2023 Sideshow Hall of Fame Nominees

This year’s nominees are…

Born Different

Pete 'Poobah' Terhurne (1930-2012)

Little person who worked with Ward Hall’s World of Wonders for over 50 years.
Ronnie and Donnie Gaylon (1951-2020)

The world’s longest-living conjoined twins
Bill Durks (1913-1975)

The Man with Two Noses and Three Eyes
Eli Bowen (1844-1924)

"The Legless Wonder", or "The Legless Acrobat"
Charles Tripp (1855-1930)

“The Armless Wonder”
Emmett (1915-1995) and Percilla Bejano (1911-2001)

“The Alligator Skinned Man and The Monkey Girl”
Al (1912-1962) and Jeanie Tomaini (1916-1999)

“World’s Strangest Married Couple” Al was a giant and Jeanie a half girl

Self Inflicted

Rasmus Nielsen

“Tattooed Strongman” A tattooed man who would lift an anvil from his nipples
Lorett Fulkerson (1915-2007)

“The Last Tattooed Lady”
Harold “Big Jim” Spohn

“Fat Man”
Irene Woodward, La Belle Irene (~1857-1915)

“The Original Tattooed Lady”

Working Acts

Alex Linton (1904-1972)

The “Prince of Swords”
Warren Lincoln Travis (1876-1941)

One of America’s first strongmen
Mighty Ajax (1884-1959)

Sword swallower
Charles Roark (1918-2011)

Manager of sideshows and outside talker, ventriloquist and Punch and Judy puppeteer

Attraction

Flea Circus

Fleas enclosed in a small box perform circus acts
Pickled Punks

Abnormal human fetuses preserved in formaldehyde for display
Alien Show

‘Real’ alien artifacts on display
Giant Rat

Is it a giant NYC rat from the subway or just a capybara from South America?
Whale Show

The body of a 20-ton or 76 foot long whale would tour the country on the back of a flatbed truck

Show Folk

Stu Miller (1933-1998)

Sideshow manager
Jim Zajicek

Manager of the Big Circus Sideshow
Sam Wagner

“The Godfather of the Coney Island Freakshow”. Owned and operated the World Circus Side Show in Coney Island from 1922 to 1941
Lou Dufour

Pioneer of the Pickled Punk display