Freak Shows of the Past — One

A man with two heads

Different times, different frequencies.

This is the first of two photo-articles compiled back in 2014, a time when I was fascinated by the historical performers and strongmen who once defined the world of the “Freak Show”.

Living in Los Angeles at the time, I witnessed the end of an era first-hand. The famous Freakshow on the Venice Beach Boardwalk — home to the Bearded Lady and a cast of legendary oddities — finally shuttered its doors while I was there. I remember heading to the Drum Circle one afternoon and seeing a vigil by the closed gates. As “Woke America” rose to redefine sensitivity, a paradox was born: a group of unique individuals lost their stage, their community, and their livelihood.

These photos are a look back at that vanished reality — a world of physical marvels and boardwalk legends that existed long before the gates were locked for good.

 A performer with hands and feet deformities. Wonder if he had crabs.

A woman with mammothly enlarged feet and another with no arms

Alice E. Doherty suffered from a birth defect causing uncontrollable hair growth
and was commonly known as “The Minnesota Woolly Baby”

Artoria Gibbons, “The Tattooed Woman”— considered a 'freak' by 1919 
when she started performing  

The pinhead Twins Jenny Lee Snow and Elvira Snow: Pip and Flip

Ella Harper, or “The Camel Girl”
More

Isaac W. Sprague, or “The Living Skeleton”

John Jennings, a world-renowned strongman known as “The Modern Samson”

Lucia Zarate, 18 when this photo was taken, was the smallest person to have
ever lived. She weighed around 4 pounds.

Myrtle Corbin, known as “The Four-Legged Woman”

“The Elastic-Skin Man” — there is always one of them in each of those shows

The Legless Acrobat with his family...looking like a young Mark Twain

Annie Jones is one of the most famous bearded ladies of all time. Cute

Unzie the Albino

Madam Gustika of the Duckbill tribe smoking a pipe with an extended mouthpiece
for her large lips during a show in a N.Y circus on 12 April 1930

A freak show in Rutland, Vermont in 1941

The famous Coney Island on-going freak show

 

Sideshow boxers

And finally Koo Koo The Bad Girl who bore an uncanny resemblance to 
Rachel Dratch

If you enjoyed this photo-article, check the sequel on here: Freak Shows of the Past — Two.



ALSO VIEW:
 
Freak Shows of the Past — Two

Maman Invisible

 

World Art Through My Lens

Tripping Through Venice Beach Art 

 

More Tripping Through Venice Beach Art

Echoes From The Past — Alexandria in Photos

A Year at the Venice Beach Drum Circle in Photos & Videos (2014-’15)

Another Year at the Venice Beach Drum Circle in Photos & Videos (2016-’17) 

One More Year at the Venice Beach Drum Circle in Photos & Videos (2017-’18)   

Some People I Shot

 

More People I Shot

 

Some More People I Shot  

Some Animals I Shot

 

A Wacky Day Out at LA Burning Man Decompression in Photos & Video (14 October 2017)

 

The Phenomenal Getty Villa in Photos

Photos I Shot That Brought Tears To My Eyes  

Underwater Photography

Underwater Photography by Elena Kalis

Underwater Sculptures, Artificial Reefs 

The Eccentrically Talented Work of Geof Kern