- 6 months ago
- #freaks
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- #creepymovies
Freaks is a 1932 American pre-Code horror film produced and directed by Tod Browning, starring Wallace Ford,
Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, and Roscoe Ates. The film is based on elements from the short story "Spurs" by Tod Robbins.
#freaks #moviereview #creepymovies
Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, and Roscoe Ates. The film is based on elements from the short story "Spurs" by Tod Robbins.
#freaks #moviereview #creepymovies
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the Dark Mystery Lounge.
00:03Today we are going to talk about something a little different.
00:06Around this time of the year, lots of people get into the spooky season by watching horror movies and other Halloween movies.
00:14One of my favorite movies to watch from my collection is Todd Browning's Freaks from 1932.
00:21Even though it's not really considered a horror movie by today's standards, this movie scared the living piss out of people back in the 1930s.
00:29Freaks is a 1932 American pre-code horror film.
00:37This was before the Motion Picture Production Code Censorship Guidelines, known as the Hays Codes, was even established in the mid-1930s.
00:47I'm sure this film would have never seen the light of day if it was made any later.
00:51The movie was based on the 1923 short story Spurs.
00:57Produced and directed by Todd Browning, known for directing and co-producing the 1931 film Dracula starring Bela Lugosi,
01:06Todd Browning wanted to have real sideshow circus performers in the film rather than actors in stupid cheesy costumes.
01:14Because as a kid, he was fascinated with the circus and carnivals, he ran away as a teen to join a traveling circus.
01:22When it came time for the filming to begin in the fall of 1931, problems arose as the crew were uncomfortable with working alongside these quote-unquote freaks
01:34and would not allow them onto the MGM studio lot, relegating instead to a specifically built tent.
01:42Other than that, the cast seemed to get along with one another.
01:45The plot of the movie is that a beautiful and conniving trapeze artist named Cleopatra, played by Olga Baclanova,
01:55seduces a carnival sideshow dwarf named Hans, played by Harry Earls, after learning of his large inheritance.
02:03Hans, who already had a crush on her, despite being engaged to his fiancée, Frida, played by Daisy Earls, who is also a dwarf.
02:11Cleopatra conspires with circus strongman Hercules to marry and then kill Hans so she will inherit his wealth.
02:22During the wedding feast, Cleopatra reveals her true colors.
02:26When the freaks start an initiation ceremony, yes, this is the movie with the infamous chant,
02:32We accept her, one of us, we accept her, one of us, goobble, goobble, goobble, goobble, we accept her, we accept her,
02:42while passing around a loving cup full of wine, which everyone drinks from.
02:47She throws it back in their face and Hercules chases them out.
02:51After a bit of snooping, one of the dwarves finds out what is really going on.
02:56A revenge plot is secretly formed to get back at Cleopatra and Hercules.
03:02Needless to say, they both get their comeuppance in the end.
03:07The film had test screenings in January 1932, with many members of the audience reacting negatively, finding the film too grotesque.
03:16Halfway through the preview, a lot of people got up and ran out.
03:21They didn't walk out, they ran out.
03:23Others reportedly became ill or fainted.
03:27One woman, who attended the screening, threatened to sue MGM, claiming that the film had caused her to suffer a miscarriage.
03:35Due to the extremely unfavorable response, the studio cut the film down from its original 90-minute run time to just over an hour,
03:44with an alternate ending as well.
03:46You know it's bad when they have to censor a movie before censorship was even a major thing.
03:51In the original ending, as the quote-unquote freaks are chasing down Cleopatra in the woods,
03:58lightning strikes a tree, which catches fire and falls down, crushing her legs.
04:03She tries to get the burning tree off of her, but her hands melt into kind of webbed hands.
04:09The gang rush her, removing one of her eyes, cut out her tongue, then tarred and feathered her,
04:16making her into a new sideshow attraction, the human duck.
04:20As for Hercules, he was castrated and made into a castrato.
04:25The ending was supposed to have Hercules singing in a falsetto, with Cleopatra quacking along.
04:32Honestly, I think that would have been more entertaining in a horror movie sense,
04:37but I can see why it would have been too much for people back in the 30s.
04:40Even with this newly cut version, people were still critical of it.
04:46The film premiered in L.A. on February 12, 1932.
04:51The film attracted controversy upon its theatrical release,
04:55and was pulled from screenings in Atlanta.
04:57In the United Kingdom, the film was banned by the British censors,
05:02and remained so for more than 30 years, before being passed with an X rating in August 1963.
05:11Now, there were a handful of critics that did give a positive review,
05:14but in all, it was a box office failure, and the end of Todd Browning's career in film.
05:21I don't want to focus just on the film itself, rather the cast of Freaks.
05:27To me, their stories, and what they did after the film, are just as interesting,
05:32and some downright heartbreaking.
05:43Wallace Ford was born Samuel Grundy Jones in England on February 12, 1898,
05:51into a working-class family of limited means.
05:54At the age of three, he was placed with his uncle and aunt,
05:58but due to them being unable to care for him, and having too many mouths to feed already,
06:04Samuel was sent to an orphanage.
06:06When he was seven, he and other children from similar backgrounds were shipped to Canada
06:12to be found new homes with farming foster families
06:15as a part of the British Empire's ongoing program to populate the territory.
06:21Samuel was adopted by a family in Manitoba.
06:25He was ill-treated and became a serial runaway.
06:28Being resettled several times with different families by the Canadian authorities.
06:34At the age of 11, he ran away for the final time,
06:38and joined a vaudeville traveling troupe touring Canada called the Winnipeg Kitties,
06:44from which he acquired his initial training as a performer.
06:47In 1914, 16-year-old Samuel and another teen named Wallace Ford decided to head south to the United States
06:57to seek their fortunes, riding a freight train illicitly.
07:03During the trip, Ford was killed beneath the wheels of a train.
07:06Later, Samuel adopted, as his stage name, the name of his dead traveling companion.
07:14Samuel served as a trooper in the United States Cavalry during World War I.
07:20Afterwards, he went back to stage performances with a different vaudeville troupe.
07:24Samuel has performed in a dozen Broadway plays.
07:28When he accepted the lead role as Frozo the Clown in Todd Browning's Freaks,
07:34this was just one of 150 movies he would appear in,
07:38getting the lead role in the 1930s and 40s in Hollywood B movies.
07:44He also appeared on the small screen as well, with a dozen credits to his name.
07:51His last movie role was playing Old Pa in the 1964 drama A Patch of Blue.
07:58He became a naturalized United States citizen on May 8, 1942.
08:04By this act, he also legally changed his name from Samuel Grundy to Wallace Ford.
08:10Wallace got married to Martha Hayworth, and they had a daughter.
08:16After the death of his wife in February 1966,
08:21Wallace moved into the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital
08:25at Woodland Hills, California,
08:28and died in the hospital of heart failure four months later.
08:32His body was laid to rest in an unmarked grave at Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery.
08:38He was 68 years old.
08:46Layla Hayams was born on May 1, 1905, in New York City
08:51to vaudeville comedy performers John Hayams and Layla McIntyre,
08:57who performed as a duo, Hayams and McIntyre.
09:01Her mother was a noted Broadway performer,
09:04and both her parents appeared in films.
09:06Layla appeared on stage with her parents while still a child,
09:12working in their vaudeville act for five years.
09:15But unable to establish a successful theater career,
09:19she turned to modeling, modeling clothes, cosmetics, and dental care.
09:25Layla made her film debut in 1924,
09:27and with her blonde hair, green eyes, delicate features, and good-natured demeanor,
09:34she was cast in a number of supporting roles,
09:37where she was required to do very little but smile and look pretty.
09:42It took a number of years to be taken seriously as an actress.
09:46The movies Layla is best remembered for are two early 1930s horror movies,
09:53as the wisecracking but kind-hearted SEAL trainer Venus in 1932 film Freaks,
10:00and as the heroine Ruth Thomas in the Charles Lappington slash Bela Lugosi film
10:07Island of Lost Souls, also in 1932.
10:11Layla married her Hollywood talent agent, Phil Berg, in 1927.
10:18In 1936, after a 12-year acting career and performing in 50 films,
10:24she retired from the motion picture industry.
10:27She made a brief appearance in a 1943 short film called First Aid,
10:33as a Red Cross worker.
10:36She remained active in the Hollywood community for the rest of her life.
10:41On December 4, 1977, after a brief illness,
10:46Layla passed away in her Bel Air home at the age of 72.
10:51She was survived by her husband, Phil.
10:53Her remains were cremated and ashes scattered in an unknown location.
11:03Olga Baklanova was born on August 19, 1893, in Moscow, Russia,
11:10to Vladimir Baklanov and his wife Alexandra,
11:14who was an actress in early Russian films.
11:17She had six siblings.
11:19Olga studied drama at the Cherniovsky Institute
11:23before being accepted into the Moscow Art Theater in 1912.
11:28Olga appeared in 17 Russian films
11:30and also performed extensively on stage,
11:34touring and performing in many countries all over the world.
11:38Olga came to New York City
11:40with the 1925 touring production
11:42of the Moscow Art Theater's Lysistrada.
11:46When the rest of the company returned to Russia the following year,
11:49she stayed in America.
11:51Her career in silent films started in 1927
11:55with just a bit role.
11:56A statuesque blonde,
11:59Olga quickly established herself as a popular actress.
12:03She had nine silent movie roles under her belt
12:05before talking films were invented.
12:09Due to her thick Russian accent,
12:11this change was difficult for Olga.
12:13She no longer secured leading roles
12:15and was relegated to supporting parts.
12:19When she was cast as the cruel trapeze artist Cleopatra
12:22in the film Freaks,
12:24her career was already in decline.
12:26She was hoping this role would revive her career.
12:30But after the film's failure,
12:32Olga retired in 1943.
12:34She was married three times
12:36and gave birth to two sons.
12:38After her retirement,
12:40she migrated to Switzerland.
12:42On September 6, 1974,
12:45Olga passed away from lung cancer in Vevey.
12:48She was 81 years old.
12:50She was buried at Corsier Cemetery
12:53in Corsier-sur-Vevey.
12:56Henry Victor was born on October 2, 1892 in London, England,
13:05but was raised in Germany.
13:07He made his film debut in 1914
13:10as Prince Andreas in The King's Romance.
13:14He proved to be quite popular in silent films,
13:17but when talking films appeared in the late 1920s,
13:20his thick accent was a detriment as a leading man in Hollywood.
13:25But he enjoyed a substantial career as a character actor
13:28in American and British films,
13:31specializing in brutish Nazis during World War II.
13:36He is probably best remembered for his portrayal
13:38of the sadistic strongman Hercules in the film Freaks.
13:42From 1914 to 1945,
13:46Henry appeared in over 100 films.
13:49His last film was the 1945 film,
13:52A Royal Scandal.
13:53He played a Russian general,
13:55but was uncredited.
13:57On March 15, 1945,
13:59Henry passed away from a brain tumor.
14:02He was 52 years old.
14:04He was laid to rest in Chadworth, California,
14:07at the Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery.
14:14Roscoe Eights was born on January 20, 1895,
14:19in the northwest of Hattiesburg, Mississippi,
14:22in the rural hamlet of Grange,
14:25to George and Margaret Eights.
14:27He had three siblings.
14:29Roscoe spent much of his childhood
14:31learning how to manage his speech impediment,
14:33succeeding when he was 18.
14:35Roscoe played violin
14:37to accompany silent films
14:39at a theater in Chickasha, Oklahoma.
14:42Following that experience,
14:43he became an entertainer
14:45as a concert violinist,
14:47but found economic opportunities
14:49greater as a vaudeville comedian,
14:52appearing as half of a team
14:53of eights and darling.
14:55For 15 years,
14:57he was a headliner on the Morpheum circuit
14:59and revived his long stutter
15:01for humorous effect.
15:02He served his country
15:04with the United States military
15:06during World War I
15:07and in the United States Army Air Force
15:10during World War II,
15:12having entered the
15:13Air Force Fighter Squad program
15:15in Houston, Texas.
15:16His film career started in 1930
15:19and has appeared in over two dozen films.
15:23He was cast to play
15:24Roscoe the Stuttering Clown,
15:26who married one of the conjoined twins,
15:28Daisy,
15:29in the film Freaks.
15:30Roscoe made several television appearances
15:33and nine musical performances
15:35and films.
15:37He was married three times.
15:39On March 1, 1962,
15:42Roscoe passed away
15:43following a battle with lung cancer
15:45at the West Valley Community Hospital
15:47in Encino, California.
15:50He was cremated and entombed
15:52at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park
15:54in Glendale, California.
15:56He was 67 years old.
16:00Edward Santry Brophy
16:05was born on February 27, 1895
16:08in New York City
16:10and attended the University of Virginia.
16:13His screen debut was in the 1920
16:15silent film Yes or No.
16:19Edward has appeared in over 100 movies
16:21from 1920 to 1961.
16:24He was cast as a circus performer,
16:27one of the Rollo Brothers
16:28in the film Freaks,
16:30and voicing Timothy Q. Mouse
16:32in Walt Disney's Dumbo
16:34in 1941.
16:36On May 27, 1960,
16:40Edward passed away from a heart attack
16:41during the production
16:43of Ford's Two Row Together.
16:46One source says
16:47Edward died while watching
16:48a prize fight on television.
16:51He was 63 years old.
16:52He was laid to rest
16:54at Woodlawn Cemetery
16:56in Santa Monica, California.
17:02Matthew O. McHugh
17:04was born on January 22, 1894
17:08in Connellsville, Pennsylvania
17:10to Edward and Catherine McHugh.
17:13He has two siblings.
17:15Matt came from a theatrical family.
17:17His parents ran a stock theater company
17:19and as a child,
17:21he performed on stage.
17:23His brother, Frank,
17:24who went on to become a part
17:25of the Warner Brothers stock company
17:27in the 1930s and 40s,
17:30and his sister, Kitty,
17:32performed an act with him
17:34by the time he was 14 years old.
17:37But the family quit the stage
17:39around 1930.
17:41He made appearances on Broadway
17:43starting in 1929.
17:44He appeared in more than 200 films
17:47between 1931 to 1955,
17:51primarily in small cameo parts.
17:54He was cast as a circus performer,
17:56one of the Rollo Brothers
17:57in the film Freaks.
18:00On February 22, 1971,
18:03Matt passed away from a heart attack.
18:06He was 77 years old.
18:08He was laid to rest
18:09at Oakwood Memorial Park
18:11in Chatsworth, California.
18:18Very little is known
18:19about Rose Dionne,
18:21so here's what I've been able
18:22to find on her so far.
18:24Claudine Rosalie Groth
18:26was born on October 22, 1875,
18:30although birthdates vary.
18:32In Dardelieu, France,
18:33some sources say Paris,
18:35she was professionally known
18:37as Rose Dionne.
18:38Rose got married to Renée Gervais
18:40on September 17, 1903.
18:44They divorced in 1920.
18:46She settled in the United States
18:48after World War I.
18:50She appeared in more than 60 films
18:52between 1910 and 1932,
18:55which was during the silent
18:56and pre-code eras.
18:58Rose was best known
18:59for her final role
19:00as Madame Tetralini,
19:02the caretaker of the sideshow performers
19:04in the film Freaks.
19:06Rose passed away
19:07after a brief illness
19:08on January 29, 1936
19:11in Los Angeles, California.
19:14She was 60 years old.
19:16Her burial information
19:17is unknown.
19:23Harry Earls,
19:24who played Hans,
19:26and Daisy Earls,
19:27who played Frida,
19:29his fiancée,
19:30are actually brother and sister.
19:33That is a large reason why,
19:34even though the two of them
19:35are engaged in the film,
19:37were not very affectionate
19:38with each other,
19:40except for at the end
19:41when they reconciled
19:42and they were just hugging.
19:44They are part of what's known
19:46as the Doll family
19:47from Germany,
19:48which consisted of
19:49Daisy,
19:50Gracie,
19:51Tiny,
19:52and Harry.
19:53Even though they are part
19:55of a larger family,
19:56four out of seven siblings
19:57were diagnosed
19:58with a hypopituitary disorder,
20:01which is very rare,
20:03and not only stunts
20:04their growth,
20:05but can also have
20:06other effects
20:07on their bodies.
20:08The four of them
20:09were encouraged
20:10to get into
20:10the entertainment business
20:11by their parents,
20:13making a good amount
20:14of money
20:14performing with
20:15Ringling Brothers
20:16and Barnum & Bailey Circus,
20:19where they sang,
20:21danced,
20:21and rode horses
20:22and wagons.
20:24Besides landing roles
20:26in Freaks,
20:27all four of them
20:28were in The Wizard of Oz,
20:29playing Munchkins.
20:31Harry himself
20:32landed a singing role
20:33as a member
20:34of the Lollipop Guild,
20:36welcoming Dorothy
20:37to Munchkinland.
20:39After performing
20:40in films
20:41and circus sideshows
20:42since mid-1910s,
20:44the Dahl family
20:45retired fully
20:46in 1958.
20:49They were a pretty
20:50close-knit family
20:51and lived together
20:52for the rest
20:53of their lives.
20:55Daisy herself
20:56only left
20:56for a short time
20:57when she got married
20:58in 1942,
21:00but the marriage
21:01only lasted
21:01less than a year.
21:03They all lived
21:04in a pretty nice house
21:05in Sarasota, Florida,
21:07which they remained in
21:08until their deaths.
21:10Gracie was the first
21:11to pass away,
21:12on November 8, 1970,
21:15at the age of 71.
21:17Daisy passed away
21:18on March 15, 1980,
21:21at the age of 72.
21:24Harry passed away
21:25on May 4, 1985,
21:28at the age of 83.
21:30And Tiny passed away
21:31on September 6, 2004,
21:35at the age of 90 years old.
21:38They were all cremated
21:39and ashes scattered.
21:42Angelo Rosito
21:46was born on February 18,
21:491908,
21:50in Omaha, Nebraska,
21:51to Salvatore
21:53and Carmela Rosito,
21:55who were from Italy.
21:57He has two siblings.
21:58Angelo had dwarfism
22:00and was two foot
22:01and was two foot 11 inches tall,
22:02and was often billed
22:04as Little Angie
22:05or Moe.
22:08He was discovered
22:09by John Barrymore
22:10and made his screen debut
22:12opposite Barrymore
22:13in the 1927 film
22:15The Beloved Rogue.
22:17He was cast as
22:19the tough-talking dwarf
22:20Angeleno
22:21in the film Freaks.
22:23He portrayed everything
22:25from dwarfs,
22:26midgets,
22:27gnomes,
22:27and pygmies,
22:28as well as monsters,
22:30villains,
22:31and aliens,
22:32with appearances
22:33in more than 70 films.
22:36Angelo was very active
22:37in charitable
22:37and religious causes.
22:39He married
22:40Georgia Burrish
22:41in 1945
22:42and had two children.
22:45They got divorced
22:45in 1967.
22:48He retired
22:49in 1987.
22:51On September 21,
22:521991,
22:54Angelo passed away.
22:56He was 83 years old.
22:58He was laid to rest
22:59at Forest Lawn Memorial Park
23:01in Hollywood Hills,
23:03California.
23:04Schlitzie's true
23:09birth date,
23:10name,
23:11location,
23:12and parents
23:13are unknown.
23:15The information
23:15on his death certificate
23:17and grave site
23:18indicates that
23:19he was born
23:20on September 10,
23:211901,
23:22in the Bronx,
23:23New York,
23:24though some sources
23:25claim that he was
23:27born in Santa Fe,
23:28New Mexico.
23:29It's possible
23:30that his birth name
23:31is Simon Metz,
23:32though this was
23:34never confirmed.
23:36Schlitzie was born
23:37with microcephaly,
23:38a neurodevelopmental
23:40disorder
23:40that left him
23:41with an unusual
23:42small brain
23:43and skull,
23:44a small stature,
23:46only four feet tall,
23:48myopia,
23:49and a severe
23:50intellectual disability.
23:52It was said
23:53that Schlitzie
23:54had the mental age
23:55of a three-year-old.
23:57He was unable
23:57to fully care
23:58for himself
23:59and could speak
24:00monosyllabic words
24:02and formed
24:03a few simple phrases.
24:05However,
24:06he was able
24:06to perform
24:07simple tasks
24:08and it is believed
24:09that he could understand
24:10most of what
24:11is said to him
24:12as he had a very
24:13quick reaction time
24:15and ability
24:16to mimic.
24:17Those who knew
24:18Schlitzie
24:19described him
24:20as affectionate,
24:21exuberant,
24:22and social person
24:23who loved dancing,
24:24singing,
24:25and being the center
24:26of attention,
24:27performing for anyone
24:28he could stop
24:29and talk with.
24:31As most
24:32microcephalic people
24:33were usually
24:34promoted as
24:35pinheads
24:36or missing links
24:37in the sideshow
24:39back in the day,
24:41Schlitzie was very
24:41popular in the
24:42sideshow circuit.
24:44Even though
24:45he was only
24:46in a handful
24:46of movies,
24:47most of them
24:48uncredited,
24:49Schlitzie was cast
24:50as herself
24:51in the film
24:52Freaks.
24:53And no,
24:54that wasn't a typo.
24:56Even though
24:56Schlitzie was in
24:57a dress,
24:58and referred to
24:59as a girl,
25:00Schlitzie is male.
25:02Unfortunately,
25:03his caretaker,
25:05George Sertes,
25:06died in 1965.
25:08His daughter,
25:09who wasn't in
25:10show business,
25:11committed Schlitzie
25:12to a Los Angeles
25:13County hospital.
25:15He was left in
25:16there for quite
25:17some time
25:17until he was
25:19recognized
25:19by sword swallower
25:21Bill Frenchy
25:22Unks,
25:22who happened
25:23to be working
25:24at the hospital
25:25during the off-season.
25:27According to Bill,
25:29Schlitzie seemed
25:29to miss the
25:30carnival badly,
25:31and being away
25:32from the public eye
25:33had made him
25:33very depressed.
25:35Hospital authorities
25:36determined that
25:37the best care
25:38for Schlitzie
25:39would be to make
25:40him a ward
25:41of Bill's
25:42employer,
25:43showman,
25:44Sam Alexander,
25:45and returned him
25:46to the sideshow,
25:47where he remained
25:48until 1968.
25:51On September 24,
25:531971,
25:54Schlitzie passed away
25:55at Fountainview
25:57Convalescent's home
25:58in Los Angeles,
26:00California,
26:01from bronchopneumonia.
26:03He was 70 years old.
26:06He was buried
26:06in an unmarked grave
26:07at Queen of Heaven
26:09Cemetery
26:10in Roland Heights,
26:11California.
26:13Due to fans
26:14of Schlitzie,
26:15they were able
26:16to crowdfund
26:16and get him
26:17a proper headstone
26:18in 2009.
26:19Elvira and
26:25Jenny Lee Snow,
26:26also known as
26:27the Snow Twins,
26:28were born in Georgia,
26:30but they were
26:31often advertised
26:32in their sideshow
26:33acts as being
26:34from the Yucatan
26:35of Mexico
26:36and sometimes
26:37from Australia.
26:39But it turns out
26:40that they're not
26:41twins at all.
26:43Elvira's birth date
26:44was on March 2,
26:451901,
26:46and Jenny Lee
26:48was said to be
26:4912 years younger.
26:51But as is the history
26:52of circus sideshow acts,
26:55the facts can vary
26:55dramatically.
26:57They both have
26:58microcephaly,
27:00just like Schlitzie.
27:02They required
27:02constant watching
27:03and care
27:04because they had
27:05severe mental limitations
27:07and were said
27:08to have the mental
27:08capacity of toddlers.
27:11Everyone that has
27:12interacted with
27:13the Snow Sisters
27:14said that they were
27:15very shy
27:16but sweet.
27:18They were rented
27:19from their family.
27:20Yes, you heard
27:21that right.
27:22They were rented.
27:24They were based
27:25at the World Circus
27:26Sideshow
27:27at Coney Island
27:28in Brooklyn,
27:29New York
27:29in the late 1920s
27:31into the 1940s.
27:34They were known
27:35by various names.
27:37They were variously
27:38known as
27:39Zip and Pip,
27:40Pip and Flip,
27:42Pippo and Zippo,
27:43and other
27:44similar names.
27:46At one time,
27:48they were managed
27:48by their brother,
27:49Cliff.
27:51Their only film
27:52appearance was
27:53in Todd Browning's
27:54Freaks.
27:56Jenny Lee
27:56passed away
27:57on August 27,
27:581934
27:59at the age
28:01of either
28:0121 or 22.
28:04Elvira
28:05passed away
28:06on November 1,
28:071976
28:08at the age
28:10of 75.
28:12They were both
28:12laid to rest
28:13at Liberty Hill
28:14Methodist Church
28:15Cemetery
28:16in Hartwell,
28:17Georgia.
28:22Frances O'Connor
28:23was born
28:24on September 8,
28:251914
28:26in Granite Falls,
28:27Minnesota.
28:29Born without arms,
28:30she made her living
28:31appearing in
28:32circus sideshows
28:33billed as
28:34the Armless Wonder
28:34or the Living
28:36Venus de Milo.
28:37She would perform
28:39normal acts
28:39such as eating,
28:41drinking,
28:41writing,
28:42and smoking a cigarette
28:43using her feet.
28:45She also did
28:46knitting and sewing
28:47with her feet
28:48as a hobby.
28:49She worked
28:50firstly with
28:50A.I.G.
28:52Circus
28:52and then
28:53from the mid-1920s
28:55to the mid-1940s
28:56with the Ringling Brothers
28:58and Barnum & Bailey
28:59Traveling Circuses.
29:01Frances was cast
29:02as the Armless Girl
29:03in the film
29:04Freaks.
29:05Her mother served
29:06as her showbiz manager.
29:08Frances was never married
29:10and never had children.
29:12On January 30, 1982,
29:15Frances passed away
29:16of natural causes.
29:17She was 67 years old.
29:20She was laid to rest
29:21at the Evergreen Cemetery
29:22in Los Angeles, California.
29:24Martha Morris was born
29:30on October 10, 1902
29:32in Chicago
29:34to David and Jenny Morris.
29:36Even though she had
29:37seven siblings,
29:39Martha was the only one
29:40born without arms
29:41and shorter
29:42than average legs.
29:43Due to these birth defects,
29:45Martha was unable
29:46to dress herself
29:47and walk.
29:48But that never
29:49slowed her down.
29:50She started to make
29:52her rounds
29:53in the sideshow circuit.
29:55She could write,
29:56use a typewriter,
29:58sew,
29:58and thread a needle.
30:00Martha was a huge
30:01movie fan
30:02and any night
30:03that she wasn't working,
30:04she was at the movies.
30:06When the chance
30:07came for Martha
30:08to be able to star
30:09in a real Hollywood
30:10motion picture,
30:11she was thrilled.
30:13Martha was cast
30:14as Angelina,
30:15the dwarf's wife,
30:16in the film
30:17Freaks.
30:18All reports were
30:19that Martha loved
30:20every minute
30:21of her Hollywood
30:22film debut.
30:23After the release
30:24of Freaks,
30:25Martha returned
30:26to her hometown
30:26of Chicago
30:27where she appeared
30:29at the Century
30:29of Progress exhibition
30:31in 1933.
30:33On April 5, 1937,
30:36Martha passed away
30:37in her home
30:37from pneumonia
30:38caused by rheumatic fever.
30:41She was 34 years old.
30:43Martha was laid to rest
30:44at the Jewish
30:45Waldheim Cemetery
30:46in Forest Park,
30:48Cook County, Illinois.
30:54Prince Randian,
30:55whose real name
30:56has been lost to history,
30:58was born on October 12,
31:001871,
31:01in Demerara,
31:03British Guiana.
31:05He was born
31:05with Tetra-Amelia Syndrome,
31:08which is an extremely rare
31:09autosomal recessive
31:11congenital disorder
31:12characterized
31:13by the absence
31:14of all four limbs.
31:16The syndrome
31:17causes severe
31:18malformation
31:18of various parts
31:20of the body,
31:21including the face
31:22and head,
31:23heart,
31:24nervous system,
31:25skeleton,
31:26and genitalia.
31:28In many cases,
31:29the lungs
31:30are underdeveloped,
31:31which makes breathing
31:32difficult or impossible.
31:35Because children
31:35with Tetra-Amelia Syndrome
31:37have such serious
31:39medical problems,
31:40most are still born
31:41or die shortly
31:42after birth.
31:44But when it comes to Randian,
31:46he beat the odds
31:47and lived a very fulfilling life.
31:50He was Hindu
31:51and spoke Hindi,
31:53English,
31:53French,
31:54and German.
31:55It's unknown
31:56how he was discovered,
31:58but he was brought
31:59to the United States
32:00by P.T. Barnum
32:01in 1889
32:02at the age of 18
32:04and was a popular
32:06Coney Island
32:07carnival
32:08and circus
32:08attraction
32:09for 45 years.
32:11For his act,
32:13Randian wore
32:13a one-piece
32:14wool garment
32:15that fit tightly
32:16over his body,
32:18giving him the appearance
32:19of a caterpillar,
32:20snake,
32:20or potato,
32:22and would move
32:22himself around
32:23the stage
32:24by wiggling
32:25his hips
32:26and shoulders.
32:27His best-known ability
32:28was rolling
32:29and lighting cigarettes
32:30using only his lips,
32:32but he was also
32:33capable of painting
32:34and writing
32:35by holding a brush
32:36or stylus
32:37with his lips
32:38and of shaving himself
32:40by securing a razor
32:42in a wooden block.
32:44He kept all of his
32:45props and materials
32:46used in the act
32:48in a wooden box
32:49that he reportedly
32:50constructed,
32:52painted,
32:52and affixed
32:53a lock to
32:54by himself.
32:56He was cast
32:57as a living torso
32:58in the film
32:59Freaks,
33:00but his name
33:00was misspelled
33:01as Rodion.
33:03He would roll
33:04and light his own cigarette
33:05during the film.
33:07One of his favorite
33:08pranks to pull
33:09on people
33:10was to hide
33:11in a box
33:11or some other
33:12receptacle
33:13too small
33:14to hold a normal person.
33:16He would wait
33:16patiently
33:17until some victim
33:18came along,
33:19then wait a few
33:20more minutes
33:21until that person
33:22was confident
33:22that he or she
33:24was completely alone.
33:26Then Randian
33:26would suddenly scream,
33:28scaring the crap
33:29out of him.
33:31Randian got married
33:32to a woman
33:33who simply was known
33:34as Princess Sarah.
33:36They had five children
33:37together.
33:38On December 19,
33:401934,
33:42at 7 p.m.,
33:43Randian passed away
33:44of a heart attack
33:45shortly after
33:46his last performance
33:47at Sam Wagner's
33:4914th Street Museum
33:51in New York.
33:52He was 63 years old.
33:59John Eckerd, Jr.
34:00was born
34:01August 27, 1911
34:03in Baltimore, Maryland
34:05to Amelia
34:06and John Eckerd, Sr.
34:08John was a fraternal twin.
34:10His brother, Robert,
34:11was average size.
34:12But John was born
34:14with a truncated torso
34:15due to sacral
34:16agenesis,
34:18though John
34:19would sometimes
34:19describe himself
34:20as snapped off
34:21at the waist.
34:22He had unusable,
34:24underdeveloped legs
34:25and feet
34:25that he would hide
34:26under custom-made clothing.
34:29At birth,
34:29John weighed two pounds
34:31and was less than
34:32eight inches
34:32in length.
34:33He would eventually
34:34reach the height
34:35of 18 inches.
34:37Aside from the birth defect,
34:38he was healthy,
34:39always in an upbeat mood.
34:42Both twins were bright boys
34:43and excelled in school.
34:45At an early age,
34:46John seemed headed
34:47for the ministry.
34:49In 1923,
34:50while the boys
34:51were attending
34:52a church fair,
34:53magician John McAslan
34:55was astonished
34:56after seeing John
34:57and convinced his parents
34:59to let him join
35:00the carnival.
35:01Robert was hired
35:02as the manager
35:03and assistant.
35:05His parents signed
35:06a one-year contract,
35:08which John claimed
35:09the magician
35:09later changed it
35:10to a ten-year contract
35:12by adding a zero.
35:14The twins left
35:14after a year
35:15and performed
35:16at different carnivals,
35:18eventually performing
35:19for Ringling Brothers,
35:20Barnum & Bailey,
35:22and others.
35:23John was cast
35:24in his first-ever film,
35:26Freaks,
35:27as Half Boy.
35:28John got along
35:29quite well
35:30with Todd Browning
35:31and was often
35:32at his side
35:33while on set.
35:34John would later
35:35say that,
35:36quote,
35:36Browning wanted me
35:37to stay
35:38as close to him
35:39as possible.
35:40He told me
35:40whenever I had
35:41an empty seat
35:42or chair,
35:43you are to sit
35:44alongside me
35:44while we shoot,
35:46unquote.
35:47Although he sometimes
35:48tried to socialize,
35:50he didn't feel comfortable
35:51mingling with his castmates,
35:53whom he described
35:54as happy,
35:55noisy crowd,
35:56and childish,
35:57silly,
35:57and in a world
35:58all their own.
35:59At one point,
36:00he complained
36:01that they had gone
36:01Hollywood
36:02because of the film,
36:04wearing sunglasses
36:05and acting funny.
36:06He appeared
36:07in three more films.
36:09When the Eckerd Home
36:10was facing foreclosure
36:11due to the oncoming
36:12Great Depression,
36:14John performed
36:14for Ripley's
36:15Believe It or Not
36:16Auditorium
36:17at the 1933
36:18World's Fair.
36:20It was there
36:20that John was billed
36:22as the most
36:22remarkable man alive.
36:25Along with Robert,
36:26the twins were also
36:27used by a magician
36:28as subjects
36:29in a sullen
36:30half-illusion.
36:32After his Hollywood
36:33and Carnival career,
36:34the twins retired
36:35to Baltimore
36:36and operated
36:37a miniature train ride
36:39with John
36:40serving as conductor.
36:42He also had
36:42a custom miniature car
36:44that was street legal.
36:46John was also
36:46an avid screen painter,
36:49a theme reflected
36:50in the headstone
36:50marking his grave.
36:52In 1987,
36:53the brothers were robbed
36:55and physically assaulted
36:56in their home.
36:57Embittered in having
36:58lost his faith
36:59in humanity,
37:01John spent the remaining
37:02years in total seclusion.
37:04contending that the
37:05real freaks
37:06were outside his house.
37:08On January 5, 1991,
37:11John passed away
37:12from a heart attack
37:12in his sleep.
37:14He was 79 years old.
37:16His twin brother,
37:17Robert, passed away
37:18on February 25, 1995
37:21at the age of 83.
37:23They are buried
37:24under one headstone
37:25in Green Mountain Cemetery
37:27in Baltimore, Maryland.
37:32The End
37:34Minnie Woolsey was born
37:37in 1880
37:39in Rabin County, Georgia.
37:41Little is known
37:42about her early life,
37:43only that she was
37:44rescued from a mental
37:46asylum in Georgia
37:47by a traveling showman
37:49and was commonly
37:50billed as Minnie Ha-Ha
37:51in her sideshow
37:53entertainment career.
37:54She had a rare
37:55congenital growth
37:56skeletal disorder
37:57called
37:58Virchow-Skeckel syndrome,
37:59which caused her
38:01to have
38:01a very short
38:02stature,
38:03a small head,
38:05a narrow
38:05bird-like face
38:06with a beak-like
38:07nose,
38:08large eyes,
38:09a receding jaw,
38:11large ears,
38:12and a mild
38:13intellectual disability.
38:15In addition,
38:16Minnie was
38:16bald,
38:17toothless,
38:18and either
38:19completely blind
38:20or very short-sighted.
38:22She appeared
38:22in the 1932
38:23film
38:24Freaks
38:24alongside a cast
38:26of other
38:26sideshow performers
38:27from the time.
38:29Billed as
38:29Cuckoo the Bird Girl,
38:31she was not
38:31the original Cuckoo,
38:32however.
38:33The billing
38:34was previously
38:35used by another
38:35performer
38:36in the film,
38:38a stork
38:38or bird woman
38:40named Elizabeth Green.
38:42We will talk
38:42about her
38:43in a minute.
38:44Minnie was well
38:45known in the movie
38:46for dancing
38:47on the table
38:47during the wedding feast.
38:49In 1942,
38:51a news brief
38:52in Billboard
38:52reported that
38:53Minnie was recovering
38:55in Coney Island
38:56Hospital
38:56after breaking
38:57her arm
38:58while descending
38:59the stairs.
39:00In later years,
39:01Minnie worked
39:02at Coney Island
39:03in Brooklyn,
39:04New York
39:04as Cuckoo,
39:06the blind girl
39:06from Mars.
39:08By that time,
39:09age,
39:10or perhaps
39:10boredom,
39:11had replaced
39:12her dancing
39:12and she would
39:13primarily stand
39:14or sit
39:15in a near-comatose
39:16state,
39:18confounding
39:18spectators
39:19by failing
39:20to respond
39:21to any visual
39:21stimuli.
39:23She was hit
39:24by a car
39:24in the 1960s.
39:26When and how
39:27she died
39:28is unknown.
39:33Elizabeth Green
39:34was born
39:35on October 10,
39:361905
39:37in Springfield,
39:38Massachusetts.
39:40Her background
39:40is obscure
39:41but is generally
39:42accepted
39:43that a genetic
39:44condition
39:45similar to
39:45what Minnie
39:46Woolsey has
39:47was responsible
39:48for her
39:49unusual features.
39:51Elizabeth was
39:51actually the first
39:52Cuckoo the Bird Girl
39:54pre-dating Minnie
39:55and touring
39:56Ringling Brothers
39:57Barnum and Bailey
39:57Circus
39:58in the 1920s
40:00and 30s.
40:01Hers mainly
40:02was a comedy act
40:03and it involved
40:05her dancing around
40:06in a feathered
40:07bodysuit
40:07with large bird feet
40:09and a long feather
40:10on her head.
40:12Some claim
40:13Elizabeth was used
40:14at the entrance
40:14of the circus
40:15being one of the
40:16less weird-looking
40:17freaks
40:18to catch the
40:19attention of
40:20passers-by.
40:20her only film
40:22credit
40:22is the film
40:24freaks.
40:25She is billed
40:25as the stork
40:26woman
40:26since the
40:28Cuckoo the Bird Girl
40:29role was billed
40:30to Minnie
40:30but after the film
40:32she went back
40:33to using
40:33Cuckoo the Bird Girl
40:34in sideshows.
40:36On May 9,
40:372001
40:38Elizabeth passed
40:39away at the age
40:40of 96 years old
40:42in Longmeadow,
40:43Massachusetts.
40:45Cause of death
40:46and where she was
40:47laid to rest
40:48is unknown.
40:50Peter Robinson
40:55was born
40:56on April 8,
40:571873
40:58in Chicopee,
40:59Massachusetts
41:00to Abraham Robinson
41:01and Victoria Herbert.
41:04Peter said
41:04that he had
41:05a normal childhood
41:06and appearance
41:07until his early teens
41:08when his weight
41:09began to drop rapidly.
41:12He first went
41:13on exhibition
41:13in 1895
41:15working at
41:16Coney Island
41:17and later
41:18Ringling Brothers
41:19and Barnum & Bailey
41:20Circus.
41:21Peter was married
41:22twice,
41:23both times
41:24to circus fat ladies.
41:26The first marriage
41:27was in 1914
41:28but it didn't
41:29last very long.
41:31In 1916,
41:33while with
41:33Ringling Brothers
41:34and Barnum & Bailey
41:35Circus,
41:3637 year old
41:3758 pound Peter
41:39married for the
41:40second time
41:41at Madison Square
41:42Garden
41:43to 18 year old
41:44Helen Bunny Smith
41:46who weighed
41:47467 pounds.
41:50Bunny later
41:51related that
41:52he had been
41:52involved with
41:53no fewer
41:54than eight
41:54big women
41:55before he
41:56married her.
41:57Apparently
41:58over the years
41:59the two were
42:00quote unquote
42:01married
42:01over and over
42:02again
42:02for circus
42:03promotion purposes.
42:05Peter and Bunny
42:06seemed to find
42:07true love together
42:08as friends
42:09reported that
42:10they were quite
42:10devoted to each
42:11other
42:12and eventually
42:13had two children.
42:15Peter's only
42:15screen appearance
42:16was in Freaks
42:17as a circus
42:19performer
42:19who was overjoyed
42:21as he celebrates
42:22the fact that
42:23his wife,
42:23the bearded lady
42:24played by Olga
42:26Roderick
42:26has just given
42:27birth to their
42:28child.
42:29On September
42:302nd,
42:311947
42:32Peter passed
42:33away at the
42:34age of 72.
42:36His wife
42:36passed away
42:37sometime in
42:381951.
42:43Olga Roderick's
42:45real name
42:45is Jane
42:46Barnell.
42:47She was born
42:48on January
42:483rd,
42:491879
42:50in Wilmington,
42:51North Carolina.
42:53She had
42:53five siblings.
42:55By two years
42:56of age
42:57she was capable
42:58of growing
42:58a beard.
43:00Her mother
43:00thought that
43:01she was cursed
43:01and took her
43:03to hoodoo
43:03doctors
43:04and other
43:05folk healers
43:06to remove
43:07her condition.
43:08Jane's mother
43:09sold the
43:09four-year-old
43:10Jane to
43:11the Great
43:12Orient
43:12Family Circus
43:13and Menagerie
43:14while her father
43:15was away on
43:16business in
43:16Baltimore.
43:18Jane toured
43:19with the circus
43:20for several months
43:21around the south
43:22before the circus
43:23went to New Orleans
43:24then left for Europe
43:26and took her
43:26with them.
43:28In Europe,
43:29the circus
43:30toured with
43:30a German circus.
43:32She fell ill
43:33with typhoid fever
43:34in Berlin.
43:36Jane was placed
43:36in a charity
43:37hospital
43:38and later
43:39in an orphanage.
43:41She was later
43:41found by her father
43:42by the time
43:43she was five.
43:44He had either
43:45tracked the circus
43:46from the Carolinas
43:47to Germany
43:47or the woman
43:49who ran the circus
43:50had the Berlin
43:51police contact
43:52the sheriff
43:53of Wilmington.
43:55Jane was put
43:56into the care
43:56of her grandmother
43:57who lived
43:58in Mecklenburg County,
43:59North Carolina.
44:00She began to shave
44:02in order to
44:03conceal her condition.
44:05Jane became
44:06a student nurse
44:07at the Old City
44:08Hospital
44:08at Wilmington
44:10when she turned
44:11seventeen.
44:12She worked there
44:13for about a year
44:14until an unpleasant
44:15incident occurred
44:17that made her believe
44:18she would never
44:19live a normal life.
44:21In the spring
44:21of 1892,
44:23she met a circus
44:24performer,
44:25Professor William Heckler,
44:27who talked her
44:28into stopping
44:28shaving and got
44:30her employed
44:31with John
44:31Robinson's Circus.
44:33She tried
44:34several stage names
44:35before eventually
44:36settling on
44:37Lady Olga Roderick.
44:39She worked
44:40with the Robinson
44:40Circus for 14 years.
44:43She appeared
44:43in Freaks,
44:45which according
44:45to the DVD documentary,
44:47left her unhappy
44:48with the overall
44:49portrayal
44:50of sideshow
44:51performers
44:51in the film.
44:54Jane was married
44:54four times.
44:56Her first marriage
44:57was to a German
44:57musician who played
44:59in the band
45:00for John Robinson Circus.
45:02She had two children
45:03with him.
45:04Her husband
45:05and their two children
45:06died within several years.
45:08Her second husband
45:09was a balloonist
45:10who was killed
45:11months after
45:12their marriage.
45:13Her third marriage
45:14was to an alcoholic
45:15whom she divorced.
45:17Her last marriage
45:18in 1931
45:20was to her manager,
45:22Thomas O'Boyle,
45:23an orphan,
45:25ex-circus clown,
45:26and sideshow talker
45:27for Hubert's Dime Museum.
45:30She had little contact
45:31with her family
45:32after she became
45:33a performer.
45:35She believed
45:35they thought
45:36she was a disgrace.
45:38By 1940,
45:40she claimed
45:40to have not seen
45:41her siblings
45:41in 22 years
45:43and believed
45:44them to be dead.
45:46On July 21, 1945,
45:49Jane passed away
45:50at the age
45:50of 66 years old.
45:53Her body was cremated
45:54and ashes scattered.
46:01Josephine Joseph's
46:03real name
46:03is Josephine Antoinette
46:05Sambour,
46:06born in Austria
46:08on July 4, 1891.
46:11When she turned 18,
46:13Josephine and her brother
46:14immigrated to the U.S.,
46:16arriving to Ellis Island
46:18on April 17, 1909.
46:20They only had $17
46:23to their name.
46:25So they lived
46:25at their uncle's house
46:26and Josephine soon
46:28found work
46:28at a local
46:29embroidery shop.
46:31When she was 26,
46:33she met a man
46:34named George Wass.
46:35They got married
46:36on August 20, 1917.
46:40It wasn't until
46:41the 1920s
46:42when Josephine
46:43started the whole
46:44Josephine Joseph Act.
46:46Her and George,
46:47who worked as her manager,
46:48performed at circus
46:50sideshows
46:51and the carnival circuits.
46:53Her body was supposedly
46:55split down the middle,
46:57one side female
46:58and the other side male.
47:00She claimed to be
47:01an intersex person,
47:02or true hermaphrodite
47:04as they called it
47:05back in the day,
47:06but there was no evidence
47:07to confirm
47:08whether this was the case.
47:10She may have just been
47:11a very good,
47:12skilled impersonator,
47:13like in the style
47:14of Albert Alberta.
47:16Like many sideshow
47:17hermaphrodites
47:18of the early
47:1920th century,
47:20she presented
47:21a half-and-half trick,
47:23a woman on the left
47:24and a man on the right.
47:27One side of the body
47:28would be exercised,
47:30having hair trimmed
47:31and tanned.
47:32The other side
47:33would be covered
47:34and unexercised,
47:36making it pale
47:37and flabby,
47:38so the chest
47:39resembles a woman's breast
47:40while the hair
47:41is grown out.
47:42The performer
47:43would then wear
47:44a split costume,
47:46a low-cut,
47:47tight top
47:48and hot pants
47:49on the female side
47:50and on the male side
47:52a Tarzan-style
47:53loincloth.
47:55She is best known
47:56for her only film role
47:57in Freaks.
47:58In 1930,
48:00Josephine and George,
48:02described only
48:03in the newspaper reports
48:04as an American couple,
48:06who were presenting
48:07a Coney Island-style
48:08attraction
48:09in Blackpool,
48:10England,
48:11under the title
48:12of Josephine Joseph,
48:14were prosecuted
48:14in the United Kingdom
48:15for false pretenses
48:17and conspiracy
48:18on account
48:19of their
48:20half-woman,
48:20half-man
48:21circus show.
48:23The court alleged
48:24that the show
48:25was a fraud
48:25and that she was
48:27not a true hermaphrodite.
48:29George offered
48:30to submit x-rays
48:31of Josephine
48:32to the magistrates,
48:33but refused
48:34to submit her
48:35to a court doctor's
48:37physical examination.
48:39In order to avoid
48:40a jury trial,
48:41Josephine and George
48:42pled guilty.
48:44George told the court,
48:45quote,
48:46I am sorry.
48:47I will give up
48:48this show
48:48and leave the country.
48:50Unquote.
48:52George,
48:52who served
48:53as her manager,
48:54was fined 25 pounds
48:56while Josephine
48:57was acquitted.
48:58They left the country
48:59immediately.
49:01In the mid-1930s,
49:03Josephine and George
49:04divorced.
49:05Josephine moved
49:06to Chester, Pennsylvania,
49:07working as a maid
49:08for a Polish family.
49:10On July 11, 1966,
49:14Josephine passed away
49:15only a week
49:16after turning
49:1775 years old.
49:23Daisy and Violet Hilton
49:24were born
49:25on February 5, 1908,
49:28in Brighton,
49:29Sussex, England.
49:31Their mother,
49:32Kate Skinner,
49:32was an unmarried barmaid.
49:34She sold them
49:35to her employer
49:36and who helped
49:37with the birth,
49:38Mary Hilton.
49:40Mary saw
49:40commercial prospects
49:41in them.
49:42The twins were born
49:43joined by their hips
49:44and buttocks.
49:45They shared blood circulation
49:47and were fused
49:48at the pelvis
49:49but shared
49:50no major organs.
49:52The girls were
49:52stayed above
49:53the Queen's Arm pub
49:54in Brighton
49:55where they were exhibited.
49:58According to
49:58the sisters' autobiography,
50:00Mary Hilton,
50:01with her husband
50:02and daughter,
50:03strictly controlled
50:04the twins
50:05by means of
50:06physical abuse.
50:08They had called her
50:09Auntie Lou
50:10and her husband,
50:11Sir.
50:12They trained the girls
50:13in singing and dancing.
50:15The Hilton sisters
50:16toured first
50:17in Britain
50:18in 1911
50:19at the age of three
50:21as the United Twins.
50:23Mary Hilton
50:24took them on tour
50:25through Germany,
50:26then Australia,
50:27then in 1916
50:29to the U.S.
50:30In true sideshow manner,
50:32their performance
50:33was accompanied
50:34by an imaginative history.
50:37Their controllers
50:38kept all the money
50:39the sisters earned.
50:41When Mary died
50:42in Birmingham, Alabama,
50:43the girls were
50:44bequeathed to
50:45Mary's daughter,
50:46Edith Myers,
50:48and Edith Myers'
50:49husband,
50:50Meyer Myers,
50:51a former balloon salesman.
50:53Yes,
50:54they were treated
50:54like objects.
50:56The couple took over
50:57management of the twins,
50:58held mostly captive.
51:00The girls were beaten
51:01if they did not do
51:03as the Myers wished.
51:05They kept the twins
51:06from public view
51:07for a while
51:07and trained them
51:09in jazz music.
51:10Violet was a skilled
51:11saxophonist
51:12and Daisy a violinist.
51:15They lived in a mansion
51:16in San Antonio, Texas.
51:18In 1931,
51:20the sisters sued
51:21their managers
51:21and were legally
51:23emancipated,
51:24gaining freedom
51:25from their contract
51:26and awarded $100,000
51:28in damages,
51:29equivalent to about
51:31$1.5 million today.
51:34They went into vaudeville
51:35as the Hilton sisters
51:37review.
51:38Daisy dyed her hair blonde
51:39and they began
51:40to wear different outfits
51:42so as to be
51:43distinguishable
51:44from Violet.
51:45After vaudeville
51:46lost popularity,
51:48the sisters performed
51:49at burlesque venues.
51:52Violet began a relationship
51:53with musician
51:54Maurice Lambert
51:55and they applied
51:57in 21 states
51:58for a marriage license
51:59but it was always refused.
52:02In 1932,
52:03the twins appeared
52:04in the film Freaks.
52:06Afterwards,
52:06their popularity faded
52:08and they struggled
52:09to make a living
52:10in show business.
52:12In 1936,
52:13Violet was married
52:14to actor James Moore
52:16as a publicity stunt.
52:18The marriage lasted
52:1810 years on paper
52:20but it was eventually annulled.
52:22At the time of the wedding,
52:24Daisy was visibly pregnant.
52:26Her child was given up
52:27for adoption.
52:29In 1941,
52:30Daisy married
52:31Harold Estep,
52:32better known as
52:33dancer Buddy Sawyer.
52:36The marriage lasted
52:3710 days.
52:38In 1952,
52:40they starred in
52:40a second film,
52:42Chained for Life,
52:43an exploitation film
52:44loosely based
52:45on their lives.
52:47Afterwards,
52:48they undertook
52:48personal appearances
52:50at double-billed screenings
52:52of their two films.
52:54The Hilton sisters'
52:55last public appearance
52:56was at a drive-in
52:58in 1961
52:59in Charlotte,
53:00North Carolina.
53:01Their tour manager
53:02abandoned them
53:03with no means
53:04of transportation
53:05or income.
53:07They applied for a job
53:08in a nearby grocery store
53:10offering to take
53:11one's salary.
53:12The owner hired them
53:14at two full salaries
53:15and designed
53:17a discreet
53:17two-person cashier station
53:19so that the customers
53:21could not tell
53:22the girls were conjoined.
53:24The sisters rented
53:25a small two-bedroom home
53:27courtesy of the shop's
53:28owner's church,
53:30Purcell United Methodist,
53:32and settled into
53:33a quiet life
53:34involving work
53:35and church.
53:36During the holidays,
53:37they remembered
53:38fellow employees
53:39and favorite customers
53:40with Christmas gifts.
53:42On January 4, 1969,
53:46after they did not
53:47report to work
53:48and attempts
53:49to reach them
53:50failed,
53:51the police were called
53:52to investigate.
53:53The twins were found
53:54on the floor
53:55dead in their home.
53:56Victims of the Hong Kong flu
53:58According to
54:00a forensic investigation,
54:02Daisy passed away first,
54:04then Violet passed away
54:06between two and four days later.
54:08Violet had not called
54:09for any help.
54:10They are buried
54:12in the Forest Lawn
54:13West Cemetery
54:14in Charlotte, North Carolina.
54:16They share a grave
54:17with a Vietnam veteran,
54:19Troy Thompson,
54:20whose father was
54:21an acquaintance,
54:22since they didn't have
54:23enough of an estate
54:24to pay for their own plot.
54:27Visitors to the site
54:28often left two pennies,
54:30as that was the price
54:31of admission
54:32to see the twins
54:33in the sideshow
54:34when they were children.
54:36They were 60 years old.
54:40Todd Browning,
54:45real name Charles Albert
54:47Browning Jr.,
54:48had a very long career
54:49as a film director,
54:51film actor,
54:52screenwriter,
54:53vaudeville performer,
54:55and carnival sideshow
54:56and circus entertainer.
54:58Even though he had
54:59great success
55:00with Dracula in 1931,
55:03it seems like Freaks
55:04was going to be the end
55:05of his career in film.
55:07So much controversy
55:08surrounded the film,
55:10and there were very few
55:11film critics
55:12giving positive reviews.
55:14This film basically
55:15tarnished Todd's reputation
55:17in Hollywood.
55:18Even though he tried
55:19to continue directing
55:20a few more films,
55:22he decided to throw
55:23in the towel
55:23and retire.
55:25His wife Alice
55:26died in 1944
55:28from complications
55:29of pneumonia,
55:31leaving him a recluse
55:32in his Malibu Beach home.
55:34By that time,
55:36Todd had become
55:37so isolated
55:38from Hollywood
55:39establishment
55:40that Variety
55:41mistakenly published
55:42an obituary
55:43that year for Todd,
55:45confusing the spouse's death
55:47for that of
55:47the former director.
55:49In 1949,
55:51the Director's Guild
55:52of America
55:53bestowed a life membership
55:54on Browning.
55:55At the time of his death,
55:57the honor had been enjoyed
55:58by only four
55:59of Browning's colleagues.
56:01Todd,
56:02now a widower,
56:03lived in isolation
56:04for almost 20 years
56:06as an alcoholic recluse.
56:08In 1962,
56:10he was diagnosed
56:11with cancer of the larynx.
56:13The surgical procedure
56:14performed to correct
56:15the condition
56:16rendered him mute.
56:18On October 6, 1962,
56:22Todd passed away
56:23alone in his Malibu home.
56:25He was laid to rest
56:26at Angeles Rosdale Cemetery
56:28in Los Angeles, California.
56:30He was 82 years old.
56:37Even though Freaks
56:38was considered controversial
56:40back in 1932
56:41and only shown in theaters
56:43for a short window of time,
56:46you would think
56:46that it would become
56:47a lost film at some point.
56:49The original 90-minute version
56:51is for sure.
56:53But new life
56:54was breathed back
56:54into the film.
56:56The film's growing esteem
56:58amongst critics
56:59traces back
57:00to the early 1960s
57:02when it was rediscovered
57:04as a counterculture
57:04cult film,
57:07particularly amongst
57:08European audiences.
57:09It was screened
57:11at the 1962
57:12Venice Film Festival
57:14and shortly after
57:16was shown
57:16for the first time
57:17in the United Kingdom
57:19having been banned
57:20there since 1932.
57:23Throughout the 1970s
57:25and 80s,
57:26the film was regularly
57:27shown at midnight
57:28movie screenings
57:29in the U.S.
57:31So, what changed?
57:33I think it took
57:34a fresh pair of eyes
57:35to see the film
57:36for what it is.
57:37It's not grotesque.
57:39It's not exploitative.
57:41Just to show
57:41that those that we call
57:43freaks
57:44are people too
57:45with the same feelings
57:46as everyone else has.
57:49Even though the film
57:50is not perfect
57:51by any means,
57:52putting non-actors
57:53in acting film roles
57:55and major cuts
57:56that should have
57:57been left in,
57:58I think freaks
57:59is one of those
58:00one-of-a-kind movies
58:01that you just enjoy
58:03for its uniqueness.
58:05I personally love
58:06older movies
58:07because it's like
58:09stepping into
58:09a time capsule
58:10back to when
58:11things were different.
58:13People talked
58:13differently,
58:14acted differently,
58:16and thought differently.
58:18I'm just glad
58:19that our mindset
58:19now is not as harsh
58:21as it was back then
58:23when it comes to
58:24people that are
58:24different than
58:25the average person.
58:26If you have not
58:27seen the film yet,
58:29I know I gave
58:29spoilers in here,
58:31but it is worth
58:32the watch.
58:32There is supposed
58:34to be a DVD
58:35and Blu-ray set
58:36called Todd Browning's
58:38Sideshow Shockers.
58:40The set,
58:40which contains
58:41new 2K restoration
58:43of freaks,
58:44the unknown,
58:45and the mystic,
58:46is supposed to come
58:47out today,
58:48October 17,
58:502023.
58:50I know this was
58:53another long video,
58:54but if you made
58:55it this far,
58:56thank you.
58:57Please like,
58:58subscribe,
58:59and all that jazz.
59:00Thanks for hanging
59:01out with me
59:02in the Dark Mystery Lounge.
59:03This is Phoenix
59:04signing out.
59:05Have a good evening
59:06and stay safe.
59:07and stay safe.
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