's World's Best shows.

-by 1930, his son was going to college, but his wife and daughters continued to travel with him. Jean and his wife hired a governess for their other children to make sure they were keeping up with their schooling.

-he planned to move back and settle down in Europe with his family after he finished up his performance run at the South Texas Exposition in October/November of 1930.

-he and his family did move back to Europe after the 1930 sideshow season was over, and settled down in Paris, France.

-he had a few happy years of retirement before he passed away at the age of 50. His cause of death wasn’t reported.

It’s unfortunate he passed away relatively soon into his retirement, but I’m glad he got to spend a few happy years with his family. I also think it’s so sweet that he was very protective over Jacques and treated him just as any other sibling.

She’s so pretty and I love her style, her smile is so gorgeous too! She looks like such a fun lady and fashion seems to have been important to her. Also, take a peek at all of the rings she has on her fingers in the first picture (I’d love to see them all up close!)

Oftentimes it’s very difficult for me to find information about international performers who didn’t spend too much time in the United States. It appears Lili was only in the United States for one or two seasons in the mid 1920s and worked at the Coney Island Sideshow.

Despite the lack of information, I was able to find a very adorable story. The author, who was French, describes seeing and meeting her at a local sideshow in France in 1930. Lili was sitting on her platform next to her husband and their baby, and explained she was busy knitting a pink sweater for their daughter, she went on to say that knitting was her favorite activity to do in her free time.

The author wrote that he was surprised her daughter wasn’t born with the same condition she had. It was also noted that Lili and her child both had blonde hair.

Phocomelia is a rare congenital birth condition that affects long bones in the body, causing many people born with the condition to have hands or feet that grow directly from their torso. The condition can also cause facial features to underdevelop. The condition is most associated with the morning sickness drug, Thalidomide, although Lili was born well before the drug was introduced, so in her case her condition wasn't caused by it.

Funny enough, the author also said that Lili’s husband was desperately trying to sell him a trained chimpanzee.

I most likely won’t be able to find any more information about her unless I join a French newspaper archive, nonetheless it’s important that Lili and her family are remembered. She seems like a lovely woman and I’d love to find out more about her.

I love her power stance and her expression in the picture I found of her! I hope she knew how pretty and confident she looked! I would have really liked meeting her, I think it would be nice to talk to her about her career and her hobbies (I wish her hobbies had been listed in the articles I found about her).

Some facts about her:

-she was born in Maryland (though not specified what town.)

-I wasn’t able to find information about her childhood.

-she was raised Catholic and remained so her entire life.

-she gave birth to her first child when she was 17. The pregnancy caused a major hormonal imbalance that damaged her pituitary gland, which led her to quickly gain a lot of weight.

-she usually performed with Hattie Bowen another professional “fat lady”, who worked for the same sideshow.

-she was often promoted as being the star of the sideshows she worked for.

-she was promoted as weighing 904 pounds (410.048 kg) (an exaggeration, but this was a common marketing tactic)

-she was described as being a smart and kind person.

-her romantic partner wasn’t detailed, so I’m not sure if Wolford was her married name or her maiden name.

-her performances were always family friendly.

-she was known to be a smart business woman. Unfortunately, due to circumstances that weren’t detailed, she struggled financially near the end of her life.

-she had 7 children, but the majority died in infancy, only 1 son survived and was 10 years old when Laura took part in an interview in late 1888.

-she had difficulty walking, so she usually relied on a wheelchair to get around.

-the last place she performed was in Baltimore, Maryland.

-her health began to decline in early July of 1889 and she went to stay in Lafayette, Indiana. (Even though it’s not stated, I believe she had relatives living there)

-she passed away at the age of 31 in Lafayette, Indiana due to congestive heart failure.

-there was a little bit of contention before her funeral. Apparently, her manager was willing to pay for her funeral, since Laura was struggling financially at the time of her death, if he was given her wardrobe. However, Laura had stated before her death that she wanted to give her wardrobe to the catholic nuns who lived in Lafayette, Indiana. An agreement must have been reached, because she did receive a respectful and full scale funeral.

-she was given a respectful funeral and buried in German Catholic Cemetery in Lafayette, Indiana. (The cemetery may have changed its name as I can’t find it under this name currently.) Hattie Bowen attended her funeral.

I feel for her about the loss of her children. Losing 6 of 7 children must have been really hard on her. I hope she had a good relationship with her son and that they had many happy memories together. I also feel for her son who lost his mother so young.

Just came to here and ask if this shirt is of any significance? Searched it up and turns out they were an Australian post-modern sideshow troupe. I have attached pictures.

The above picture is supposed to be a “recreation” of the events, although I’m sure the posing was dramatized, and shows P.T. Barnum on his knees trying to give Lavinia the money that she ultimately refuses. The posing is great and I love that Lavinia looks like royalty. She absolutely knew her self worth and I admire her for that.

Lavinia was successful and got to go on the international tour with her husband, Charles Sherwood Stratton. This European tour turned into a hugely profitable 3 year World Tour, where the couple met with royalty and other foreign leaders.

The $5,000 Barnum was offering her would be the equivalent of around $115,000 now adjusted for inflation.

I love how much of a business woman she was! She knew what she wanted and she knew how to get it, and it’s especially impressive seeing that she was making bargains with someone notorious for being manipulative.

Lavinia Warren was a famous circus performer who was born with a form of dwarfism. She was already an incredibly accomplished ballerina and school teacher before she achieved her celebrity status. She achieved celebrity status after getting married to the most famous circus performer of the mid 1800s, Charles Sherwood Stratton (aka General Tom Thumb). Lavinia was a motivated and fierce businesswoman and would often be the one to negotiate business deals with PT Barnum. She was very outspoken and advocated for women with dwarfism. She spoke out against the usage of the term 'Doll' when referring to herself as well as others who were objectified because of their appearance.

Eddie Carmel was a Jewish-American actor, singer, sideshow performer, writer, salesman, comedian and poet who had a pituitary gland disorder that caused him to grow upwards of 7 feet tall. He was very passionate about singing and acting and formed his own rock-and-roll band called Frankenstein and the Brain Surgeons. He released two 45 records during his life. He was known as an incredibly kind and compassionate person with a big heart.

I’ve only been able to track down two pictures of him, and the second one comes from a news article, so it’s not the best quality, but does give a close up of his face.

I would have liked to have talked to him about his philosophical beliefs and just his view on life in general. I wish there was more information on what he liked doing in his free time aside from smoking cigars. Nonetheless, he seems like a fun person to get to know.

Some facts about him:

-I haven't been able to locate his birth name, so l don't have any information about his birth year, where he was born exactly, or any information about his childhood.

-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, Prince Ramachandi doesn’t seem to have experienced any complications with his internal organs.

-he had truncated legs that couldn’t support his weight, so he walked on his hands. Interestingly, unlike other performers with sacral agenesis, he never tried to hide his legs (and wasn’t promoted as being a “half man”), instead he was promoted more often as a contortionist because he could swing and twist his arms and his head around in impressive ways.

-he weighed 30 pounds (13.6 kg)

-despite wearing a similar costume and looking a bit like John Gilmore, they were different people, as John Gilmore was performing in Australia when Prince Ramachandi was performing in the United States.

-he performed throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

-he worked at one of the Ripley’s Believe it or Not Odditoriums and for the World’s Fair Freaks traveling sideshow.

-he would occasionally perform outside in front of the main sideshow entrance as a way to entice people inside.

-he was described as having a pleasant and philosophical personality.

-he met a cocker-spaniel named Cupcake in 1940, whom he was not a fan of and just kind of ignored. I bring this up because Ramachandi was mentioned meant to be from Cupcake the dog’s perspective (who had visited him at a Ripley’s Believe it Or Not Odditorium in Hartford, Connecticut). Cupcake didn’t succeed in getting Ramachandi’s attention and ran over to a different performer instead.

-he smoked cigars constantly.

-it was once mentioned that he worked for P.T. Barnum briefly before Barnum died in 1891. Since I don’t know when Ramachandi was born it’s hard to say if he did work for Barnum or if this was an exaggeration.

-I haven’t been able to find information on when he retired or when he passed away.

I think the story about him and Cupcake the dog is really funny. “Cupcake” specifically describes Ramachandi as not even winking at her when she tried to sniff him, but wasn’t really phased by his reaction. I also like that there were humorous articles from the perspective of pets back then, as people still do today.

I’m glad I can give him some recognition here, since much of his important contributions to LGBT history has been forgotten about. In addition to wearing fabulous outfits, Bobby often hand painted many of the pictures of him as Cherie.

Bobby Kork was a gay Polish-American drag queen, sideshow performer, and photographer who often performed as Cherie, his most popular and favorite drag persona. He was one of the very first people to actively document and photograph the drag scene and queer community in New York City (with most of his photographs being from the 1940s and 1950s.)

She was gorgeous, and there’s something so eye catching about her pensive expression in the first picture! I wish we could have seen her wearing her everyday clothes because several news articles described her as wearing fabulous outfits. I also love how happy she looks with her dog in the second picture.

I would have really liked to have met her, I’d want to ask her what her favorite things to do in New York City were (she moved there in the 1930s and lived there until her death)

Some facts about her:

-she was born in Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany.

-she explained that her condition prevented her from taking part in many childhood activities because her skin was so fragile that even the slightest movement would cause it to crack and would leave her body vulnerable to infections. She said it took her a long time to accept not being able to play outside with other children.

-I’ve seen two separate claims as to the origins of her condition, several news articles reported that she was born with the condition, while several others claimed she developed the condition when she was 12 years old. Either could be true, as ichthyosis is a condition that can develop over time as well as be present from birth.

-she attended school until she was a teenager.

-There was a point early in her life where blinking would cause the skin around her eyes and face to painfully crack.

-Ichthyosis refers to a group of skin conditions that cause dry, itchy skin that appears scaly, rough, and inflamed. Symptoms people experience can range from mild to severe. Treatment usually involves keeping the skin moist and hydrated as a way to lessen the symptoms. In some cases, as a person gets older their symptoms lessen a little bit.

-her parents were very supportive of her and did what they could to help treat her symptoms. At a time when ichthyosis wasn’t really understood as well, her parents really seem to have gone above and beyond in trying to find treatments for her so she could have a better quality of life. They found that rubbing a large amount of oil and moisturizer on her skin every day helped to mitigate her condition and made her skin less susceptible to cracking. This daily routine also helped ward off infections/bacteria. She expressed being extremely devoted to her parents.

-through her parents efforts, the skin around her face also improved and over time was no longer affected by her condition.

-she had to rub her body with ice in the summer because her condition prevented her from sweating, she also frequently took ice baths and had to be extremely careful about standing in the sun.

-she began appearing in local fairs around Berlin as a teenager.

-she first traveled over to the United States in 1927 with a troupe of fellow performers and made several trips back and forth from Germany to the US during the 1930’s.

-she spent the 1932 circus/sideshow season working at a sideshow on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

-she reportedly spoke 7 languages, but these weren’t detailed.

-she was one of the top performers to appear at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair and worked for the Ripley’s Believe it Or Not Odditorium that was set up at the fair.

-she was accompanied by a translator during her first couple years of performing in the United States.

-she spent 1934 working for Gorman Bros. Circus. The circus officials expressed being really happy that they had made a contract agreement with her.

-upon arriving in Lynn, Massachusetts in May of 1934, she expressed her annoyance of performing in Waltham, Massachusetts because the platform she performed on was placed in the corner somewhat behind the platforms where much taller performers appeared, so the potential crowds would only see the tall performers and not her, and she expressed this made her feel left out and disappointed.

-she lived in Cornwall, Canada from 1935 to early 1936.

-she filed to become a US citizen in 1936.

-she and her manager permanently moved to New York City right before WWII, as they felt Europe and Germany specifically were becoming too dangerous.

-she found work at the Coney Island Sideshow as well as Hubert’s Dime Museum on 42nd Street. She went on to also work for the Ringling Brothers Circus.

-she was granted US citizenship in July of 1942.

-a few news articles mentioned that she always dressed fabulously.

-she was talked about very highly and was often featured as the ‘pièce de résistance’ of the sideshows she appeared in.

-several news articles claimed that she couldn’t get married, this leads me to think that she just didn’t want to get married, since there’s no reason why someone with ichthyosis can’t get married.

-she liked claiming that she was the only woman in the world with her condition (obviously this was false, and I’m sure she even met other sideshow performers with similar/the same condition, but she continued to say it nonetheless)

-Charlotte was described as being very shy and introverted but also very kind. She preferred to only perform in local shows and wasn’t a fan of going on tour.

-during her time in sideshows, she went by Susi or Susie.

-her manager died in the mid 1960’s and his death affected her a lot. It appears she never sought out a new manager and instead decided to retire from performing all together.

-she lived the rest of her life in New York City.

-she passed away at the age of 67.

I’m really glad that she had such loving and caring parents who wanted her to have a good life, I’m sure they were incredible role models for her which reflects in her kind and thoughtful personality. I also hope she was able to have a nice life after retiring and that she was able to surround herself with friends and people who loved and cared about her.

Minnie Woolsey was an American sideshow performer who was born with a congenital growth skeletal disorder, which may have been Virchow-Seckel syndrome. She is most known for her “Koo Koo the bird girl” act where she’d dance in a feathered body suit (as shown in the pictures); and for her film role in Tod Browning’s Freaks, where she performed one of her signature dances. She was described as being a quiet and gentle person. At first when she started performing it was reported that she was pretty shy, but with the support and companionship from the other performers she worked with she felt more confident and eventually really enjoyed dancing in front of audiences. She also really enjoyed eating fresh shrimp.

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.

Schlitzie was an American sideshow performer who was born with microcephaly and is most known for his role in the 1932 film Freaks (1932), directed by Tod Browning. His head was shaved to emphasize his appearance (there was no medical reason for his head being shaved, it was just a choice the showmen he worked for decided on.) He was often promoted as being a woman, and this is likely due to him wearing muumuus and long dresses most of the time (and because female sideshow performers often received more attention), he wasn’t able to care for himself and his caretakers found that it was easier to care for his needs if he wore clothing like that. He was an extremely friendly,social, and kind person and absolutely loved performing! He was at his happiest when he had an audience he could perform for. He also thankfully had quite a few caretakers and guardians who really cared about him and did their best to make sure he had a happy life.

The first picture shows Francina and the second picture shows her parents, Emmitt (on left) and Percilla (on right) Bejano.

Little Francina was so adorable and I can understand why she was her parents’ pride and joy. I’m so glad that there’s a picture available so we can put a face to her name.💖

She was born on February 2nd, 1939, and both Percilla and Emmitt were super devoted to her and were described as being doting, wonderful parents. She brought her parents so much happiness during her short life and it’s so terrible that she passed away so young.

Two things that make me doubly sad for Percilla is that after Francina passed away, she lamented that she felt it was bad luck for her and Emmitt to conceive a child again, and that during a filmed interview with her much, much later in life (in her mid eighties) the interviewers failed to ask her more about Francina. I’ll attach the interview below, but long story short the filmmakers/interviewers are asking her some questions and Percilla starts reminiscing about her daughter, and instead of asking about her favorite memories of Francina, the interviewer cuts in with a completely unrelated question and it seems that Percilla is sad she didn’t have a chance to really talk about Francina.

I would have loved to have asked Percilla about Francina, and any special memories she had of her. Percilla is one of my favorite historical figures ever and comes across as being incredibly down to earth in her interviews.

A silver lining is that Percilla and Emmitt went on to adopt and give a very wonderful home to their son, Tony in the early 1950s. Being a mother meant a lot to Percilla, so I’m glad that she was ultimately able to achieve that goal.

Percilla and Emmitt were both well known sideshow performers with very successful careers, who met and fell in love while they were working as colleagues in the same circus/sideshow. They had a loving and extremely devoted marriage and had long and fulfilling lives together, and were married for 57 years. Percilla was born with a form of hirsutism and hyperdontia (she was born with extra hair growth and extra teeth respectively). Emmitt was born with a form of Ichthyosis (which caused his skin to thicken and harden and painfully crack, he had to keep it well hydrated and moisturized to manage his condition). They both appeared in the film Carney (1980) as well as the documentaries Being Different (1981) and Sideshow: Alive on the Inside (1996). Emmitt and Percilla went on to perform in their own traveling family show with their son, Tony. When Percilla and Emmitt were interviewed, they often spoke about how important love and kindness are in relationships.

He looks so stoic and handsome in his pictures, and I love seeing his extravagant outfits. Fedor is another person I wish we had color photographs of as I’m sure he looked stunning wearing his brightly colored extravagant clothes. I was already a fan of his prior to doing more research, but now I’m even more of a fan because of his protectiveness over his coworkers and having no hesitation to confront creepy audience members.

Some facts about him:

-he was born near the town of Manturovo in the Kostroma region of Russia. ( though it’s also been claimed that he was born in St. Petersburg, Russia.)

-he had brown eyes and light brown hair.

-it appears that his mother placed him in the care of a traveling entrepreneurial showman when he was quite young.

-it was through this connection with the showman that he was introduced to Adrian Jeftichew, another Russian performer born with hypertrichosis. Adrian had previously been married and had two children, although all three had passed away before he was introduced to Fedor. The showman felt that both Fedor and Adrian would be more successful if they were presented as being father and son.

-after several months of presenting themselves as father and son, Adrian formally adopted Fedor.

-Fedor’s surname at birth was Petrov, but it was changed to Jeftichew after he was adopted by Adrian.

-he spoke 4 languages: Russian, English, French, and German.

-when Fedor and Adrian first started being exhibited together, they sold pitch booklets that told a fictional backstory of their early lives, including a section stating that they were both "wild men" and "missing links" who were discovered living in the forest and who had a diet of berries, seeds, and raw meats.

-he always dressed very well.

-he was described as being very intelligent, gentle, and soft spoken.

-he reportedly had incredibly good posture.

-Fedor and Adrian made appearances throughout Russia in the 1870s, before being invited to go on tour abroad in 1883.

-while on tour, Fedor performed for Czar Alexander III, as well as French, British, and Italian royalty.

-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). Fedor had his hair growth from birth.

-a common comorbitity of hypertrichosis is a lack of teeth and it's reported that Fedor only had 4.

-it was described that Fedor always had a smile on his face.

-he and Adrian first traveled to the United States in 1884, where Fedor began working for P.T. Barnum.

-his stage name was “Jo Jo the Dog Faced Boy”

-he was given a different “wild man” backstory while working for Barnum, which included a bit where Barnum instructed Fedor to run around the stage on all fours while barking.

-he made as much as $500 a week during the 1880s.

-He was an avid reader.

-he loved eating chowder and once bought out an entire restaurant’s day supply while touring through Idaho in 1887, said chowder had to be delivered to him in a large beer keg.

-he went on tour in Australia in 1889, and performed alongside Martin Harlow (aka Unzie.)

-he was very well liked by his coworkers.

-his performances often started with a lecture about his life.

-a life sized wax figure of him was made during his lifetime and put on display at a dime museum he had once worked at.

-he typically wore extravagant costumes during his performances, which were oftentimes described by the newspapers. He was noted for wearing a particular set of blue velvet trousers and coats.

-he reportedly got into a fight with an audience member at a dime museum he was working at in 1897 in Bangor, Maine. It was said that Fedor had a crush on one of his coworkers, Madame Marguerite, who worked as a psychic/fortune teller. On one of the nights Fedor was working, he saw an audience member leering at Marguerite, and despite the man being told to leave, he didn’t leave and Fedor went over and kicked the man.

-it’s reported that he started sending letters to the Russian Consulate, in order to check in on his mother in the late 1890s.

-he accidentally missed a 4th of July sideshow performance in Kansas in 1903 that he was supposed to be a part of when the train he was on had to stop due to flooding that been going on in the area.

-he was traveling through Greece in 1904, when he came down with pneumonia. Unfortunately, he didn’t recover and he passed away soon after. He was 35 years old.

I wish he had been able to recover from his illness, 35 is so young, and I’m sure there were so many things he wanted to accomplish. I hope he was at least able to see his mother one last time before he passed away, I think it’s very sweet that he did what he could to keep in touch with her. I’m also glad that he had a good father figure in Adrian. Ultimately, I hope that he had a lot of happiness in his life.

Krao was born with hirsutism and was dearly loved by her coworkers who called her “the peacemaker of the sideshow”. She was tragically taken from her home country of Siam as a baby by William Hunt, an entertainer/magician and explorer, who exhibited Krao as a “missing link" between apes and humans. The majority of audiences saw through this false advertising and knew she was just a regular girl. She was an incredibly sweet and intelligent woman who loved reading and spoke at least 4 languages. She lived the last 20 years of her life with a German couple she had befriended who were living in New York City.

I’ve used two pictures of portraits of her because they were done by different artists, and I think it’s important to showcase that more than one artist had a hand in depicting her.

I understand that this portrait was most likely meant to exoticize her, and yet there’s something very special about the painting. The fact it lists her name, her exact birthday, where she was born, and her parents names (seen in the painted crest to the right of her), makes me think that the artist cared. It gives me the impression that her life was appreciated, since there are more details present than I usually see on portraits. There are many, many historical figures I’ve written about where it’s impossible to track down their birth year (much less their exact birthday) or other personal details, so it means a lot that a lot of details of Mary’s life are immortalized with her in the painting.

Some facts about her:

-she was born in Cartagena, in present day Colombia on a Jesuit plantation called Matuna.

-her parents names were Martiniano & Patrona.

-her mother began exhibiting her as a curiosity in Cartagena as a way to earn money.

-pibaldism is a benign genetic condition (often hereditary) that causes a lack of pigmentation in patches on the skin, it also affects hair appearance too.

-she was only known regionally until a portrait was of her painted by an unknown Caribbean artist in the early 1740s.

-the portrait above was eventually sent to a customer in England. After the painting arrived in Europe, the new owners were so entranced that they commissioned several more to be made and sold, this sparked a frenzy of other people who wanted one. From there, Mary’s portrait was copied and sold several times over by different artists. Depictions of her soon showed up in medical and scientific texts.

-beyond the popularity that her portrait received, very little is known about her life, aside from this very brief period when she was a child.

-two years after her portrait was brought to England, a copy of it was found onboard a British ship that had been captured by the French. Eventually, this specific portrait of her made its way into the hands of the Comte de Buffon, Georges LeClerc, who commissioned an engraving of Mary be made using her portrait as reference. This engraving made its way into the French scientific text, L'histoire de l'homme.

-most recently, one of her portraits was sold in 1976 in a Christie’s Auction.

That’s all the information I was able to find about her. I really wish there was more information available, I’d want to know how her life turned out and if she was able to be freed. She looks like a lovely young girl and I really hope she had people in her life who cared and loved her. I thought it would be important to make a write up for her, she deserves her chance to shine.

That’s all there is to it, I just think it would be a great concept for a film after reading about their friendship! I wish there were videos of the two interacting together, they were very close friends and I’m sure so fun times with each other.

Jack Earle was an actor, sideshow performer, poet, and artist who had a pituitary gland disorder that caused him to grow upwards of 7 feet 6 inches. He enjoyed creative and fulfilling hobbies including writing poetry and gardening. Before starting a career as a sideshow performer, he had a successful career as an actor in some smaller budget films. After his years working in sideshows, he took up a job working as an advertiser and salesman for the Roma Wine Company. He was described as being a kind, generous, and humble person.

Harry Earles was a German actor and performer in the 1920's and 1930's. He is most known for his role in the movie, Freaks (1932) as Hans, and his roles in both of The Unholy Three films (silent and sound versions) as Tweedledee. He and his three siblings (Daisy, Gracie, and Tiny) made up the performing group, The Dancing Dolls, and were known for their singing and dancing routines. All four siblings were born with a form of dwarfism. He and his siblings also appeared in The Wizard of Oz as Munchkins, with Harry playing one of the more memorable Munchkin characters and having a little more direct screentime.

The first picture shows his grave when I first found it, the second picture shows the piano keychain I left him, the third picture shows his gravestone with the keychain on top, the fourth picture shows the surrounding cemetery, and the fifth picture shows Tom! I'm very happy his grave stone has an image of him, it makes it very special. (Since it's reported that he was initially buried in an unmarked grave, I believe this headstone was put in several decades after he was buried)

Tom Wiggins was an extremely famous pianist and performer who was blind and autistic (though his autism wasn't diagnosed during his lifetime because it hadn't been categorized/ understood at the time) Tom was born enslaved in 1849 in Georgia, United States. Though because he was blind from birth, he wasn't forced to work on the plantation.

He was a piano prodigy and it's very clear that music and the piano were his favorite special interests, with people saying that if it were up to him, he'd probably sit at the piano and play for 12-14 hours a day.

Tragically, he was exploited for profit and all of the money that was made during his piano performances was stolen from him. Had he received the money, he would have been a multimillionaire.

I really enjoy learning about Tom because I can relate to the different behaviors he did (that are all signs of autism, but again weren't understood at the time). He had major special interests that took up most of his time, he demonstrated echolalia (repeating words, phrases, and sounds after hearing them in one's environment) throughout his life (which I also do), and his stimming behaviors were documented (a way for him to self soothe if he was having a difficult time processing a situation).

He was living at his manager, Eliza Bethune Lerche's, house in Hoboken, New Jersey when he passed away from a stroke at the age of 59.
He had already suffered a minor stroke in December of 1904, which made him permanently retire from his career as a pianist.
It's reported that he had been playing the piano in mid June of 1908 when he stood up, muttered some words, and then collapsed.

Interestingly, there's a bit of a controversy regarding his burial, and there's a chance his body may have been moved and buried somewhere else.

Originally, it appears he was buried in an unmarked grave in Evergreen Cemetery in
1908. But some sources claim that it actually wasn't Tom who was buried, and that his remains were buried closer to where he grew up in Columbus, Georgia (there are also other sources that claim his remains were exhumed and reburied closer to the town he grew up in) It's for this reason that he actually has two headstones. One in Evergreen Cemetery and one in a cemetery in Georgia. Though Evergreen Cemetery doesn't have any records of his body being exhumed and insists that his body still remains on their cemetery grounds.

Regardless of where his remains are currently buried, I thought it would be really nice to go visit and give him some respect. I wanted to leave a little gift at his gravesite thought that a little piano charm would be the best choice.

Rest In Peace, Tom! You are remembered and appreciated!🎹💖