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115:). However, for variety's sake, the acts in a ten-in-one would also include "working acts" who would perform magic tricks or daredevil stunts. In addition, the freak show performers might also perform acts or stunts, and would often sell souvenirs like "giant's rings" or "pitch cards" with their photos and life stories. The ten-in-one would often end in a "blowoff" or "ding," an extra act not advertised on the outside, which could be viewed for an additional fee. The blowoff act would be described provocatively, often as something deemed too strong for women and children, such as
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47-year continuous run of traveling sideshow, The Strong
Sideshow. Several acts and artifacts toured over the years such as the 5-legged dog, Chupacabra, a 2-headed cow, and a mummy. John Jr. performed all the live acts himself for several years including sword swallowing, fire eating, bed of nails blade box and electric chair. After living the lifestyle for a lifetime, The Strong Sideshow is now in residency at "The Sideshow Museum", in
217:(to no avail) that they had no objection to the sideshow, especially since it provided not only a good income for them, but in many cases it provided their only possible job. The sideshow seemed destined for oblivion, until only a few exemplars of the ten-in-one remained. In modern times, sideshow performers are often individual professionals or groups. A greater number of "Single O" attractions still tour carnivals.
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murderers. Some of the exhibits might even be dummies or photographs of the billed attractions. It could still be truthfully billed with the claim "$ 1,000 reward if not absolutely real — please do not touch or feed the animals on exhibit". The Single-O and the Museum Show are usually operated as "grind shows," meaning that patrons may enter at any time, viewing the various exhibits at their leisure.
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festival. The Jim Rose Circus held its last known performance in 2013 at The London
Burlesque Festival. The impact of the Jim Rose Circus on pop culture inspired a new wave of performers. There are now more sideshow performers than at any other time in the genre's history. At the same time in Canada,
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music festival in the summer of 2006 and 2007. Sideshow celebrity and multiple world record breaker Chayne
Hultgren 'The Space Cowboy' owns Australia's largest traveling oddity museum 'The Mutant Barnyard' and along with his partner Zoe Ellis 'AKA: Zoe L'amore' they run 'Sideshow Wonderland', one of
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Interest in sideshows declined as television made it easy (and free) to see the world's most exotic attractions. Moreover, viewing "human oddities" became distasteful as the public conscience changed, and many localities passed laws forbidding the exhibition of freaks. The performers often protested
145:
which might be deceptively billed as "World's
Greatest Freaks Past and Present," is a sideshow in which the exhibits are usually not alive. It might include tanks of piranhas or cages with unusual animals, stuffed freak animals or other exotic items like the weapons or cars allegedly used by famous
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In the 1940s, Ward Hall began the World of
Wonders Amazement Show, which is still running today. It is the oldest carnival sideshow organization in America and is currently owned and ran by Thomas Breen. In 1970, John Strong Jr (son of John Strong of The John Strong 3 Ring Tented Circus) began a
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The Robin Marks
Foundation is a nonprofit organization to elevate the image of sideshow, offer job opportunities for professionals, and continued education as well as to aid in educating the public about what it is to be part of the sideshow. The Southern Sideshow Hootenanny is another nonprofit
196:, walking up a ladder of sharp swords, and more. The renewed attention to these feats has prompted a new round of oversimplified or inaccurate explanations, leading some inexperienced people to attempt them without adequate training often resulting in injury and sometimes even death.
245:, a show that performs frequently to this day. The success of these shows sparked a growing number of performers to revive the traditional sideshow arts, taught by sideshow veterans, and many now perform in spot engagements from rock clubs and comedy clubs to corporate events.
236:) performing bizarre or masochistic acts like eating insects, lifting weights by means of hooks inserted in their body piercings, or stapling currency to their forehead. The show drew audiences at venues unknown to old-time sideshows, like rock clubs and the 1992
232:", reinventing the sideshow with two types of acts that would attract modern audiences and stay within legal bounds. The show featured acts reviving traditional sideshow stunts and carrying some of them to extremes, and "fringe" artists (often exhibiting extreme
110:
exhibiting "human oddities" (including "born freaks" such as midgets, giants or persons with other deformities, or "made freaks" like tattooed people, fat people or "human skeletons"- extremely thin men often "married" to the fat lady, like
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By the 1830s, "outside shows" began to be established alongside travelling circuses. Initially, the circuses distanced themselves from the sideshows, but in 1850, a relationship was established between them.
176:"Working acts" often exhibited a number of stunts that could be counted on to draw crowds. These stunts used little-known methods and offered the elements of danger and excitement. Such acts included
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organization dedicated to celebrating and fostering growth within the sideshow industry. Both have come about because of a revival in the art form and offer several benefits for members and patrons.
157:(such as a "Broadway Revue") with fully clothed performers to the racier "kootch" or "hootchie-kootchie" show (a strip show) which might play either partly clothed or "strong" (nude).
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is a single attraction, for example a single curiosity like the "Bonnie and Clyde Death Car" or Hitler's staff car, a "Giant Rat" (actually usually a
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559:"A Pictorial History of the American Carnival," by Joe McKennon (Popular Press, Bowling Green, Ohio. Copyright 1972 by Joe McKennon.)
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470:"Sideshow World, Sideshow Photos, Sideshow History, Memories and Stories about Jeanie Tomaini and Al Tomaini at Sideshow World"
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offers a program of ten sequential acts under one tent for a single admission price. The ten-in-one might be partly a
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the world's most successful sideshows described as a modern high energy human oddity exhibit or freakshow cabaret.
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130:) or other unusual animal, a "What Is It?" (often a convincing but artificial monstrosity like the
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260:". Circus historian and collector Ken Harck ran the Brothers Grim Sideshow, which toured with the
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This article is about the extra common in circus shows. For the informal car shows in cities, see
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was sometimes offered in which women were the primary attraction. These could range from the
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Carnival
History| Old Circus Photos| Sideshow History| Showmen's Museum
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Scott McClelland, grandson of itinerant showman N.P. Lewchuk, formed
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In the early 1990s, Jim Rose developed a modern sideshow called "the
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in
Brooklyn, NY has performed since 1983, and tours under the name "
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413:"Dangerous Bodies: Freak Shows, Expression, and Exploitation"
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There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions:
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452:"Ward Hall King of The Sideshow and his World of Wonders"
299:"The "Warren Car" aka "The Bonnie and Clyde Death Car""
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is an extra, secondary production associated with a
74:List of circus skills § Sideshow attractions
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382:. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky.
94:Elly del Sarto, a sideshow performer, in c. 1910
138:often billed as "See the Victim of Drug Abuse."
489:"Forty-Three years of continuous performances"
601:
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514:"Robin Marks Foundation | What we do"
575:Dictionary of Carnival and Sideshow Slang
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570:Showhistory.com: History of the Sideshow
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323:. Sideshow World.com. Archived from
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348:. Strates Shows.com. Archived from
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1094:Entertainment in the United States
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208:Decaying sideshow advertisement,
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582:bibliography of sideshow history
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32:Sideshow (automobile exhibition)
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417:UCLA Entertainment Law Review
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1089:Culture of the United States
258:Coney Island Circus Sideshow
82:Painting on sideshow truck,
64:, or other such attraction.
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301:. Texas Hide Out.tripod.com
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487:Hall, B. (February 2013).
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411:Fordham, Brigham (2007).
250:Sideshows by the Seashore
36:Sideshow (disambiguation)
379:Secrets of the sideshows
346:"History Page year 1948"
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41:Not to be confused with
820:Cigar box manipulation
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162:Early history and acts
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34:. For other uses, see
474:www.sideshowworld.com
279:The Circus of Horrors
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168:Circus § History
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430:10.5070/LR8142027098
48:In North America, a
902:Equestrian vaulting
200:Decline and revival
580:House of Deception
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962:Human firecracker
493:Carnival Magazine
234:body modification
16:(Redirected from
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907:Human cannonball
862:Fire performance
835:Hat manipulation
825:Contact juggling
673:Chair acrobatics
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182:sword swallowing
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678:Chinese pole
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518:the original
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374:Nickell, Joe
354:. Retrieved
350:the original
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325:the original
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238:Lollapalooza
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194:bed of nails
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132:Fiji Mermaid
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84:firebreather
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1028:Flea circus
982:Target girl
938:Lion taming
912:Teeterboard
877:Firewalking
872:Fire eating
763:Spanish web
753:Slacklining
743:Russian bar
693:Corde lisse
683:Cloud swing
658:Aerial silk
653:Aerial hoop
643:Acrobalance
436:23 February
178:fire eating
143:Museum Show
1073:Categories
1013:Roustabout
972:Ringmaster
917:Trampoline
688:Contortion
635:contortion
625:Acrobatics
524:2019-10-09
356:2008-07-27
331:2008-07-27
305:2008-07-27
285:References
166:See also:
108:freak show
104:Ten-in-One
72:See also:
18:Ten-in-One
1079:Sideshows
977:Strongman
967:Puppeteer
768:Tightrope
758:Slackwire
708:Hair hang
703:Cyr wheel
151:Girl Show
136:geek show
43:Slideshow
1048:Category
1023:Sideshow
894:Vaulting
840:Twirling
815:Bullwhip
800:Juggling
498:15 March
398:65377460
376:(2005).
273:See also
124:Single-O
58:carnival
50:sideshow
1058:Commons
1018:Showman
996:Related
830:Diabolo
773:Trapeze
630:balance
554:Sources
539:"About"
262:OzzFest
210:Florida
134:) or a
805:object
783:Static
778:Flying
728:Risley
698:Cradle
648:Adagio
396:
386:
212:, 1966
128:nutria
54:circus
1003:Carny
945:Clown
926:Other
855:Plate
845:Baton
723:Perch
632:, and
423:(2).
155:revue
68:Types
850:Hoop
803:and
500:2018
438:2019
394:OCLC
384:ISBN
122:The
102:The
62:fair
425:doi
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421:14
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365:^
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20:)
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