VOTED RIPLEY'S # 1 ACT OF ALL TIME! http://www.ripleysnewsroom.com/johnnyeck/ |
John "Johnny Eck" Eckhardt, Jr. was born as one of two twins on
August 27, 1911, at his parents' home in Baltimore. Though healthy, Eck
was born with no lower half. Despite his lack of legs, Eck lived a full
life as a sideshow performer, artist, photographer, magician, puppeteer,
swimmer, gymnast, actor, train conductor and traveler. Perhaps best known for his role as "the half-man" in Tod Browning's film Freaks (1932), Eck later achieved worldwide fame as Robert Ripley's "most remarkable man alive" and traveled throughout the United States and Canada, performing with his brother, Robert, until the late 50s. After they phased out their traveling show and arcade, the brothers continued their screen painting and limited their performances to local events. They spent their entire lives together living in the home in which they were born. JOHNNY ECK IN "FREAKS" 1932 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN71bF5DTck |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4aET2RGG5Q A REVIEW OF A JOHN ECK TRIBUTE BY WALT HUDSON http://www.sideshowworld.com/8-ms-sr/review-WH-J-Eck-08.html |