Curtain up | Stars and curiosities | Scene change
To be or not to be? | Moral guardians

Moral guardians

	Two sideshow performers enjoy a meal in a restaurant in 1955 AKG London/Daniel Frasnay

By the end of the 19th century the final curtain had fallen on the freak show in Britain. But in America, side shows continued to thrive for another 50 years, especially during the 1920s and '30s. Many of its best known stars emerged during this period, including Sidney Behrendt, whose stage name was Sealo the Sealboy. He was born with phocomelia, a congenital condition that causes shortened, 'seal-like' limbs. His little 'handsies' never prevented him from holding cards for poker, drinking whisky or enjoying the company of many women and his career spanned 40 years.

However, there were an increasing number of 'fake freaks' – able-bodied people masquerading as disabled – in amongst the genuine artistes and audiences often left disgruntled and disappointed. The performers were increasingly exploited too, with more value being placed on their shock value than their artistic skill. Eventually, the philanthropic ideas that had ended the shows in Britain, crossed the Atlantic to the USA, and by the 1950s the freaks were falling from favour.

By now the 'do-gooders' were campaigning to prohibit the exhibition of performers with physical disabilities. Even though the vast majority of the artistes were happy with their situation, several states enforced blanket bans. Jean Carroll, a bearded lady, enjoyed performing so much that she went to great lengths to maintain her place in the freak show. She fell in love with a contortionist who wanted to marry her but not her whiskers, so she had her beard removed by electrolysis – but covered her body in tattoos so she could hang on to her position and lifestyle.

However, many regulars in the freak shows plummeted from high incomes and financial security into poverty and obscurity, forced on to welfare or to become no more than medical specimens.

Hidden talents

Up until the mid-1970s it was still possible to see the occasional bearded lady at British fairs. In the USA, one Coney Island side show still remains, partially funded by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, as a 'vital part of America's cultural heritage'.

Did the freaks really need rescuing from a life of supposed degradation and exploitation, or was it more a campaign to hide what was uncomfortable for the rest of us to look at? Whatever the case, they were effectively penalised for having physical differences that had once been so celebrated.

Top