Uncle I and the Fat Man (1960)

If you are expecting anything remotely resembling a plot in the following narrative, then you have come to the wrong place. And, if you are expecting any sort of moral preaching, or political correctness, concerning the circus; and the Fat Man in particular; once again you will be disappointed, as this is just a memory from April 1960, when I was not yet 6 years old and Uncle “I” took me to the circus with my brother.

I have no illustration to post with this. Uncle I never had a camera as far as I know, and though he literally spent hundreds of days with my brother and I, there is not a single photo of us from any of these outings. But the mind’s eye is the best camera of them all, and the images of Uncle Irving are still sharp and clear; especially when I think of the story about his encounter with the Fat Man.

If I was 5 and a half, then my brother was 7, and Uncle I was somewhere around 65; his age changed with the document you were looking at. Uncle I was about 160 pounds and maybe 5 foot 7 inches tall at the most. He was no scarecrow; but neither was he a match for the Fat Man.

Now, in those bygone days before the politically correct crowd got going, there was a side show at the circus which was nothing like what you might see today. There were still remnants of the old Freak Show about it and Uncle I simply followed the crowd as we herded into the old Madison Square Garden for the show.

We soon broke away from that horde of crushed humanity and found ourselves in an open area not quite behind the stands, but definitely not an area usually open to the public. Uncle I was particularly adept at this sort of thing. Since he knew just about everybody everywhere we went anyway, we were greeted with friendly hellos wherever we went. I remember this day he introduced us to several people, with my Uncle saying, “These are my niece’s children”, with definite pride in his voice.

There were a few other people milling about, seemingly concentrated in one area. We approached that scene and made our way up front where the Fat Man had his trailer. This area must have been underneath the seating area, and it was arranged with trailers that served as living quarters for the people who comprised the acts which made up the circus. How odd it must have been for these people to live “indoors” as it were, rather than outside, which was the usual way the circus set up outside of the city.

The Fat Man was standing outside of his trailer and; accompanied by a man I assumed to be his manager; was fielding questions. "How much do you eat for breakfast"; "what do you weigh"; and assorted queries of the like, were being hurled at him faster than spitballs. To his credit he answered every one of them with a gentle voice which belied his size.

The crowd was beginning to leave and Uncle I took us right up to the big man and was introducing us when the Fat Man turned around and stepped forward, his foot landing squarely against my Uncle’s shin and then traveling downward until all 750 pounds of him were resting on my Uncle’s foot.

Uncle Irving never screamed; didn't even yell in pain. He just quietly told the Fat Man that he was standing on his foot and could he please remove the extra weight as he was with his nephews. The Fat Man looked terribly pained and apologized profusely to my Uncle for hurting him. Then he did something that has never left my memory; he asked Uncle I how much he weighed; which is probably why I know that figure so well. When my uncle told him, the poor man felt even worse.

We saw the rest of the circus with Uncle I frequently checking his increasingly swelling ankle. By the time we were headed home he was limply noticeably. Still, he refused to show any sign of the pain and discomfort he was surely in. Instead he made repeated jokes about the whole incident and even told strangers on the subway that he had just come from Madison Square Garden, where the Fat Man had stepped on his foot. He even showed off his wound; more than once; to other, admiring passengers. I think he was actually proud of it!

Looking back on the whole thing now makes me smile. But, even if there is no lesson here for you, I learned several lessons that day from both my Uncle and the Fat Man. From the former I learned to accept discomfort, accept your limitations with pride, and even joke about them. From the latter I learned humility, which the Fat Man showed by being truly concerned about what he had accidentally done to a much smaller human being.

"The Lost Tribe of Coney Island" by Claire Prentice (2014)

Be prepared to be amazed by this remarkable book from author Claire Prentice. Carefully she introduces us to the main protagonist, Mr. Truman Hunt; a man as shrouded in mystery as he is flamboyant; and then just as quickly we are witness to his vagaries and vices, which eventually lead to his ultimate downfall.  This story takes place in the Philippines and then in the United States; notably in Coney Island at Luna Park; in 1905, just as America was advancing her interests in the Philippine Islands.

But the real story begins one year earlier when a band of assorted tribes from the northern Philippine Islands were first exhibited at the International Exposition in St. Louis. But calling it an exhibition did not allay the true purpose of the show; that is to turn a profit. The show featured the natives in a village like setting; kind of like the “natural habitats” found in zoos today, only with human beings on display rather than animals.

Truman Hunt had been an assistant governor of the Philippine Islands and was regarded by the tribe known as Igorottes to be a fair minded and intelligent man. And, at first he was. As a physician he was invaluable to the tribe; healing the sick, setting broken bones and even pulling bad teeth. His reputation was so great that at one point it became a symbol of status to have a tooth removed; if only to prove that you had been to the white man’s doctor. He was the man to whom the tribe would come with legal problems, considering him to be a very learned and compassionate man.

Having seen the Exhibition in St. Louis Dr. Hunt returned to the Philippines with the idea of bringing his own tribe of natives home to America for a tour of the fairs and amusement parks that proliferated the nation. But any exhibition would require financing and so he began to cast about for partners in his venture. He needed about $3,000 to get the Igorottes to America. It would be a long journey; beginning on foot and then crossing the Pacific Ocean to Washington State and from there by rail to Chicago and finally Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York.

By 1904 the movies were beginning to show their potential for entertaining the masses, and to that end most entrepreneurs were scrambling about for newer and bigger ways to attract audiences. In New York City that meant a new venue called the Hippodrome was being constructed. It would be a veritable palace of entertainment for decades to come. It was the Madison Square Garden of its time. Fred Thompson and Elmer Dundy, who owned an exhibit in Coney Island, were also the owners of this new venue.  They had heard of Dr. Hunt’s plans for exhibiting the Igorottes and were bidding on the rights to have them set up in Luna Park.

The story of the back dealing to get the tribe to America; as well as their reactions to things like ships and trains, which they had never seen; is a gripping story all by itself. This group of natives was planning on spending on year away from their families before returning with enough capital to start businesses and even get educations. But, after every promise made to them has been broken; and after they have been ill fed and ill clothed for over a year, never getting paid for their efforts; they would return home with only $35 apiece. However, they did get quite an education in the ways of the outside world in the time they were gone.

The cast of characters include Julio, the Igorotte who acts as the interpreter for Dr. Hunt and the tribe. He is also the most affected by Dr. Hunt’s eventual betrayal.  As the interpreter he felt personally responsible for all of the lies he has relayed to his friends and family. Even when the case comes to court he feels some guilt at betraying his master. By that time the tribe; as well as Julio; had been reduced to slave like status, following Dr. Truman wherever he led them to make a buck.

This is a story of an innocent people who think they have made bargain to ensure their future, relying on the word of the man they had come to view as somewhat of a god. This is also the story of how he abused that trust, becoming; as the money rolled in; a completely different person than the man he had been before.

It is also the story of the Unite States government and their search for Dr. Hunt on a variety of criminal charges; ranging from kidnapping to robbery and even bigamy. The book is filled with villains of every stripe; but for every villain met along the way there are heroes who pursue the case doggedly, until the Igorottes have been returned to their families.

This book is a tour de force for the author as well as the reader. Ms. Prentice has created a book which not only chronicles the case at hand, but also the climate concerning entertainment and what was acceptable as such at the time. And along the way she gives a wonderful history of Luna Park; and the fascinating men, and money which created it.

"Popeye the Sailor" with Betty Boop (1933)

What could be more entertaining than a classic cartoon featuring 2 of the most recognizable feature cartoon characters in it? In this 8 minute classic, Popeye the Sailor finds himself ashore after an ocean voyage. He elects to take Olive Oyl to the Carnival with predictable results, as he and Bluto compete in their never ending quest for her affections.

When the Hula Hula dancer (Betty Boop) makes her appearance and Popeye jumps on stage to perform with her, Bluto sees his chance and takes it; or rather, Olive; and kidnaps her with the intention of making her his wife whether she likes it or not.

By the way, while Popeye is dancing, at about 5 minutes into the cartoon, he encounters a snake on stage, and places his pipe under the serpents nose, quickly neutralizing the snake and calling into question just what was in that pipe? This is not the first time I have sensed that Popeye was a “smoker.” In several other cartoons he uses his pipe as a blowtorch to open the can and then inhales the “spinach” through the pipe.

Once Popeye realizes that Olive is gone and in danger, he jumps into “high” gear; and the chase is on to save the woman of his dreams. As in all of the old cartoons, everything works out in the end for Popeye and Olive. This is a unique cartoon in that it is the first one for Popeye and the only one in which he appears with Betty Boop. He also sings the entire theme song, which was composed by Sammy Lerner in 1933 for this cartoon. It was also a hit for Hoagy Carmichael, which I play in my car, much to most people’s disbelief.

Until this cartoon’s release in 1933, Popeye had only been in the funny papers since January of 1929, drawn by E.C. Segar for the Thimble Theater series. Segar had been working with King Features Syndicate since 1919. Riding the wave of success surrounding the Betty Boop cartoons, Max Fleischer decided to animate the cartoon strip, He chose a Betty Boop cartoon to do it in, figuring that if it failed to gain any traction, it wouldn’t be noticed for long.

Of course, Betty Boop may have remained a staple in the world of classic cartoons, but Popeye went on to greater success in the 1950’s when King Features re-vitalized him in a new format featuring Brutus in Bluto’s place. Those cartoons never did measure up to the “trippy” style which rolled out of the studios during the 1930’s, making them a delight to watch even today, over 80 years later.