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Todd Robbins V.I.P. New York 2907 Posts 
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Here I go again. I would like to start up a list of working acts and attractions of the sideshow. The reason for this is that so many performers are doing the same handful of acts. There are many traditional acts that have been over looked. This list might give performers ideas for expanding their repertoire. Here are some. Please feel free to add to them:
Punch & Judy Knife Throwing Tattooing Glass Blowing Musical Glasses Whip Cracking Rag Pictures Smoke Pictures Sand Pictures Lightning Calculations Writing Upside Down & Backwards Two Person Code Mindreading Fighting Lion Act Strong Man Act Wire Walking Hawaiian Music Act Contortion Act (including the rarely seen Front Bending) Escapology Human Ostrich |
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Doug Higley V.I.P. Here and There 7173 Posts
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The Man with Two Faces (just make a few ugly faces)
Spidora Decapitated Princess Blade Box Sword Stairs Headless Woman Strange Exhibit X-Ray Eyes Dancing Chicken Trained Dog
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drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts
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Flea Circus
Glass Walking (not really overlooked) Learned Pig, Mind Reading Dog, etc. Crucifixion (variant of suspension) - see Ricky Jay's Journal of Anomalies Walking on the Ceiling - see Ricky Jay's Journal of Anomalies |
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Doug Higley V.I.P. Here and There 7173 Posts
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Baby Chick Circus
Dancing Mice Circus 1/2 'n 1/2 (There's a lot of those around!) Bow & Arrow act Cross Bow act Shooting Act Plate Spinner TRAINED World's Smallest Horse (does tricks)
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drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts
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Piano Playing Chicken
I saw this in a tourist trap in central PA in the mid-1980s. The chicken is in a glass-fronted cage with a toy piano and a nice painted backdrop like a Victorian parlor. You put two quarters in the slot in the front, then a light flashes and a bell rings, then the chicken plays the piano. It's a Skinner box and the chicken has learned that pecking at the keys gives a grain reward after a few minutes. So, with the price of performers these days... Yours, Paul |
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Doug Higley V.I.P. Here and There 7173 Posts
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But DON'T EAT THE TALENT!
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Todd Robbins V.I.P. New York 2907 Posts
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I saw a piano playing chicken. It had only one leg...'cause a chicken that special you don't eat all at once.
I should also ad to the list the pick out/educated horse or dog or pig. That's a great act that is rarely seen. |
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Dr_Stephen_Midnight Inner circle SW Ohio, USA 1555 Posts
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The Six Foot Man Eating Chicken
Steve Cigarette Fiend Steve
Dr. Lao: "Do you know what wisdom is?"
Mike: "No." Dr. Lao: "Wise answer." |
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Harley Newman Inner circle 5110 Posts
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Magic
mind-reading fortune-telling seances charicatures lightbulb and razorblade eating snake-swallowing snake-charming lightening-fast sculptures sword-balancing strongman acts
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus” -Mark Twain
www.bladewalker.com |
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Daniel Santos Special user 562 Posts
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Quote:
On 2005-03-13 18:40, Dr_Stephen_Midnight wrote: I remember hearing about that when I was much younger...it was a school field trip to the Barnum Museum. I think that's one of the best!  I used to like seeing the 'Fiji Mermaid' on display there too...haven't been there forever.
If it is to be, it is up to me.
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Slim Price Inner circle 1935 - 2006 1326 Posts
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Giant Kentucky bat. Hehee
Boiling alive. Molten metal acts Bare hand fish and egg cooking Buried alive bare hand fire-eating, sans torch Slim
sanscan@tds.net
"I will never bitter be, as long as I can laugh at me!" "The people who were dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music" |
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Doug Higley V.I.P. Here and There 7173 Posts
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The Dark Museum
:)
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Slim Price Inner circle 1935 - 2006 1326 Posts
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Human pincushion
Human ashtray Human dartboard stapling Crucifiction stigmata
sanscan@tds.net
"I will never bitter be, as long as I can laugh at me!" "The people who were dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music" |
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The Village Idiots Elite user Orlando 464 Posts
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The man that was raised by a man who was raised by a pack of wolves...
Some are born idiots.
Some are made idiots. Some have idiocy thrust upon them. |
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Doug Higley V.I.P. Here and There 7173 Posts
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Harley: "lightening-fast sculptures"
What was that one about??? And how presented? Doug
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Harley Newman Inner circle 5110 Posts
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I've only seen it once, on a corner in Las Vegas, but I've heard it was done in some old shows. It's quick-study miniature busts of people, in clay, which are, of course, for sale. Lots of fun to watch.
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus” -Mark Twain
www.bladewalker.com |
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Doug Higley V.I.P. Here and There 7173 Posts
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Cool...I've had that idea bouncing around for awhile....with a twist.
Send me a photo and I'll make YOU (or anyone) as a Shrunken Head! Todd's photo would be perfect. I think I'll experiment a bit..hehehe. Thanks. Doug
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Todd Robbins V.I.P. New York 2907 Posts
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The lightning sculpture act was also done in Vaudeville. There's a film from the 1930s that has a short segment of the act. It was done in the sideshow by a performer that was a native American or appeared that way. I can't remember the name.
On a related note, Milt Larsen has a room in his office that has shelves floor to ceiling filled with film cans that has footage of old Vaudevillians doing there acts. There is a TON of great material in those films just waiting to be rediscovered. Bill Irwin did it and has made a nice career out of resurrecting old material. Any one else willing to work hard could do it to. Todd Robbins The Laziest Man in Show Business. PS: That should answer why I haven't taken my own advice. |
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tim_mantis Regular user UK 117 Posts
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Girl in the goldfish bowl
Pepper's ghost e.g. man to Frankenstein's monster/werewolf Girl entombed in water/living mermaid Living half-lady Electra Flower girl (Spidora) And to see a presentation of an original british 1950s fairground girl in the goldfish bowl, come and see us at this year's Visual Delights weekend at the National Fairground Archive at the University of Sheffield! http://www.shef.ac.uk/nfa/news/vd3booking.htm cheers Tim |
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Slim Price Inner circle 1935 - 2006 1326 Posts
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The Indian worked at the same time I did with Wanous. He had a ball of modeling clay about as big as two fists and would mold it into several figures, animals and such. I don't remember him having any patter at all.I don't recall his name. either, but I did see a reference to him somewhere... Probably Ward knows.
Slim
sanscan@tds.net
"I will never bitter be, as long as I can laugh at me!" "The people who were dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music" |
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Posted: Mar 13, 2005 09:19 am 
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