Prince Randian was born in Demarara (British Guiana) in 1871, sorprendetemente without upper or lower extremities.
In 1889 the circus impresario PT Barnum, after rumors he had heard about the physical decline of Randian, travels to the home country, to take it with him to the United States and show it in circus shows. Randian begins to appear on the shows shaving with a razor blade attached to a wooden mast, writing or painting, bundling and lighting cigarettes with the only help of his mouth and the muscles of the face.
Onstage moved very quickly from one place to another, moving your hips and shoulders in a snake-like motion, being there announcing where acted as "human beings crawling on his belly like a reptile", appearing always dress with a piece of wool striped covering the torso and from which protruded only his head. This outfit together with its characteristic movement of reptile to move earned him so called it man Caterpillar or the human torso.
For more than 45 years, Caterpillar man was acting for the United States, in circuses, carnivals and museums. Said that it was a good Carpenter, and the box where housed all materials for smoking, had been built by himself with his mouth, which was very smart and who spoke English, German and French in addition to hindi, his native language.
In 1901 he married Sarah Hill, a clerk at Paterson (N.j.), which had no physical decline any, and who bore him five children.
In 1932 Tod Browning gives you the opportunity to jump to the big screen, starring alongside fellow of circus "Freaks" film.
In the film, Randian said one sentence in the famous scene in which lights a match and a cigarette using only his mouth. With an almost incomprehensible accent tells a man without disabilities: can you do something with your eyebrows?
Caterpillar man, held his last representation on December 19, 1934. In the same scenario suffered a collapse, dying on the spot. Newspapers echoed his death the next day, referring to it as Randian, Randion, Radion, radio or revealing his obituary which was sixty-three years old, who was born in British Guiana and who resided in the 174 Water Street in Paterson, New Jersey, with his Indian spouse, Princess Sarah, her four daughters and a son.
2.Charles Stratton
Charles Sherwood Stratton was born on January 4, 1838, in Bridgeport, Connecticut (United States).
His parents were of average height, and Charles was an average-size baby when he was born. But when he was 6 months old, suddenly ceased to grow.
Thus, at the age of 4 years, he had the same height and the same weight as 6 months. During that period the boy was discovered by Phineas Taylor Barnum, the founder of a famous circus.
Barnum taught him to sing, to dance and to train the child to entertain the public.
General Tom Thumb, as he was named in the circus, or Charles quickly earned success. The audience just loved it.
When Charles was 5 years, Barnum led to a European tour. There they ordered him to act to Queen Victoria. I was delighted: the gingerbread man touched his heart and became his loyal fan!
On February 10, 1863, Charles married Lavinia Warren, who was also a dwarf.
Unfortunately on July 15, 1883, Tom died suddenly from a stroke. The man had only 46 years old. Your spouse Lavinia died almost 36 years later.
3.Edward Mordrake
This is the story of Edward Mordake, a man born with a rare malformation which granted him two-faced and that internet has become a lovable monster, a kind of Joseph Merrick (the Elephant Man) transfigured by her illness in a circus attraction.
The history of Edward begins adulterated by the bourgeois position. His mother was the Countess of Darlington from the 19th, a landowner in the South of the County of Posthmouth in the United Kingdom. As son of a good family was envied and hated in equal parts: its lineage and wealth to inherit him placed in the focus of public attention, their disease in the diana of Jesters, chanceros and professional down of your surname.
Mordake suffered congenital syndrome known as Diprosopia or craniofacial duplication. It actually consists of congenital duplication of the notochord, a common embryonic structure in all vertebrates whose bending causes the generation of two nerve crests which in turn generate two different craniofacial structures.
Unlike the Siamese twins United after the birth, the disprosopia is not due to the fusion or incomplete separation of two embryos: is the result of an abnormality in a protein that normal craniofacial pattern marks. Depending on the level of congenital alteration of this protein, the individual can have up to four ears, four eyes and two separated lips. Curiously, the name of this protein, SHH (Sonic Hedgehog), later inspirararia of the most famous video game character of the company Sega.
This structural duplication may give some movement to the stunted faces. Edward had a completely healthy dominant structure, its normal expressive face, and next to it your semi-expresiva added face with muscles and nerves badly developed and atrophied from birth. This would be another test that would confirm the disprosopia instead of a case of 'cephalopagus' or vestigial parasitic twin, where the dead Siamese lacks all kinds of independent movement.
The scientific name of residual movement become a kind of 'other self' which, according to legend, tormented his dominant face with grins and signs of expression conditioned by the behavior of Edward the second face of Edward. According to unverified legend, the second parasitic face smiled and moving lips taunting his alter ego dominant to immerse you into a depression that would finally lead him to suicide.
According to popular mythology, the other side had a faint voice that only Edward could hear. Strabismic eyes never closed but could mourn and follow the gaze of everyone who would look at it. Mordrake also claimed that he suffered from insomnia because of the hateful whispers that his "evil twin" tortured him in the evenings.
In a supposed testimony of Edward Mordrake appeared in 1900 in the Almanac of medicine "Anomalies and curiosities of medicine", by George M. Gould, one could read: "imagination cannot conceive terrible temptations which surrounds me. By some unforgivable evil of my ancestors I stitched this demon, because I am sure that it is a demon. I pray and beg so remove it from the world, even if I die"
Obviously this is not true. Like that the second side was a beautiful woman, as they have almost all versions. The diprosopia is based on the development of a single type of genes with sex already defined before the duplication of the notochord.
What probably would throw into a depression to its owner is the appearance, movements or involuntary tics of his other side, social marginalization and envied status exercised by the society that had him live. All this forced Edward to isolate it and submit your personality to the harsh conditions of isolation that could trigger the so-called suicide.
Another big lie from this story is the photo that heads East and hundreds of network items that tell the story of Edward. The photo is of a higher quality that you expect from a photo shoot in the 19th century. And the hairstyle, the difference in complexion or shadows that hide the second face make one think more in a film production that a forensic graphic proof. It can be one of the multiple representations of wax that is the bust of Edward and made long after his death at some point in the 20th century for the enjoyment of a Museum of horrors or medical Academy.
Details of this case are not covered by a verified medical record but by popular imagery, pagan texts, compilations geeks, works of theatre or even songs of worship that adorn and feed on the legend. The main text on which are based almost all others are the work of George M. Gould before commented, that does nothing to a quoted testimony.
In the absence of scientific method to verify only history can get tested from common sense and Ockham's razor. Welcome to the internet.
4.Maurice Tillet
Maurice Tillet was born on 23 October of the year 1903 somewhere in the Urals in Russia. During his childhood he wasn't no health issues and even received the name of "Ángel" by her angelic features. After the death of his father and the subsequent outbreak of the Russian Revolution, his mother decided to remain in the Urals was too risky and returned to his native France, where he spent his adolescence the young.
After a normal life, 20-year-old was struck by a rare disease: acromegaly. It's a syndrome that alters the production of growth hormone, causing the head to increase its size disproportionately. The life of Maurice was not the same from that day.
Entrance to the world of the struggle
His illness prevented him from career that dreamed - advocacy - so it is traded by engineering. In 1937, while working in Singapore with the French Navy, he met Karl Pollejo, a professional wrestler who convinced him that he had a future in the field. They moved to Paris, where they began an intensive training he soon showed its fruits; However, the outbreak of the second world war would force them to go to the United States.
There, Maurice began a successful career as a wrestler. Nicknamed "the French Angel" wrestler became a celebrity and began an unstoppable rise that would take him to keep the title for 2 years, between 1940 and 1942. However, his health began to deteriorate and to 1945 it was no longer a "unstoppable" monster before. He retired from the struggles and began a long decline which would eventually lead him to death in 1954, just with 12 hours of difference from his good friend Karl Pollejo. They were buried together.
Shrek
One of the frustrated dreams of Maurice Tillet was always to be a movie star. For this reason, although Dreamworks has never claimed that the man was indeed the inspiration of Shrek, many see in this film a kind of posthumous tribute that helped Maurice to fulfill his unique incomplete dream in life.
In addition, being honest the resemblance is such that it would be surprising if not was it used, at least as an inspiration.
5.Simon Metz (Schlitze)
The date and place of birth of Schlitze is not known with accuracy. Some sources speak of born in Yucatán (Mexico) in 1881, some believe that it was in 1891 and others claim that he was born in New York in 1901. It is not known his real name, and thought that it could be Simón Metz. For legal purposes, his name was Schlitze Surtees. It was microcephalic or "pinhead" (pin-head), as they were known at the end of the 19th century in the circus shows. His stature was 1.22 meters and its brain weighed more than 50 grams, with an IQ similar to that of a child of three years. Despite this, Schlitze showed unusual intelligence, being able to count up to ten, carry out some dance moves and sing some brief notes. It was very fast in their reactions, and had a high capacity of observation and ability for mimicry. Although it was actually a man, he always wore women's dresses to simplify their physiological needs.
He began his career in the circus in the early 1900S, along with his alleged sister Athelia, also microcefala, as "The last of the Aztecs" or "Aztec sisters". It was also known as "Princess Nadine", "Princess Ha Ha", "Minnie Ha Ha", "La Princess Azteca" or "Schlitze, the mysterious". He worked for important showmen as Ringling Bros. and Barnum
Schlitze debut as "The last of the Aztecs" in the World completo Museum in Philadelphia was on January 9, 1921. Prince Randian, also participated in this circus during the same period, and would not be the only time that they would match in his career. Schlitze loved to be in the world of the show and seemed to enjoy it in its entirety. One of the numbers that did was magic, showing an empty bag (a magic bag) to the public and driving up to someone so that you put the hand over. Got your hand in the bag and took out enormous underpants, pointed out the guy then laughed foolishly. People tronchaba of laughter because Schlitze was great acting.
In 1928, his film debut with a small role in the film "The Sideshow"(1928, Erle C. Kenton), a drama set in the world of the circus. Four years later participates in "Freaks" (1932, Tod Browning). Schlitze, was of the most endearing characters and that captivated more people in the shooting. He loved hats, games and felt special devotion for Browning, to which mimicked its tone of voice.
The nature of Schlitze the towards a person extremely adorable and affectionate, was like a big kid. They say it took everything with a sense of humor very ironic and soon spread to the entire team of the film. You can tell was that better spent it during filming.
There is speculation which later formed part of the cast of "Island of Lost Souls" (1932, Erle C. Kenton), film starring Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi and Leila Hyams (Venus in "Freaks"), and a year later had a small role in "Tomorrow completo Children" (1933 (, Crane Wilbur), in which was sentenced by a judge to vasectomy. Not known certainly if it is Schlitze who participates in both films or someone like him.
In 1935, while Schlitzie was with Tom Mix Circus, George Surtees, a trainer of chimpanzees, adopted it, becoming Schlitzie's legal guardian. His last film role was in "Meet Boston Blackie" (1941, Robert Florey), which briefly played a character called "Princess Betsy", in a circus show.
He worked on the variety circuit until the death of George Surtees at 60. Then, his daughter, who was not working in the world of the spectacle, interned Schlitze in a mental institution in Los Angeles. There he was not at home and was not receiving good care, passing the days depressed and alone. Sam Alexander, a Canadian circus promoter, took account of the situation and took back to Schlitze to the stage, where he was really happy, since it was the only thing he had met in his life. His last years you were spent living in Los Angeles and on September 24, 1971 died at the age of 70 years because of pneumonia at Fountain View Convalescent Home. On his death certificate appears "Schlitze Surtees" as its official name and 1901 as his year of birth.
