Sideshow Stories

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SIDESHOW STORIES A LOOK AT SIDESHOW PERFORMERS IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIETAL SHIFTS

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SIDESHOW STORIES A LOOK AT SIDESHOW PERFORMERS IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIETAL SHIFTS Edited by Mikayla Gregory & Erika von Kelsch

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CONTENTS O RIGINS OF THE SIDESHOW

7

Birth & Work Locations

8

Overview of Conditions

10

TIME LINE OF BIRTHS 15 PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES 31

Cheng & Eng Bunker

33

The Great Omi

37

Joseph Merrick

41

Ben Dova

45

SOURCES 48

6

ORIGINS OF THE SIDESHOW

SIDESHOW STORIES 7

A sideshow refers to a show adjacent to a larger show, which in most cases is a circus. The main attraction of sideshows was their strangeness and novelty. Many performers had physical conditions which were scouted by showmen to make money.

The earliest record of these performances can be dated back to 2400 BCE in Egypt; other records come from The Middle East, China and Greece. Looking at the side show on a global scale, we are focusing on the 19th and 20th centuries, showing the rise in popularity of the 1850s when there was a less negative connotation of the “outside show�. Following this turning point till the slow demise of the sideshow as a place displaying deformities. The best know known PT Barnum. He started the exploitation business when he bought a slave, and claimed that she was 161 years old. He then traveled around New England with her to make profit from the many spectators. And thus our story begins of exploit and performance.

8

WORK & BIRTH LOCATIONS WORK LOCATION BIRTH LOCATION

57%

of performers were born in the United States.

43%

of performers worked in the United States.

BIRTH LOCATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES Many performers were born in the United States. This map shows location specific to state where these performers were born.

SIDESHOW STORIES 9

76%

OF PERFORMERS HAD TO MOVE FROM THEIR BIRTHPLACE FOR WORK Because so many of these performers were part of a traveling group or troupe, the majority of them had to move for work.

The most popular locations for the sideshow were Europe and the United States.

The majority sideshow performers were constantly on the move, and in the case of larger name proprietors like Barnum and Bailey, travel would be done by boat and train.

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overview of conditions

sword piercing animal trainer flexibility acrobat

heavily tattooed

①

② ③ ④ ⑤

⑥

KEY talent body modification accidental modification congenital disorder

① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥

limbs face and head conjoined twins skin hair height

SIDESHOW STORIES 11

FORM OF AMELIA a congenital condition which results in one or more missing or shrunken limbs

18%

CAUSE IS UNKNOWN cases were not able to be identified at the time, with poor medical documentation

8.5% 3.2% 2.1% 1.1% 1.1% 1.1%

PHOCOMELIA results in severely shortened limbs, usually the arms ECTRODACTYL SYNDROME results in a cleft or split hand MUSCULAR ATROPHY results in loss of muscle mass MILROY’S DISEASE causes a malfunction of the lymphatic system, causing abnormal swelling of the face GENU RECURVATUM a deformity of the knee joint so that the knee joint bends backwards CRANIOPAGUS PARASITICUS a twinning of the head, resulting in a secondary partially formed head PROTEUS SYNDROME characterized by overgrowth of the bones, skin, and other tissues

1.1% 1.1%

ARTHROGRYOSIS MULTIPLEX CONGENITA results in curved joints, limiting movement

1.1%

MICROCEPHALY a neurodevelopmental disorder that is accompanied by a very small head NEUROFIBROMATOSIS can cause tumors to grow on nerve tissue, producing skin and bone abnormalities

2.1% 1.1% 1.1%

VIRCHOW-SECKEL SYNDROME a congenital nanosomic disorder,characterized by bird-like features

FRONTONASAL DYSPLASIA the nose has a flat, wide appearance, and the eyes may be wide-set

1.1% 1.1%

STURGE-WEBER SYNDROME results in wine-colored stains on the face

1.1%

PARASITIC TWINS one twin is highly functional, the other may only appear as another limb

7.4%

NON-PARASITIC twins are both highly functional with fusing

4.2%

ALBINISM is a lack of pigment in the skin and hair

ITCHYTOSIS is a condition responsible for rough, scaly skin

4.2% 1.1% 1.1%

HYPERTRICHOSIS excessive hair growth

10.5%

HERMAPHRODITE reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes

1.1%

DWARFISM results in short stature from abnormal slow or delayed growth

15%

GIANTISM characterized by excessive growth and height

9%

ACROMEGALY the pituitary gland overproduces growth hormone, affecting different parts of the body

VITILIGO is a loss of pigmentation in the skin over time

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CONDITION OVERVIEW In order to be a successful sideshow act, some sort of selling point needed to be present in order for spectators to spend money on the sideshow. This set of performers have been categorized by the root cause of their sideshow attraction.

The most prevalent category of sideshow performer between 1780 and 1980 is performers with congenital conditions. For many of these people, the sideshow was an opportunity to make money off of the way that they were born and perceived in a society which understood little about these disorders.

94%

of performers had a congenital condition.

POSSIBILITY OF TREATMENT TODAY 26% treatable 26.6% not treatable 45.5% manageable

SIDESHOW STORIES 13

CONGENITAL ACT TYPE BREAKDOWN

8.6% spectacle and vaudeville 5% strength 3.6% musical talent 3.6% painting 1.8% acrobatics 1.8% acting

THE ART OF VAUDEVILLE Vaudeville, the most prevalent type of act, is a type of performance for entertainment purposes, which rose to popularity in the 20th century. It covers a wide range of acts, including dancing, singing, and acrobatics.

Comedy was an especially important aspect of this type of performance. Especially in the context of the sideshow, vaudeville many times included performance of everyday tasks done by people with missing or undeveloped limbs, especially the arms. These acts could include lighting and smoking a cigarette, preparing a simple meal and eating it, writing, and painting.

14

TIMELINE OF BIRTHS

SIDESHOW STORIES 15

In its original state, the most basic premise of the sideshow was to make money off of people that were mostly anomalies in some way. The majority of these performers had some sort of physical condition which was visible to others.

At the height of the sideshow’s rise, The Victorian Era, it was common entertainment to gawk at the physical disorders of other people. Adults and children alike would go to the sideshow to see these performers. The medical community would also many times attend, and the performers of the sideshow were a constant source of inquiry and question to them throughout the early 19th century.

Many times, the sideshow is taken out of historical context, viewed today only through the events directly related to the performers and proprietors. Viewing sideshow under a different lens, the views of society can be observed as shifted over time. This eventually led to the dismantlement of sideshow as a form of entertainment.

16

The steamboat is invented

TIMELINE KEY

congenital disorder accidental modification body modification

Sarah Bartman Hottentot Venus

1790

1784

Dates in red represent births in the Victorian era

Sarah Biffen The Limbless Artisan

One block represents one performer’s birth date

1784

DATE

BIRTHname NAME Birth PERFORMER PSEUDONYM Pseudonym

talent based act

SIDESHOW STORIES 17

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE VICTORIAN ERA?

The smallpox vaccination is created

Lithography is invented

Fourdrinier Machine for sheet paper making is invented

1796

1798

1799

The Victorian Era earns its name from the beginning of the rein of Queen Victoria, and ends in the year of her death, spanning the years 1837 to 1901. Small American freak shows first started to spring up in 1829, around the time of the arrival of Chang and Eng, the original Siamese twins. As American sideshows began hitting their stride in the 1840s, English versions gained similar popularity. The Victorian era is often viewed as the heyday of the freak show. It was an age of scientific and medical advancements and, consequently, the public was naturally curious about unexplained oddities. Freak shows were staged at both

entertainment and scientific venues, drawing everyone from young children to seasoned medical professionals.

In an age where scientific reasoning started overshadowing traditional religious values and medicinal advancements claimed stories of miraculous and life-saving surgeries, freak shows introduced the average working class person to medicine and science, while enthralling them with tales of exotic places and mysterious people discovered via colonial expansion.

1817

1814

1811

1808

Sander Grims Nellis Master Sanders

Cheng & Eng Bunker The Siamese Twins

George Alexander Grattaan The beautiful spotted boy

The fist steam locomotive is invented

18

Rita & Christine Parodi The Sardina Sisters

Johnathan Bass The Living Mummy

1829

1830

1814

Small American sideshows start appearing.

The electromagnet is invented

SIDESHOW STORIES 19

Martin Avery The Living Skeleton

1836

Issac Sprague The Living Skeleton

1841

Eli Bowen The Legless Acrobat

George Washington Morrison Nutt Commodre Nutt

George Lippert The Three Legged Man

Carl Unthan The Armless Fiddler

1848

PT Barnum introduces his first hoax, known as The Feejee Mermaid.

Warning, Raymond & Co. Becomes the first circus to advertise as a museum and menagerie.

1844

1842

Charles Sherwood Stratton General Tom Thumb

1839

1837

Julia Pastrana The Monkey Girl

1834 20

1859

SIDESHOW STORIES 21

ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species. Debates over evolution and slavery further peaked interest in sideshow performers, many of whose physical conditions and ways that they were marketed fed into this curiosity.

PT Barnum took advantage of the public’s curiosity in the subject, many timesadvertising performers as being between human and animal. This is particularity evident in the pseudonyms of many performers, many of which include reference to animals.

John Campbell The Albino Dislocationist

Joseph Merrick The Elephant Man

1861

1862

Charles Tripp The Armless Wonder

1855

Fanny Mills The Ohio Bigfoot Lady

William Thomas Goy Goy the Roly Poly Man

1854

1860

Millie & Christine McCoy The Two-Headed Nightengale

1852

1859

Nikolai Wassilijewittsch Kobelkoff The Human Trunk

1851

Dolly Dutton The Little Fairy

John William Coffey The Skeleton Dude

First World’s fair at London’s Crystal Palace.

Tai Jin The Kung Fu Werewolf

1849

Charles Decker General Charles Decker

The only illustration included in the original publication, drawn by William West, depicts the degree of similarities between a number of varieties and species, explained by descent from common ancestors.

Born on July 5, 1810, in Bethel, Connecticut, PT Barnum became a successful promoter after moving to New York City. He displayed the “Feejee Mermaid” and other oddities at the Barnum American Museum, and introduced audiences to “General Tom Thumb” and opera singer Jenny Lind.

Barnum bought Scudder’s American Museum in lower Manhattan in December 1841 and reopened it as Barnum’s American Museum, where he displayed the “Feejee Mermaid” and other oddities of dubious authenticity among its 500,000 exhibits.

In 1842, Barnum met 4-year-old Charles Sherwood Stratton, who stood 25 inches high and weighed 15 pounds. Sensing another potential windfall, Barnum trained the boy to sing and dance and revealed him to the public as “General Tom Thumb.”The two together are pictured at the left. The massive popularity of the exhibit led to a traveling tour of Europe, which included an audience with England’s Queen Victoria.

Grace Gilbert Princess Gracie

Barnum formed the circus that would come to be known as “The Greatest Show on Earth” in 1871, and died in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on April 7, 1891.

Neelie Keller Little Queen Mab

Alice Espirona The Living Doll

Mina & Minnie Finley

Fred Wilson The Lobster Boy

Willis Carver

Fedor Jeticheff Jo-Jo the Dog Faced Boy

Ella Harper The Camel Girl

Prince Randian The Living Torso

Francis Joseph Flynn General Mite

Sam Parks Hopp the Frog Boy

Krao Farini The Missing Link

Rora & Marie Drouin

1866

1868

1869

1870

1871

1872

1874

1876

1877

Dudley Foster Hop-O-My-Thumb

Pauline Marie Elizabeth Wedde Marian the Giant Amazon Queen

Annie Jones The Bearded Girl

1865

Pauline Musters The Little Princess

Ella Grisby Abomah the Abyssinian Giant Leopald Kahn Admiral Dot

1864

Paul Desmuke The Armless Man

PT Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan and Circus—the largest circus ever in America—made its debut in 1870.

Alexander Graham Bell recieves the first patent for the telephone.

THE SHOWMAN P.T. BARNUM

Dominique Castagna The Mummy Man

1870

22

1880

SIDESHOW STORIES 23

CONEY ISLAND STARTS A SIDESHOW An incredibly popular performance location, the golden age of the village’s side shows began in 1904 when Samuel W. Gumpertz opened Lilliputia, an entire miniature city scaled for its dwarf and midget inhabitants.

Lilliputia became such a popular tourist attraction at Dreamland, Gumpertz spend many years afterwards finding and promoting human oddities. After Dreamland first burned in 1911, he opened Dreamland Circus Sideshow.

Artie Atherton The living Skeleton

Minnie Woosley KOO-KO O Koo-Koo

Edouward Beaupre The Willow Bunch Giant

Kitty Smith The Armless Dynamo

Harry Overduff Ossified Harry the Man of Stone

Madmoiselle Gabriell THEHalf HALFWoman WOMA N The

Martin Emmerling The Man with the Revolving Head

Alice Doherty The Minnasota Wooly Girl

Grace McDaniels The Mule-Faced Woman

Francesco Lentini The Three Legged Man

John Aasen Johnny Aasen

Stephan Bibrowski Lionel the Lion-Faced M

Horace Riddler The Great Omi

1880

1881

1882

1883

1884

1885

1887

1888

1889

1890

1891

1892

Natalia Jaramillo Athelia the Monkey Girl Dora Herms Brunhilde

Rosa & Josepha BlaĹžek The Bohemian Twins

1878

George Auger The Mighty Cardiff Giant

Frank Fifthen The Armless Cyclist

Karl Benz creates the first gasoline powered car.

Lilliputia was built to half scale to resemble 15th century Nuremberg Germany. The midgets had their own parliament, own Midget Fire Department that responded hourly to false alarms, and their own beach complete with midget lifeguards. While they entertained patrons during the day, they had their own lives and community when the park was closed.

Rondo Hatton The Creeper

1894

Stanislaus Beren Sealo the Seal Boy

1901

Sissy Cook The Penguin Girl

Marie Jean Bernabet Little Lady

Forest Layman The Armless Wonder

Anne Haase Hilda

John Maroldo Johnny Winters

Aloisia Wagner Beautiful Armless & Legless Venus

1905

1906

Ben Dova The Drunk DaredevilL

A letter is addressed to James Bailey protesting the word “Freak� in advertising.

Simon Metz Schlitzie

Ruth Davis The Penguin Lady

1900

1903

Moe & Joe The Comedic Dwarf Twins

Ruby Belle Rickoff Madmoiselle Corretta

The Lumiere Brothers invent a portable motion-picture camera called the Cinematographe

1898

1995

Anna Mae Burlingston Artoria

1893 24

SIDESHOW STORIES 25

1908

A PUBLICATION IN SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN “Circus and Museum Freaks Curiosities of Pathology” is published in Scientific American, condemning sideshows. This publication shifted the once common view of congenital conditions as entertainment to a medical view of improving the quality of human life. The following is an excerpt from that article:

Dick Hilburn The Quarter Man

Robert Melvin The Man With Two Faces

1920

wwi

1918

Frances O-Connor The Living Venus De Milo

1914

Bill Druks The Man With Two Faces

1912

Arnold Henskes The Invulnerable Man

1912

Johnny Eckhardt Johnny Eck

1911

Catherine Virginia McDonald

1910

1908

Charlotte Vogel The Elephant SKin Girl

Loretta Luce The Sunshine Girl

Emmit Bejano The Alligator Man

Social reform for disability in the United States begins.

“In most civilized countries there are now enacted laws forbidding the public exhibition of monsters and revolting deformities.

A more refined and a more humane popular

taste now frowns upon such exhibitions, and they are less profitable to their promoters.

The profession of museum freak is passing.

The genuine lusus naturae is, however, always a valuable subject of study for the scientific physician, which may add to our knowledge of development of normal types and I may possibly illuminate many difficult and obscure problems in pathology.”

A SOCIAL ISSUE with few legal outcomes

Betty Lou Williams Four Legged Three Armed Wonder

Grady Stiles Lobster Boy

1932

1936

1931

Ursula Blütchen The Polar Bear Princess

1927

Sam Alexander The Man With Two Faces Otis Jordan The Forg Boy

1926

1925

Frieda Pushnik The Little Half Girl

1923

The Great Depression begins

But for the majority of the 19th century’s “freaks,” notoriety wasn’t a choice. They grew to accept their lifestyles and appreciate wealth and fame, but paid for it in other ways. Frank Lentini, a three-legged man who was once dubbed “King of the Freaks,” confirmed this in a newspaper interview at the turn of the century.

1929

While sideshows were ousted for their questionable morals, they exist today— just not in the traditional sense. Television network TLC, for instance, has proved that curiosity still sells. Just as P.T. Barnum exploited “Fat Boy” Ulack Eckert, TLC’s “My 600 Pound Life” exploits the sensational aspects of America’s morbidly obese. The network’s “Little People, Big World” light-heartedly portrays the struggles of a dwarf couple, as Barnum did with Tom Thumb. “The Man With Half a Body,” and “I Am the Elephant Man” each prey on the

Penicillin is discovered

same prying eyes that funded freak shows throughout the 1800s. And, like their predecessors, these modern-day “stars” Ware paid for their exploitation—up to $8,000 per episode.

1928

In 1931, Michigan banned sideshow performers from making money by the traditional way of the sideshow. Much of this ban was fueled by a fear of these people being exploited.

The Great Gatsby is published

1931

26

1939

1937

wwii

Television sets become widely accessible, scheduled programs grow in number

The Korean War Begins

1950

Delores Pullard The Amazon WOman

Gabriel Estavo Monjane One of the Last Show Giants

1948

1946

1945

1944

SIDESHOW STORIES 27

The Soviet Union launches the Space Age with Sputnik

1957

Castro becomes dictator of Cuba

The Cuban Missile Crisis

1959

1962

Denis Avner Stalking Cat

The Montgomery Bus boycott begins

1955

1958

dna is discovered

1953

28

SIDESHOW STORIES 29

CONCLUSIONS As is evident from the timeline, the majority of performers were born and performed in the span of the Victorian Era. After Scientific American’s publication on the medical and social issues surrounding sideshows, the amount of people born who performed in sideshows dropped dramatically.

As technology improved, the types of entertainment people engaged with changed as well. The invention of the television allowed for in-home entertainment that provided many of the same attractive qualities that the sideshow possessed: novelty as well as having the ability to tell visual stories.

30

PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES

SIDESHOW STORIES 31

The era of the sideshow as a whole can be analyzed in the context of human history, but when broken down further, the performers of the sideshow reveal an incredibly complex landscape of human life. These were people doing their best to survive by overcoming obstacles.

The individual stories of these performers are each so diverse.

The sideshow was a global phenomenon which ended up affecting a wide array of people, and as such no two stories are the same. A selection of these stories have been illustrated in order to connect these individual lives to that of the larger view of the sideshow.

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WORK LOCATION BIRTH LOCATION

25%

of conjoined twins survive being born.

30%

of conjoined twins are male.

75%

of conjoined twin separations since 1950 are successful.

SIDESHOW STORIES 33

CHeng and eng CONJOINED TWINS

Without a doubt, Chang and Eng are by far the most famous of all conjoined twins. In fact, it’s because of them that conjoined twins are also often called ‘Siamese Twins.’

The brothers were born on May 11, 1811 in Siam now modern Thailand. They were just two of seventeen children and among their siblings were three sets of twins and one set of triples.

The pair was only joined by a single stretchable four inch ligament at the chest. They were positioned nearly facing each other, with Chang on the left and Eng on the right. Because the pair shared no organs, their biology seemed to function almost completely separately. The two had contrasting personalities and accounts seem to indicate that Eng was the dominant personality. By 1838 the pair retired to Wilkes County, North Carolina with $60, 000. During their retirement, they explored the idea of being separated— however no physician was up to the task.

34

Cheng & Eng’s TIMELINE

1870 Cheng becomes partially paralyzed by a stroke.

1850

Deciding they need to make more money, the twins join up with BT Barnum for the next five years to travel as a sideshow act.

1829 The twins are discovered by an American explorer named Captain Able Coffin, and they leave Siam with him to travel the Eastern United States as a sideshow act.

1843 The twins marry a pair of sisters.

1839 Cheng and Eng decide to take charge of their own money and exhibition.

1811 Cheng and Eng are born in Siam, modern day Thailand. They are joined by a small tunnel of tissue connecting their torsos.

SIDESHOW STORIES 35

1874 Cheng passes away, followed by Eng with only hours between them.

36

WORK LOCATION BIRTH LOCATION

150 HOURS

were spent being tattooed.

500 SESSIONS

were needed to transform Horace Riddler.

1600 DAYS

were spent performing by The Great Omi.

SIDESHOW STORIES 37

THE GREAT OMI HEAVILY TATTOOED

The Great Omi was one of the most popular tattooed men of all time. He was primitively tattooed over much of his body including his head and face, which was tattooed in bold black zebra-like stripes. Sometimes referred to as the ‘The Zebra Man’, Horace Ridler – the man who would become The Great Omi – was born in Surrey, England around 1892 to a wealthy family. He served twice in the British Army as a commissioned officer but left the military after the First World War with the rank of major.

The design of the wide black stripes would cover his old work and, by Burchett’s account, 150 hours later Horace Ridler became The Great Omi. As soon as the tattoo work was completed the job offers rolled in from Bertram Mills Circus, Robert Ripley’s “Believe It Or Not”, Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus and the Bellevue Circus. Gladys Ridler worked with her husband and became the Omette, introducing the Great Omi to the audiences of the world.

38

THE GREAT OMI’S TIMELINE

SIDESHOW STORIES 39

1927 The small amount of tattooing wasn’t enough to make himself a successful attraction. He recieves his “zebra stripes” from the famed tattoo artist George Burchett in London.

1922 Deciding to go into show business, Horace starts to get more body art so that he can become a sideshow attraction.

1939 The Great Omi appears at the World’s fair in Queens. After, he is approached by Ripley’s believe it or not Odditorium to be a more permanent exhibit.

1941 Tours Australia, New Zealand, and Canada for the next 2 years.

1950 1892

The Great Omi decides to retire with his wife back in England.

Horace Riddler is born in Surrey, England to a well-to-do family.

1969 Horace Riddler dies.

40

WORK LOCATION BIRTH LOCATION

0.05%

20%

of all Proteus Syndrome cases are manageable.

of people born with Proteus Syndrome will die prematurely.

SIDESHOW STORIES 41

JOSEPH MERRICK THE ELEPHANT MAN

In 1873, when Merrick was just 11 years old, his mother died of bronchial pneumonia. Merrick would later describe her passing as the “greatest sadness in my life.” His father remarried to their landlady less than a year later, and Merrick left school to seek work, eventually finding a job rolling cigars in a factory. But within two years, his right hand had become so deformed that he could no longer do the work and was forced to leave.

His father, who owned a haberdashery, attained a peddler’s license for him and sent him out to the streets to sell his shop’s wares. By this point, however, Merrick’s deformities were so extreme, and his speech so impaired as a result, that people were either frightened of him or unable to understand him, and his efforts were met with little success. When one day his father beat him severely for not earning enough money, Merrick went to live with an uncle briefly before becoming a resident at the Leicester Union Workhouse at age 17. Merrick found life in the workhouse intolerable, but unable to find any other means of supporting himself, he was forced to stay.

42

JOSEPH MERRICK’S TIMELINE

1862 Joseph Merrick is born in Leicester, England.

SIDESHOW STORIES 43

1887 With nowhere else to go, several rooms in the London hospital are converted into living quarters for him.

1879

1890

At 17 years old, extreme deformities forced Merrick to become a workhouse resident.

Joseph Merrick dies from asphyxiation overnight, most likely from attempting to sleep laying down, something his condition would not allow.

1884 Merrick attempts to leave the workhouse and profit from his appearance.

1885 After England started to find sideshows distasteful, Joseph makes a trip to Belgium to exploit himself. He is robbed by his manager and tries to find his way back to England.

44

WORK LOCATION BIRTH LOCATION

16 YEARS

20%

make up Ben Dova’s acting career.

of people born with Proteus Syndrome will die prematurely.

SIDESHOW STORIES 45

BEN DOVA THE DRUNK DAREDEVIL

Ben Dova was perhaps best known for his signature ‘convivial inebriate’ act. His act consisted of Dova playing a quirky drunkard. He would swaggeringly stagger out onto the stage, dressed in a rumpled top hat and wrinkled tails, and would feign falling into the audience while perform wonderfully limber moves. It appeared to the audience as though Ben would topple at any moment and he teased such a disaster, only to steady himself and proceed. He would search, for a comical length of time, through his pockets for a cigarette which was in his mouth during the entire time. Then, at this point, he would climb a street lamp to light his cigarette.

While perched atop the lamp the lamp would begin to sway back and forth, eventually to an alarming degree. Dova would hold on and begin an astounding acrobatic routine heighten by his seemingly intoxicated state.

To some, Dova’s act was comedic and entertaining fluff, however in 1933 that all changed. For the benefit of American newsreels Ben Dova performed his act atop New York’s 56 storey Chanin Building with no net, no wires and no camera tricks. Theatre audiences were terrified by what they saw and genuinely feared for Dova’s personal safety. Fainting at the sight of the newsreel was documented.

46

BEN DOVA’S TIMELINE

SIDESHOW STORIES 47

1986 Ben Dova dies.

1933 1937 Performs his “drunk” act on top of New York’s Chanin Building.

1905 Ben Dova is born in Strasbourg as Joseph Späh.

Dova escapes the Hidenburg disaster alive.

1970 Ben retires as an actor, and six years later he plays a role in Marathon Man.

48

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SIDESHOW STORIES 49

http://www.circushistory.org/Routes/PTB1911.htm http://www.aiga.org/the-last-sideshow-banner-painter/ http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/a_us_history/1700_1800_timeline.htm http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/a_us_history/1800_1900_timeline.htm http://humancuriosities.weebly.com/timeline-of-the-freak-show.html timeline of sideshows http://priceonomics.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-circus-freakshows/ http://variety.com/2012/tv/news/is-reality-tv-the-modern-day-equivalent-of-the-sideshowact-9092/ http://sideshow-circusmagazine.com/research/data/state-circus-2013 http://sundaymagazine.org/2011/02/the-passing-of-the-once-popular-sideshow-freak/ http://sideshow-circusmagazine.com/research/data http://sideshow-circusmagazine.com/research/data/language-circus-marketing