In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction.
Guinness World Records, known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as The Guinness Book of Records and in previous United States editions as The Guinness Book of World Records, is a British reference book published annually, listing world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. Sir Hugh Beaver created the concept, and twin brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter co-founded the book in London in August 1955.
Fire breathing is the act of making a plume or stream of fire by creating a precise mist of fuel from the mouth over an open flame. Regardless of the precautions taken, it is always a dangerous activity, but the proper technique and the correct fuel reduces the risk of injury or death.
Robert Pershing Wadlow, also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raised in Alton, Illinois, a small city near St. Louis, Missouri.
Bernard William Jewry, known professionally as Shane Fenton and later as Alvin Stardust, was an English rock singer and stage actor. Performing first as Shane Fenton in the 1960s, Jewry had a moderately successful career in the pre-Beatles era, hitting the UK top 40 with four singles in 1961–62. However, he became better known for singles released in the 1970s and 1980s as Alvin Stardust, a character he began in the glam rock era, with hits including the UK Singles Chart-topper "Jealous Mind", as well as later hits such as "Pretend" and "I Feel Like Buddy Holly".
Erik Sprague, known professionally as the Lizardman, is an American freak show and sideshow performer. He is best known for his body modification, including his sharpened teeth, full-body tattoo of green scales, bifurcated tongue, subdermal implants and green-inked lips.
Sword swallowing is a skill in which the performer passes a sword through the mouth and down the esophagus to the stomach. This feat is not swallowing in the traditional sense. The natural processes that constitute swallowing do not take place, but are repressed to keep the passage from the mouth to the stomach open for the sword. The practice is dangerous and there is risk of injury or death.
Horace Leonard Ridler was a professional freak show and sideshow performer, exhibited for his heavy tattoos under the stage names The Great Omi and The Zebra Man.
John Aasen was an American silent film actor and sideshow performer who was one of the tallest actors in history.
The Enigma is an American sideshow performer, actor, and musician who has undergone extensive body modification, including horn implants, ear reshaping, multiple body piercings, and a full-body jigsaw-puzzle tattoo. His tattooing process began on December 20, 1992, under the needle of Katzen the Tiger Lady, whom he later married, and has since divorced. To date, the Enigma has had more than two hundred tattoo artists work on him, with as many as twenty-three tattoos underway at one time.
Schlitzie, possibly born Simon Metz and legally Schlitze Surtees, was an American sideshow performer. He also appeared in a few films, and is best known for his role in the 1932 movie Freaks. His lifelong career on the outdoor entertainment circuit as a major sideshow attraction with Barnum & Bailey, among others, made him a popular cultural icon.
A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with intersex variations, those with extraordinary diseases and conditions, and others with performances expected to be shocking to viewers. Heavily tattooed or pierced people have sometimes been seen in freak shows, as have attention-getting physical performers such as fire-eating and sword-swallowing acts.
Chayne Hultgren, known professionally as the Space Cowboy is a world record-holding sideshow, street, and freak show performer.
Eli Bowen was an American sideshow performer known as "The Legless Wonder", or "The Legless Acrobat". He was also billed as "The Handsomest Man in Showbiz" and the "Wonder of the Wide, Wide World". His peak weight was 140 pounds (64 kg); his height was 24 inches (61 cm).
Johnny Strange, nicknamed "the man with ears of steel", is an English world record breaking performance artist, producer, street performer and bestselling author based in London, England. He is known for performing daredevil stunts with a comedic twist.
Thomas Wadhouse, born in Yorkshire, England, circa 1730, was a performer in various circus sideshows in the mid-18th century. He is chiefly known for having the world's longest nose, allegedly measuring 20 cm long.
Daniel Browning Smith, also known as The Rubberboy, is an American contortionist, actor, television host, comedian, sports entertainer, and a stuntman, who holds the title of the most flexible person in history, owning a total of seven Guinness World Records. Smith owes his flexibility to the genetic condition hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome.
Gary Turner may refer to:
The Circus of Horrors is a British-based contemporary circus created by John (Dr) Haze and Gerry Cottle. They were first seen performing at the Glastonbury Festival in 1995. Blending horror, black comedy and rock music with circus acts, it uses goth and steampunk imagery, and references Victorian freak shows and burlesque. They were semi-finalists on Britain's Got Talent in 2011.
Clarence E Willard was an American vaudeville performer. After carrying out stretching exercises, Willard found he was able to increase his height at will by 7+1⁄2 inches (19 cm) and also elongate his arms and legs. He developed this into a freak show act under the name "The Man Who Grows". From around 1910 Willard performed in vaudeville in the United States and was also claimed to have performed at the Berlin Wintergarten theatre. He became associated with Robert Ripley, performing at the Believe It or Not! odditoriums and appearing in a short film. Willard appeared at the 1936–37 Great Lakes Exposition in Cleveland, Ohio, and later ran a restaurant in Alameda, California.
