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NOBODY'S FOOL
The Life And Times Of Schlitzie The Pinhead
A Biography by Bill Griffith
I like nonfiction about the circus, the carnival, and the workers and performers who make them happen. So, I was in that section of the San Francisco Public Library recently (it's in the 791s), I was pleased to discover this one--a biography of one of my favorite old-school sideshow exhibits and 1930s movie stars, the inimitable, irrespressible SCHLITZIE!
The Pinhead (who'd now be called a person with microcephaly). Griffith is a real talented comics/graphic novel artist whose work I enjoy, although not my favorite, so I eagerly checked out this recent release (published 2019) and ran home to read.
I wasn't disappointed. Born circa 1901, into poverty with a severe disability, and turned over to a sideshow entrepreneur at the age of eight, Schlitzie (nee Simon Metz) went on to a stellar sideshow career as The Last Aztec, aka Princess Ha-Ha, aka The Missing Link, aka many other noms de sawdust from the early 1910s til the mid-1960s. Along the way he had a scene-stealing minor role in one of the great 1930s horror movies, the actually frightening (unlike its contemporaries, and YES I mean the Universal classics) FREAKS. And a few other movies, too, while still doing the sideshow circuit. And since he was usually dressed in a pullover dress, and wore a hair ribbon in his act, perhaps he could be seen as a pioneering drag show performer too.
It's the story of a man who overcame severe, like *really* severe, obstacles to become a successful entertainer--and never lost the sunny, exuberant, friendly personality which made him a beloved figure in his world. Indeed I think his good nature had a lot to do with his long, mostly happy life. Other sideshow people tended to like and protect the small, funny-looking fellow who'd happily talk near-incomprehensible babble to anyone for hours on end, and they took good care of him on the road. Seriously, have you ever read or heard of any carny or circus worker who knew Schlitzie having one bad thing to say about him? The fate of a lot of performers of his ilk was not as happy or edifying.
Things I learned that I didn't already know: Schlitzie actually *loved* to wash dishes and would do so whenever he got a chance. His favorite food was fried chicken. The daughter of George Surtees, his last and longest-lasting manager, disliked him intensely and was the one who got him committed to the state mental hospital after George Surtees died (I had always wondered how he ended up there). In his last years, freed from the nuthouse by a fellow performer, he went to the park every day to feed the pigeons and ducks, and nicknamed his favorite duck Tame Robert.
The artwork is quite good, and Griffith nobly discharges the debt he owes to Schlitzie for his later success.
All in all I found this a fascinating, informative, and (I never use the word "heartwarming" positively) positively heartwarming graphic biography. Go to the library and check it out.
The Life And Times Of Schlitzie The Pinhead
A Biography by Bill Griffith
I like nonfiction about the circus, the carnival, and the workers and performers who make them happen. So, I was in that section of the San Francisco Public Library recently (it's in the 791s), I was pleased to discover this one--a biography of one of my favorite old-school sideshow exhibits and 1930s movie stars, the inimitable, irrespressible SCHLITZIE!
The Pinhead (who'd now be called a person with microcephaly). Griffith is a real talented comics/graphic novel artist whose work I enjoy, although not my favorite, so I eagerly checked out this recent release (published 2019) and ran home to read.
I wasn't disappointed. Born circa 1901, into poverty with a severe disability, and turned over to a sideshow entrepreneur at the age of eight, Schlitzie (nee Simon Metz) went on to a stellar sideshow career as The Last Aztec, aka Princess Ha-Ha, aka The Missing Link, aka many other noms de sawdust from the early 1910s til the mid-1960s. Along the way he had a scene-stealing minor role in one of the great 1930s horror movies, the actually frightening (unlike its contemporaries, and YES I mean the Universal classics) FREAKS. And a few other movies, too, while still doing the sideshow circuit. And since he was usually dressed in a pullover dress, and wore a hair ribbon in his act, perhaps he could be seen as a pioneering drag show performer too.
It's the story of a man who overcame severe, like *really* severe, obstacles to become a successful entertainer--and never lost the sunny, exuberant, friendly personality which made him a beloved figure in his world. Indeed I think his good nature had a lot to do with his long, mostly happy life. Other sideshow people tended to like and protect the small, funny-looking fellow who'd happily talk near-incomprehensible babble to anyone for hours on end, and they took good care of him on the road. Seriously, have you ever read or heard of any carny or circus worker who knew Schlitzie having one bad thing to say about him? The fate of a lot of performers of his ilk was not as happy or edifying.
Things I learned that I didn't already know: Schlitzie actually *loved* to wash dishes and would do so whenever he got a chance. His favorite food was fried chicken. The daughter of George Surtees, his last and longest-lasting manager, disliked him intensely and was the one who got him committed to the state mental hospital after George Surtees died (I had always wondered how he ended up there). In his last years, freed from the nuthouse by a fellow performer, he went to the park every day to feed the pigeons and ducks, and nicknamed his favorite duck Tame Robert.
The artwork is quite good, and Griffith nobly discharges the debt he owes to Schlitzie for his later success.
All in all I found this a fascinating, informative, and (I never use the word "heartwarming" positively) positively heartwarming graphic biography. Go to the library and check it out.