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Archive for the ‘sideshow’ Category

Video of the Day: The Down Home Daredevils

Posted in film, sideshow, video, tagged family, Jill Fleet, Lucky Daredevil Thrillshow, sideshow, Thrill Kill Jill, Tyler Fleet, Tyler Fyre on October 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

“You want to go to the circus? Good news, you live in the circus!” says Tyler Fleet aka Tyler Fyre at the beginning of this sweet documentary short “The Down Home Daredevils.” Tyler and his wife Jill, whose stage name is Thrill Kill Jill, are the doting parents of two adorable little boys–Hank Lightning and Duke Dynamite. They’re also sword swallowers and fire eaters, and in Jill’s case a snake charmer, with the Lucky Daredevil Thrill Show.

The film by Corcoran College of Art new media photojournalism students Ben Dorger, Jenny Harnish and Emma Scott follows the family from their home in West Virginia to the Hell City Tattoo Convention in Columbus, Ohio. Hank, who is a toddler, joins dad onstage to do a make-believe straitjacket escape and Duke gets his first taste of applause as a babe in mom’s arms. “What the kids do in the show is up to the kids,” says Jill. “We’ll nurture them right into the show. It’s the family business.”

The film premiered at this year’s Coney Island Film Festival and was among “ATZ’s Top 10 Coney Island Film Festival Picks.”

Rare & Vintage: Girl to Gorilla Sideshow Banner

Posted in art, Artifacts, sideshow, tagged carnival, Fred Johnson, Girl to Goriilla Show, grind show, illusion, sidesnow banner on February 4, 2013| 17 Comments »

Girl to Gorilla Banner by Fred Johnson. Circa 1940s. Hideaway Antiques, Toronto

The Girl to Gorilla Illusion was one of the top-grossing grind shows on the carnival midway. Sadly, there are few if any working today. If you know of one, let us know! The last G2G that we saw was Jack Constantine’s and it was quite a few years ago. This vintage Girl to Gorilla banner signed by master banner painter Fred Johnson is being offered for sale by Toronto’s Hideaway Antiques. It gives an impressionistic idea of what to expect on the inside.

As the talker on a vintage clip of Harvey Fillmore’s Princess Uraana show posted by YouTube user ZAMBORA57 says, “You’re going to see a beautiful girl change before your eyes very slowly into an ugly male gorilla…From the top of her head to the tips of her toes you’ll see the hair grow. The Ape Girl. The Ape Girl. The Ape Girl. Anything can happen…” The illusion is done with mirrors but when the “gorilla” breaks out of the steel cage, the screaming audience runs out of the tent, attracting a crowd for the next show.

Photo of the Day: Coney Island Winter Celebration

Posted in Photo of the Day, Photography, sideshow, tagged Adam RealMan, Alliance for Coney Island, Fire Eater, Gargiulo's, Jim McDonnell, Kyrssy Kocktail on December 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

In this photo by Jim McDonnell, fire eaters Adam RealMan and Kryssy Kocktail of the Coney Island Sideshow liven up the cocktail hour at Thursday’s Coney Island Winter Celebration at Gargiulo’s Restaurant. The Alliance for Coney Island-sponsored dinner raised more than $40,000 for Sandy relief and recovery efforts in the neighborhood.