“The ACLU … are the most dangerous organization in the United States of America right now. There’s by far. There’s nobody even close to that. They’re, like, second next to Al Qaeda.”

– Bill O’Reilly, FOXNews (6/2/04)

The first time I encountered Bill O’Reilly’s irrational views on body modification was some time ago when he appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly. I was flipping channels and came across the show, and having only heard a little about Bill at the time I decided to stop and get some firsthand experience of him. The thing that has stayed with me from that interview was Bill’s reaction to seeing Carson’s forearm tattoo. With no more provocation than the sight of the tattoo, O’Reilly began to voice his extreme disapproval, tinged with sorrow, over people — particularly young people like Carson — getting tattoos. I do not have a transcript but the phrase ‘hate to see young people ruining themselves’ sticks in my head. While those may not have been his exact words at that time, they are certainly in line with the position he continues to espouse today, often without any prodding.

Besides revealing his prejudice a propos of nothing, the other thing that makes this notable for me is the context. Here is a man (O’Reilly) who as the guest on the show is lamenting how someone younger than he is, with (at the time) two very strong television shows has ruined himself and his future by getting a tattoo. I really think that Bill would do better concerning himself with his own career than that of Carson who could likely rest comfortably on his laurels for the rest of his life already and shows few signs of slowing down. Also, as Carson was quick to point out, this particular tattoo is a tribute to his father. O’Reilly was hardly fazed at this, though it was enough for him to shift off from discussing Carson’s tattoo to tattoos in general and then letting the subject go for the moment. So, when faced with fact that he had ignorantly spouted off about a tattoo that by anyone’s standards would be a beautiful and solemn gesture he did not apologize or reconsider but simply went on pontificating, conveniently overlooking his misstep and the glaring exception to his argument sitting next to him.

Since this incident I have had the chance to hear O’Reilly denigrate tattoos and piercings regularly — most often in his radio broadcasts. When I am on the road I tend to search for talk radio and encounter him on the airwaves frequently. He often lumps being tattooed or pierced in with violent or antisocial behaviors, illiteracy, misogyny, and other undesirable qualities or activities. Sometimes he goes so far as to say that a visible tattoo or piercing is an indication that the wearer is a social degenerate. Frequently, he points to how people with visible tattoos or piercings will not be able to get jobs and thus make any contribution to society. Consider the following quotes:

“Already you see millions of young Americans covered with tattoos, unable to speak proper English, unwilling to read a book or a newspaper. How do you think these people are going to compete in our hypercompetitive economic marketplace? The answer is that millions of them will be unable to compete, and will be doomed to a low wage existence. IBM will not hire you if you have a tattoo on your neck.”

(full article)

“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”

– Lena Horne

Two of the main focuses of my life and work are body modification and sideshow. I spend time every day researching online for new information, going over the books in my personal library, and generally contemplating and updating my information base on both these subjects. Thus, it surprises when I find out I have somehow missed or overlooked a major player in either of these communities. Nippulini stands out in both, but still I somehow managed to miss him for a number of years.

THE LIZARDMAN:	Name, rank, and serial number — you know the drill. Give us the usual biographical data.
NIPPULINI:	I am the Great Nippulini, World’s Strongest Nipples. I am Philadelphia Licensed Body Artist #8,586, and have been piercing for over twelve years — over fifteen thousand piercings in my career. I live in the Philadelphia area, own a two hundred year old historical house, am currently in the middle of a divorce, have two dogs, three cats, seven reptiles, a blue faced Amazon parrot, and a Madagascar hissing cockroach who just had about twenty or thirty babies… yay!.
THE LIZARDMAN:	Describe your body modifications.
NIPPULINI:	I have fourteen piercings around my body (five in my ears, two in my nipples, a Madison, and five hafadas), a few tattoos here and there, some scarification, and nipple hair electrolysis. I used to have a frenum, but removed it a while ago. I took it out to an 8 gauge. It’s been years since I’ve had it, but I can still fit a 14 gauge through it.
THE LIZARDMAN:	What first got you started in body modification?
NIPPULINI:	Actually I got started in all this through my family’s business. In 1989 they started adding body piercing to supplement their retail clothing store. At first things were new, we had to learn a lot, but we grew and became the area’s largest high volume body piercing only shop. For promotions, I would go to local tattoo shops (at the time, no tattoo shop did piercing), and I got interested in getting inked. I also have had done some self scarification with a Dremel cut-off disc with excellent results. Electrolysis, by definition, is also a body mod I’ve gone through.
THE LIZARDMAN:	When did you first decide to start working at lifting and pulling with your piercings? Why the nipples?
NIPPULINI:	I first started to lift heavy stuff in the shops to freak out customers. I started off with a 7 pound towing spring, then gallon bottles of distilled water (for the autoclave) and so on. I chose the nipples as my piercings of choice for this because at the time I was at 6 gauge. This must have been around ’96-97. I was most impressed with Fakir Musafar’s nipples, and at first wanted to get them so I could put a finger through them — he was my main influence for increasing my nipple size. Now I am at 00 gauge and am quite happy.
THE LIZARDMAN:	How did you first train your nipples for weight and what regimen (if any) do you use to keep them ‘in shape’?
NIPPULINI:	Like I said, I started with 6 gauge, (when lifting… I actually started at 14 gauge in 1990) and comparatively small, light weights. As my nipple size increased, I would try out slightly heavier objects. Over the years I became able to do heavier and heavier items. As far as keeping them in shape, I can only say that I keep them moisturized and am very cautious when it comes to anything going near them.
THE LIZARDMAN:	You use some interesting custom jewelry — tell us the story behind that.
NIPPULINI:	I have a few different types of jewelry depending on my mood. For major shows and competition, I use 00 gauge 5/8” circular rings. They are basically circular barbells with only one bead, they lend the appearance of CBR’s. I use them because installing 00 gauge CBR’s onstage would be close to impossible. For show and other things (heh heh) I use my custom shackles. These are pieces that I designed myself and had fabricated for me. They are comprised of 00 gauge solid bars that have 4 gauge ‘U’ shaped barbells that run through the main bar. For everyday wear, I use flat disc ended barbells or standard 00 gauge barbells. I also have custom hollow acrylic pieces I wear in case of things like surgery or when I get my occasional nipple hair electrolysis (that shit really hurts!).
THE LIZARDMAN:	When you say ‘competition’ do you mean impromptu contests with people you meet or is there an underground nipple fight club?
NIPPULINI:	Heh heh, I wish! When I say ‘competition’ I mean for the hardcore weight. The shackles are nice, but when large amounts (over thirty pounds) are applied, they tend to pull from one side or the other being that the main bar is straight. For thirty pounds and up, I prefer to use the circular barbells because they are safer and hold the weight better.
THE LIZARDMAN:	You are well versed in the historical aspects of your act. Besides simply continuing the tradition, what do you see as your contribution or development to the act?
NIPPULINI:	The various stunts that I do with my nipples I have seen before, and whatever I create are basically hybrid acts or just way out there type of stuff (the cup crusher, iron grinder, and so on). I started using anvils as a tribute to Rasmus Nielsen, one of the forefathers of pierced weightlifting. I have also come up with these creative nipple acts so that maybe someday in the future will be replicated by someone when I’m not around to do this anymore.
THE LIZARDMAN:	How important is it to you that acts like yours are remembered in the future and that people continue to do them? Why?
NIPPULINI:	Being remembered for strongest nipples is the most important thing for future generations to reference. It’s more important than fame or money. Everyone dies eventually — we are born dying. This in some small way is my immortality. As I have been inspired by Rasmus and the like, I would hope to do the same for someone hundreds of years from now. My current goal at the moment is to break a buck (100 pounds) in a lift. I can’t really explain why, it’s just something inside of me that I want to do.
THE LIZARDMAN:	Are your nipples your primary focus for your show or do you plan on expanding to other piercings or even other acts?
NIPPULINI:	I do use my ear piercings for my “Bowling” stunt, and have played with the idea of using my hafadas in the act. I just don’t know how comfortable I’d feel displaying my genitals onstage… yet. I am waiting for my Madison (frontal neck piercing) to heal so I can have some fun with that. I got that from Rasmus too. I believe he pulled wooden carts with people or sledgehammers in them with his Madison (I’m sure they didn’t call it a Madison back in then). Other than that, I prefer to have my nipples to be the main focus of what I do. It helps me stick out in people’s minds. I get asked a lot why I don’t perform other sideshow stunts. Mainly it’s because this is what I am best at, and if I started doing other things it would detract from the seriousness of the nipples. Plus, I am not too good at other types of stunts… I know how to do them, just not well enough for me to feel comfortable doing them onstage.
THE LIZARDMAN:	What does the word ‘freak’ mean to you?
NIPPULINI:	Freak? Michael Jackson? Seriously though, in the sideshow definition of the word, it means born freaks or oddities. In modern slang, freak is used to describe someone “offbeat”, “alternative”, what have you. I believe everyone is a freak, and that freakdom is a part of human nature. Those of us who embrace this part of ourselves are the ones who have the courage to admit it. The guys in their three-piece suits and the housewives who all think they are ‘normal’ are too afraid to be in touch with that part of themselves and it’s their loss.
THE LIZARDMAN:	Shout out time — say anything you want:
NIPPULINI:	Pierced weightlifting is something not to be taken for granted. I’ve seen many people toy around with it and hurt themselves. I have spent the past eight years taking myself to the point where I can lift 55 pounds, or tow 2,000 pound cars with them… this isn’t just something you can “jump into” like blockhead or bed of nails. Don’t try this — if you do you’ll see what “it’s a great stunt, but I can only do it once” means.

Be sure to check out Nippulini’s website at: http://www.greatnippulini.com/

Erik Sprague

because the world NEEDS freaks…

Former doctoral candidate and philosophy degree holder Erik Sprague, the Lizardman (iam), is known around the world for his amazing transformation from man to lizard as well as his modern sideshow performance art. Need I say more?

Copyright © 2004 BMEzine.com LLC. Requests to republish must be confirmed in writing. For bibliographical purposes this article was first published April 26th, 2004 by BMEzine.com LLC in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

“Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now.”

– P.T. Barnum

Dick Zigun is the man. No, not that man, not the one that’s been holding you down all these years. He’s the good kind. Dick is the driving, some might say whip-cracking, force that helps keeps sideshow alive at Coney Island. He is an ever present icon at Sideshows by the Seashore overseeing daily operations and even taking part in the cast when needed as a talker. If you’ve caught any of the many sideshow documentaries and programs that have often graced basic cable networks such as Discovery and TLC in the last half dozen years then you have likely seen Dick acting as spokesman for Coney Island — and he is eminently qualified to do so.

I first met Dick Zigun when I did a guest appearance at Coney Island in 2002. And, at the risk of tarnishing his otherwise gruff reputation, I have to say that what impressed me most was how incredibly welcome he made me feel. Talking with Dick and working with his cast, I had never before felt so good and reassured about myself and the path I had chosen.

But, I don’t want to risk ruining his reputation any further, so let’s meet Dick Zigun!

THE LIZARDMAN:	Beginning with the usual interview formalities…
DICK ZIGUN:	I am founder and Artistic Director of Coney Island, USA, a non-profit arts organization dating from 1980 whose purpose “is to defend the honor of American popular culture through innovative performances and exhibitions.” I was born May 11, 1953 in Bridgeport, CT. PT Barnum was mayor, developer, and patron saint of Bridgeport. He built his houses there and had the winter headquarters of the circus there. He bought up the shorefront (which was the front yard of his second house) and left that property and others to the city for parks. There is a big beach with a statue of Barnum. To grow up in Bridgeport is to think that elephants and midgets are patriotic and all-American. During the big Barnum Festival each summer (month long, largest 4th of July parade in USA during the 1950’s, car show, air show, 5th graders impersonating midgets, etc.) the local paper is full of biographical info on Barnum and Tom Thumb, who was born and lived a few doors from my grammar school. I was a Barnum scholar before I was a teenager.
THE LIZARDMAN:	You have an impressive pedigree academically and professionally (Bennington, Yale) and many notable connections in the art world — so why sideshow?
DICK ZIGUN:	I was a scholarship student for a BA at Bennington College (when it was the most expensive college in the world in the early 70’s) and again a scholarship student for the 3 year MFA program at Yale School of Drama. Back then there were no books and no classes on sideshows or vaudeville or burlesque… not at my schools and not at any schools. As a Bridgeport guy out to defend American theatrical traditions I was an oddball, a rebel, and a pioneer. I was writing plays about ventriloquists wanting to kill Thomas Edison — things like that. Right out of Yale School of Drama I was produced in the regional theater movement I had been trained for but not happy typecast as an edgy experimental playwright doomed forever to producing new plays in regional theater second spaces for the hoity-toity blue haired ladies. In 1979 I was having a play produced at the Mark Taper Forum in LA… grooving on the beach and thinking that LA was the capital of America… but set on living in New York City which is the capital of the world and the only place someone serious about theater can earn a living. Another play being produced at the same time in LA was KID TWIST by Len Jenkin about the Murder Inc. stool pigeon thrown out the hotel window in Coney Island. I went back again and again to see the play and Coney Island intellectually struck me as a way to live the beach lifestyle in NYC. Then I was visiting the Santa Monica pier and epiphany struck when I saw an arcade building for rent. I vowed to go back to Coney Island and check out loft space. One thing lead to another and by 1985 I opened a theater/arts center on the Boardwalk called Sideshows by the Seashore. Sideshows are the most indigenous theatrical tradition in my chosen neighborhood so it was only natural to create a program where we would be the only place left in America to keep alive the ten-in-one.
THE LIZARDMAN:	You are noticeably tattooed (your sleeves) with work by notable artists – tell us about your tattoo work and the artists responsible.
DICK ZIGUN:	Running an arts center has given me the opportunity to bring a lot of American underground culture into the mainstream by virtue of being a known arts center in NYC that sends out press releases, puts on public advertised shows, and organizes artists to present things. We not only pioneered the new sideshow movement but also helped to create the new burlesque movement, and within NYC (which tattooing was illegal in and no one was producing an annual tattoo show) helped to bring tattoos out of the underground. Our first tattoo/motorcycle show was in 1986. I was producing a tattoo show, hanging out with tattooed people, making money off of tattooed people, and was good friends with Michael Wilson… I thought long and hard for ten years about myself and whether I would spend my life employing freaky people but remaining a standoffish academic type. So in 1996, after ten years of over-intellectualizing, I came up with this: four limbs equals: earth, water, fire, air. I got my first tattoo, on stage, in the street, in front of the police captain when tattooing was still illegal in NYC and everyone could hear me scream. Spider Webb tattooed my right arm which is “water”. Camille Cline, spider’s protégé, did my left arm which is air. Dragonfly, another spider protégé, is working on my right leg which is fire. That’s as far as I’ve gotten.
THE LIZARDMAN:	At what point did you begin getting tattooed in relation to your association with sideshow?
DICK ZIGUN:	Michael Wilson, with his debut in Modern Primitives, had a lot to do with introducing post-modern tattoos and piercings to America. When Michael first worked here no one since Jack Dracula had publicly exhibited a tattoo face… some 20-25 years. It was a big deal and since pierced tongues were also unusual in the 1980’s it was a big deal when Michael would hammer a nail thru his tongue. Now every suburban teenage girl in American has a pierced tongue. When I first came to Coney Island I was an outsider artist type and my education and non-Brooklyn accent enamored me to the locals as a spokesman for Coney. It would have been difficult back then if I was heavily tattooed but now I’ve become some kind of Coney Island institution and as long as I stay alive and articulate it doesn’t matter much what I do… well, maybe it would matter if I tattooed my face.
THE LIZARDMAN:	You have known and worked with a number of people who were heavily tattooed (including probably more facially tattooed modern performers than anyone else). Has this changed your perception of tattooing, or facial tattooing? Ever considered going that route yourself?
DICK ZIGUN:	Knowing and loving and respecting so many heavily tattooed people helped me accept the idea of inking myself. I can see myself with a total bodysuit but not facial or hand tattoos. I am an old-style kind of guy. My job is to be the producer and director and spokesman. I am not one of the performers. Since I am always hanging around the place my tattooed sleeves help in that I am another freaky looking staff person. But as a spokesman it is best that the audience more or less identify with me as one of them and not one of the extreme freaks.
THE LIZARDMAN:	Do you think that sideshow has helped or hindered the popular view of heavily modified people (such as those with facial tattooing)?
DICK ZIGUN:	Without question the sideshow movement has helped the popular view of heavily modified people. A few decades ago a Michael Wilson or Lizardman or Enigma would have been stoned walking down the average small town American street… now you all are famous TV celebrities.
THE LIZARDMAN:	What societal role do you see sideshow playing in the future? What does it provide?
DICK ZIGUN:	Sideshows have reintegrated themselves into American culture. You see sideshow influence in rock videos, in advertising, in fashion. I am proud to have a role in moving sideshow culture from the margins back into the mainstream, where it belongs. America used to have an inferiority complex about its own culture: sideshows, burlesque, vaudeville. We used to be embarrassed not proud of our populist culture. Everything used to be Eurocentric and that was boring and elitist. Artists especially are now free to use American culture as history and influence without freaking out their professors or getting kicked out of school, galleries, and museums. Nevertheless, not I nor Jim Rose nor the Bindlestiffs have made big money out of producing sideshows. It only goes so far. I’d like to see it go farther and I’d like to see sideshows make more money — especially since we need to institutionalize the arts center in Coney Island, now that Coney Island is developing fast and taking off. We are renters and not owners and our lease in up in two years. We need to fund this place and the history that has taken place here since the 1980’s or else we will lose it.
THE LIZARDMAN:	Coney Island now offers a sideshow school — tell us about that.
DICK ZIGUN:	Of course there is a lot of interest in sideshow acts by a new generation of circus idiots for the 21st century… and there is a lot of bad info out there in books and on websites about how to learn and master the sideshow arts which are dangerous!!! So since we are a non-profit educational institution we decided we would be the very first school which taught the arts the right way. It helps us earn money for our programs and it helps eager sideshow amateurs learn how to stay out of the hospital.
THE LIZARDMAN:	With over two decades experience you have been working the sideshow longer than many of its current fans and hopeful future stars have been alive. What would you suggest they consider or do before taking their first steps or preparatory measures before beginning training at the school or elsewhere?
DICK ZIGUN:	I am amazed how casually some people tattoo their faces or do extreme body modification these days. Used to be that someone would get a tattooed bodysuit first and then consider the face but these days some kids start with the face. Frankly, although a lot of brilliant committed people get facial tattoos, a lot of others are “no future” crusty heroin junky types who just don’t care about next year or even what tomorrow brings. Fine if that’s your chosen lifestyle, fine but sad… but if you’re gonna be a professional in a sideshow then you need to show up for work on time every day and act sober — junkies don’t get jobs on payroll at Sideshows by the Seashore.
THE LIZARDMAN:	Given your experiences would you recommend others attempt a similar path?
DICK ZIGUN:	If it is a “labor of love” and you just gotta do it, then sure, I’ll not only recommend it but be your mentor and give you advice (up to a point; don’t need more competitors). Ain’t no one gonna get rich doing sideshows and the trials and tribulations will mess with your family life and love life and make your life hard but very, very interesting.
THE LIZARDMAN:	What does the word ‘freak’ mean to you?
DICK ZIGUN:	Freak used to be a pejorative, a bad word. Now it’s a badge of honor. People wanna be a freak. Freaks have freedom; freaks are not like everyone else. Freaks are cool.
THE LIZARDMAN:	Is there any act that you have always wanted for the show but never got?
DICK ZIGUN:	Siamese Twins. A perfectly proportioned 3 foot high midget. A 9 foot tall giant. The real missing link. Hell, even a sideshow celeb like the Lizardman working for me at minimum wage for an entire summer. I better keep dreaming…
THE LIZARDMAN:	Say whatever you want.
DICK ZIGUN:	www.coneyisland.com

Erik Sprague because the world NEEDS freaks… Former doctoral candidate and philosophy degree holder Erik Sprague, the Lizardman (iam), is known around the world for his amazing transformation from man to lizard as well as his modern sideshow performance art. Need I say more? Copyright © 2004 BMEzine.com LLC. Requests to republish must be confirmed in writing. For bibliographical purposes this article was first published March 17th, 2004 by BMEzine.com LLC in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

“The love of beauty in its multiple forms is the noblest gift of the human cerebrum.”

– Alexis Carrel

The modern Western perception of tattooing has been indelibly marked by its cultural association with the sideshow and its historical predecessor the traveling exhibit. Tattooing as an art form cut its teeth and developed in the West in great part due to the desire for and profit to be had by exhibiting tattooed people. At many circuses and carnivals one could not only see a tattooed marvel but also receive a permanent souvenir from the traveling tattoo artist on the lot. For years, tattoo artists commonly spent most of their time on the road with such shows, possibly also serving as its banner painter, and then wintering at a street shop location. A great example of such an artist, and an inspirational tale in its own right, is Stoney St. Clair whose life and work was documented in what is often considered a seminal work in the history of tattooing: Stoney Knows How (BOOK, VHS).

In this column (and part II) I am going to attempt to cover centuries of tattooed exhibits and performers. Chronicling how we have come from natives brought back from expeditions to their native land to our current age where performers such as myself, ThEnigma and Katzen, Lucky Rich, and many more have chosen to tattoo their bodies and exhibit them as part live shows.

In AD 325 Constantine, whose name would later be used by a tattooed attraction in a sort of poetic justice, banned tattooing in the Roman Empire. In AD 787 Pope Hadrian I issued a papal edict against tattooing. Of course, this did not stop the crusaders sent by later popes to wage war for the holy land from getting tattooed while there. However, for the most part these and other similar laws issued forth reflected a general Western prejudice that had developed in the culture against tattooing. Many alleged “experts” considered tattooing to be a sure sign of people being uncivilized and particularly savage. And it was with just such “savage” peoples that exhibitions of tattooing began to gain prominence.

In 1691, Giolo (or Prince Giolo) was taken by William Dampier in settlement of a debt. Dampier fixed upon the idea of exhibiting the tattooed Prince. The marketing for Giolo created a sensation in England, but the exhibition was ultimately doomed as Giolo came down with small pox and died shortly after arriving from the Philippines. Despite the exhibition not meeting expectations, the successful marketing drew attention and many people realized the potential profit in exhibiting native peoples and particularly those with tattoos.

In 1774 a South Seas islander from Tahiti named Omai returned to London aboard a ship from one of Captain Cook’s expeditions. Omai had only minor tattooing, mainly on his hands, but the fact that he was tattooed was a major part of his marketing and often exaggerated. Playing the role of the ‘noble savage’ Omai was incredibly well received and successfully toured most of England, including a royal audience. In 1776 he returned home.

With the success of these exhibits it was only a matter of time before Westerners themselves would hit upon becoming the attractions. Many sailors made efforts to exhibit their ‘souvenir’ tattoos but the standard for non-native exhibits would be set by a man named Jean Baptiste Cabri.

Cabri was discovered in 1804 living among the natives in the Marquesan Islands by George Langsdorff. Cabri, a French deserter, had ‘gone native’ and been extensively tattooed while living on the islands. Returning to Russia with Langsdorff, Cabri not only exhibited his tattooing but also told exaggerated tales of his life among the natives, effectively moving into performance and creating the archetype that would be followed by tattooed people for centuries to come. With good initial success he was able to successfully tour Russia and much of Europe. However, by 1818 his notoriety had declined and he had died in his native France.

After Cabri came Rutherford in 1828. John Rutherford, the first extensively tattooed English exhibit, returned to Bristol after having left for New Zealand in 1816. Rutherford was heavily covered in Maori tattoos and spun fanciful tales of shipwreck, abduction, and living with the natives. Rutherford was able to better capture the imaginations of his audiences than Cabri and further developed the basic elements and progression of the tales that would be mimicked by other tattooed people for more than a hundred years.

L-R: Giolo, Omai, Cabri, and Rutherford.

As it was in Europe, so it went in the U.S. The first tattooed person believed to have been exhibited in the states is generally held to have been James F. O’Connel. O’connel appeared at Barnum’s American Museum in 1842 telling tales similar to those of Cabri and Rutherford. He published and sold copies of his adventures under the title ‘The Life and Adventures of James F. O’Connel, the Tattooed Man, During a Residence of Eleven Years in New Holland and Caroline Islands’ (1846). While many attribute his appearance at Barnum’s Museum to mean that Barnum was the first to have a tattooed exhibit, there is evidence to suggest that he was already in residence before Barnum took over the museum and several exhibits from Dan Rice.

In 1873, O’Connel was succeeded by Prince Constantine (like the pope) in Barnum’s show. Constantine was a Greek man also known as Alexandrinos Constentenus aka Djordgi Konstantinus aka George Constantine and Captain Constentenus. He was very likely the most successful exhibit to date and for some time, commanded a salary of $1000 a week while also making good sales on his own book of adventures. This success was most likely due not only to his talent for spinning yarns but even more so for the quality and extensive nature of his tattooing. Constantine was covered with finely detailed Burmese style tattoo work. He is also notable for probably being the first person to completely tattoo their body with the specific goal of becoming an exhibition in mind. In the years to come many would follow his model. And, future exhibits were not the only ones he would inspire – it is said that the legendary tattoo artist Charlie Wagner was so struck upon seeing Constantine that he set out to learn to tattoo. This resulted in his finding an apprenticeship with James O’Reilly, who patented the first electric tattoo machine.

With Constantine we enter into what might be called the golden age of the tattooed exhibits. A time when hundreds of people got tattooed and made their living as part of traveling shows and museums. Also, the time in which we see the tattooed women come to the stage and even eclipse the men. This era, the decline of the traveling shows, and the return of the tattooed exhibit as performer in the modern sideshow renaissance will form the second installment of this two part column.

Selected Sources and Suggested reading:
Stoney Knows How; Leonard L., St. Clair
The Art of the Tattoo; Ferguson & Procter
Freaks, Geeks, & Strange Girls; Johnson, Secreto, Varndell
Freak Show; Bogdan
Modern Primitives; Vale & Juno

Erik Sprague

because the world NEEDS freaks…

Former doctoral candidate and philosophy degree holder Erik Sprague, the Lizardman (iam), is known around the world for his amazing transformation from man to lizard as well as his modern sideshow performance art. Need I say more?

Copyright © 2004 BMEzine.com LLC. Requests to republish must be confirmed in writing. For bibliographical purposes this article was first published March 9th, 2004 by BMEzine.com LLC in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

“If Homer Simpson wants his son to work in a Burlesque house, then Homer Simpson is gonna let his son work in a Burlesque house! Oh! Hi... Marge, now you’re gonna hear a lot of talk about Bart working in a Burlesque House...”

– Homer Simpson

The Great Fredini is a man of many hats — and I understand the rest of his wardrobe is pretty nice too. Onstage he is an MC, a talker, magician (the world’s worst, by his own description), a blockhead, a ventriloquist, and a sword swallower. Fredini also does the Coney Island website design (coneyisland.com) and works with Funny Garbage (funnygarbage.com). And while he no longer regularly performs as part of the Coney Island Sideshow cast, he hasn’t left the stage behind as he now hosts This or That (thisorthat.tv), the resident burlesque show.

Meet Fredini!

THE LIZARDMAN:	Let’s start out with the basics.
FREDINI:	My name is Fred Kahl, The Great Fredini. I’m 38 years old and live in New York City. I’m a sword swallower and currently work as a creative director at a New York Design and Production company named Funny Garbage.
THE LIZARDMAN:	How did you first get involved with sideshow and Coney Island?
FREDINI:	I was an art student interested in illusion. I spent a lot of time up at Flosso’s Magic Shop perusing old magic books. At the time I was doing sculptures based on illusion principles — a lot of stuff inspired by Duchamp. I got into performing magic on the street, and through the Flosso connection became enamored with Coney’s history. This was in the early 80’s, at the same time that Dick Zigun’s Coney Island USA was just being established, and the Coney Island Hysterical Society was running the funhouse in Coney. There was a lot of great underground art going on out there and it seemed like the perfect place for me. A few years later John Bradshaw hired me to be in the sideshow and I went for it. I only worked about a month for him because I had an artist-in-residency somewhere that summer, but that was it — I had the bug. The following season, Dick set up his own show and signed me on for the season.
THE LIZARDMAN:	Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
FREDINI:	I have one small jailhouse style tattoo on my foot — it’s of a key, and it’s about an inch long. I’m the straight man in the show.
THE LIZARDMAN:	You worked closely and were good friends with the late Michael Wilson (who many readers will probably know from his interview in Modern Primitives). He is probably one of the better known and respected tattooed men of the modern sideshow revival. Can you give us a favorite story or moment?
FREDINI:	Michael was really an amazing artist — himself being his most famous work, but he was quite an accomplished painter as well. We had a lot of good times together. One of my favorite ways he dealt with hecklers was when they shouted out “take your pants off” or “what’s on your butt?”, to which he’d reply “There’s a rose on my ass, wanna smell it?” Believe it or not he was actually very modest about revealing the tattoos he had down there. He was once on the Robin Byrd Show (an adult cable access show in NYC) and Robin tried to get him to strip down but he refused. Michael was also the first person I knew with a tongue piercing. Back when he first started hammering a nail through his tongue, we literally had people practically fainting or walking out of the show. Later in his career, piercing got more prevalent and it lost its shock effect.
THE LIZARDMAN:	What was your perception of heavy tattooing and piercing before you got into sideshow — has it changed much now that you have worked with and known so many heavily modified people?
FREDINI:	I remember seeing Captain Don perform at the modern primitives show in Seattle, and seeing Jonathan Shaw at the first tattoo show in Coney and remember being impressed by their tats — specifically the fullness of their coverage. I guess over time I’ve really grown to have an appreciation for the artform and have refined my tastes of what I like best. I really like the old school American sailor flash myself, as well as artists who do contemporary stuff in that style. I keep thinking I’ll get some when I turn 40… But the only way I’d go for it would be to get a big area — a full back piece or sleeves — none of this piecemeal stuff.
THE LIZARDMAN:	As a sword swallower, you engage in a very serious form of body control and manipulation, if not modification. Tell us a bit about that.
FREDINI:	When I fist worked the sideshow, I just did blockhead and magic, as well as lots of ballying. Michael Wilson and I had a competition as to who would swallow swords first. I always wanted him to do it so he could swallow neon. I wanted to call him the human lampshade because of the way the light would go through the tattoos on his neck. At the time no one in the show was swallowing swords, but Michael would say it’s all yoga. During the off season, I started studying yoga, and got really into it. I tried to swallow a coat hanger periodically, but had no success. When the season started, I brought my coat hanger out to Coney. I figured I’d learn backstage between sets. My first attempt in Coney Island worked — and boy was I surprised. That afternoon I began performing it on stage, and by the following week I had a sword.
THE LIZARDMAN:	You have children, which in my experience, is a little bit rare for sideshow performers. Did you consider how the sideshow environment might impact raising them?
FREDINI:	I just do what I do, and they take it at face value. They’ll probably grow up to be bankers in a backlash against it!
THE LIZARDMAN:	Would you encourage others to learn acts and join the sideshow? Is it a career path you would like to see your children carry on?
FREDINI:	Like Melvin Burkhardt used to say, “It’s a hard way to make an easy living.”
THE LIZARDMAN:	What does the word “freak” mean to you?
FREDINI:	Ugh, I don’t know. People who are mentally and emotionally malformed? Not most people in the sideshow. Michael Jackson is a real freak — both psychologically, and in the self-made freak kind of way.
THE LIZARDMAN:	You are a guest lecturer at the Coney Island Sideshow School. Tell us a bit about your experience with that.
FREDINI:	Todd Robbins is the real master of Sideshow School. I just do a little sword swallowing tutorial. We do some breathing and relaxation exercises and try swallowing coat hangers. The old law was that a sword swallower would only ever teach one other person — just to pass the act on, but I guess I’m doing the opposite… teaching more sword swallowers than anyone else! But really, Todd Robbins deserves all the props for Sideshow School.
THE LIZARDMAN:	Tell me about the Coney Island Burlesque show.
FREDINI:	For the last seven years, I’ve run the Coney Island Burlesque at the Beach series, which gave birth to my latest project — “America’s favorite Burlesque Game show – This or That!”. This is the TV show I want to see when I turn on the TV! We’re about to start pitching it around at networks. I’m not sure if anyone will touch it, but we’ll see. The idea is that it is a sexy game show — part Gong Show, part Let’s Make a Deal, but hotter. We make the contestants reveal their inner exhibitionistic selves. It’s really just good clean fun (with some skin showing). Along the way there’s some wild variety acts in the show, but it’s really about making the contestants — these “normal” people come out of their shells, and believe me they do! You can’t believe the things people will do to win a vibrator (see what I mean at thisorthat.tv).
THE LIZARDMAN:	What was the impetus to do a burlesque show? Was it the historical connection or simply a matter of saying “Hey, you know what people like? Stripping!”
FREDINI:	Burlesque is an old American artform like the sideshow, so the historical connection was a draw, but face it — sexy girls are a lot more exciting than looking at Eak! (Unless you’re into that!). At Coney Island USA, we had always done an annual Go Go Rama night, and Dick Zigun had written about Minsky’s in the 70’s, so it was something that was in the air out there. The charter of CIUSA is to uphold American popular artforms like the sideshow and tattooing, so burlesque was a natural extension. Plus, it made good money, so in the age of struggling non-profits, it made good sense. When I left the sideshow I knew I wanted to stay involved out there and Burlesque at the Beach and Tirza’s Wine Baths was born out of it!
THE LIZARDMAN:	Is it different doing acts like the blockhead and sword swallowing for a burlesque crowd?
FREDINI:	Not really — the crowd at the burlesque shows is usually all revved up, so in that sense it’s good. At a sideshow you get audiences that span anywhere from super revved up to dead as a doornail, but really, my blockhead and swords routine is pretty much never fail… so there you have it!

Be sure to visit Fredini online at Coney Island and at This or That.

Erik Sprague because the world NEEDS freaks… Former doctoral candidate and philosophy degree holder Erik Sprague, the Lizardman (iam), is known around the world for his amazing transformation from man to lizard as well as his modern sideshow performance art. Need I say more? Copyright © 2004 BMEzine.com LLC. Requests to republish must be confirmed in writing. For bibliographical purposes this article was first published February 10th, 2004 by BMEzine.com LLC in Tweed, Ontario, Canada.