User:ApronMars
Hi! This account is run by Mars, an individual, unpaid Apron (Amusement Professionals Network) member. I volunteer my time to contribute to Wikipedia for zero compensation and zero affiliation / permission / oversight by any historical or still-existing Traveling Show companies mentioned in articles.
This account was created to provide neutral, historically-accurate, and correctly-cited information to expand and improve Wikipedia’s collection of carnival history-related topics.
Sideshow History
[edit]You’ll notice many of the pages I’ve created are about sideshow performers based in the United States. These are people with disabilities who worked hard to support themselves and their families; they helped raise and stake tents, they traveled with Show companies for decades, and many of them retired and died in Gibsonton, Florida, known as the “showman capital of the US”. Nowadays, Gibsonton still is the central hub of many modern American showmen (carnies) and their business associations.
Many of the biggest still-existing or long-running Show companies in the United States featured sideshow exhibits in the 20th century— now, all references to these sideshows and the performers they featured have been removed from the “history” pages on their own websites! You can’t even find a single mention of the performers hired by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! on their own website!
Why is Ripley’s, of all companies, afraid to even mention the performers they profited off of for decades?
It’s a shame that these disabled performers who dedicated their lives to showmanship have had their legacies erased or excluded. Why? Are the Shows afraid of backlash? Are they ashamed to be associated with disabled people or simply afraid to be accused of exploitation? I don’t know the reason. But I personally believe the best way to respect and honor these sideshow legends is to keep their memory and legacy alive.
Pages Created
[edit]- Percilla Bejano — “The Monkey Girl”, dancer, singer, actress
- William “Bill” Durks — “The Man With Three Eyes”
- Sideshow: Alive on the Inside — 1999 documentary film
- Jeanie Tomaini — “The World’s Only Living Half-Girl”