Current Search: Catalog Number 20 (x) » "Gibtown": Carnival Industry (x)
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Title
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Al and Jeannie Tomaini.
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Abstract/Description
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Al (Aurelio) Tomaini (1912 - 1962) claimed a height of 8’4” and billed himself as ‘The Tallest Man in the World’. (His actual height was much shorter, at 7'4".) In 1936, at the Great Lakes Exposition, he met the woman who was to share his unique life, Berniece Evelyn Smith (1916 - 1999) who went by the stage name, Jeanie with twisted arms and without legs and billed as "The Living Half Girl." She ‘stood’ just over two feet in height and had been performing in exhibitions since the age of...
Show moreAl (Aurelio) Tomaini (1912 - 1962) claimed a height of 8’4” and billed himself as ‘The Tallest Man in the World’. (His actual height was much shorter, at 7'4".) In 1936, at the Great Lakes Exposition, he met the woman who was to share his unique life, Berniece Evelyn Smith (1916 - 1999) who went by the stage name, Jeanie with twisted arms and without legs and billed as "The Living Half Girl." She ‘stood’ just over two feet in height and had been performing in exhibitions since the age of three and was known for her acrobatic dexterity and the nimble way she ran about on her mildly deformed hands. The couple eloped during a fair in Cleveland in 1936 and went to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon. Often billed as the "World's Strangest Married Couple", they settled in Gibsonton where they established a lodge and fishing camp known as ‘The Giant’s Camp’. Al served as the fire chef and president of the Chamber of Commerce. After Al's death, Jeanie continued to run Giant's Fish Camp and Restaurant until her death in 1999.
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Identifier
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HCC0101GIB028
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Format
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Image (JPEG)
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Title
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Al Tomaini.
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Abstract/Description
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Al Tomaini with unknown Carnival Worker.
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Identifier
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HCC0101GIB29
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Image (JPEG)
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Title
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The Human Blockhead.
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Abstract/Description
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Melvin Burkhart, shown in this 1978 file photo, in Gibsonton, Fla., was known in the carnival circle as "The Human Blockhead" for his ability to hammer a spike into his head through a cavity behind his nostril.
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Identifier
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HCC0101GIB023
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Format
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Image (JPEG)
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Title
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Original Al Tomaini Boot Memorial.
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Abstract/Description
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After Al Tomaini's death in 1962, his wife, Jeanie, placed a 35 inch boot outside of their home, as a memorial. This picture is of the unrestored boot. When Jeanie died in 1999, the property was sold to Mosaic Company and shortly after that, the boot went missing. To honor the family Mosaic, with the help of Gibsonton residents, created a park on the site of Giant's Fish Camp, and today a full size replica of the boot is on site to memorialize Al.
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Identifier
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HCC0101GIB031
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Image (JPEG)
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Jeannie Tomaini at Giant's Fish Camp.
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Abstract/Description
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Jeannie Tomaini continued to manage Giant's Fish Camp for many years following Al's death. This picture is of Jeannie at the Camp.
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Identifier
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HCC0101GIB037
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Image (JPEG)
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Boat Docks at Giant's Fish Camp: Al Tomaini and Caspar Balsam.
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Abstract/Description
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Pictured are giant, Al Tomaini and midget, Colonel Casper Balsam on boats at Giants Camp, just south of the Alafia River Bridge (pictured in the background.) Tomaini, billed as being over 8 feet tall, was one of the first side show people to live in Gibsonton and opened the popular Giant's Fish Camp. Balsam, who once played a Munchkin on The Wizard of Oz, was billed as being slightly over 3 feet tall. The reverse of this undated photograph, indicates that Colonel Casper also served as a...
Show morePictured are giant, Al Tomaini and midget, Colonel Casper Balsam on boats at Giants Camp, just south of the Alafia River Bridge (pictured in the background.) Tomaini, billed as being over 8 feet tall, was one of the first side show people to live in Gibsonton and opened the popular Giant's Fish Camp. Balsam, who once played a Munchkin on The Wizard of Oz, was billed as being slightly over 3 feet tall. The reverse of this undated photograph, indicates that Colonel Casper also served as a deputy police chief for the town, although that should be confirmed. Photo used with Permission of International Independent Showman's Museum.
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Identifier
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HCC0101GIB045
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Set of related objects
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Fire Chief: Al Tomaini and Crew.
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Abstract/Description
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Al Tomaini as Fire Chief with members of his department. Permission for photo from the Independent Showman's Museum
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Identifier
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HCC0101GIB046
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Set of related objects
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Al Tomaini at Giant's Trailer Park.
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Abstract/Description
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Al Tomaini owned and operated Giant's Fish Camp, on US41, just south of the Alafia River, until his death in 1962. His wife, Jean, continued to operate the Fish Camp and Restaurant until her death in 1999. The camp was taken down after her death.
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Identifier
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HCC0101GIB022
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Image (JPEG)
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"Jolly Dolly" the Ossified Girl.
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Abstract/Description
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Dolly Reagan (AKA Jolly Dolly, The Ossified Girl, was born in Saskatoon, Canada in 1919. She began her sideshow career in the early 1940s. She could neither stand nor walk. However, she had command of a few fingers, which helped her control an electric wheelchair. She suffered from Muscular Dystrophy and ankylosis which kept her body rigid. She married three times (a juggler, a ride foreman, and a sideshow manager/magician.). She died in 1994.
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Identifier
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HCC0101GIB051
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Image (JPEG)
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Married Couple: The Monkey Girl and Alligator Skinned Man.
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Abstract/Description
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This is an early photo of Priscillar Lauther and Emmit Bejano, who were known by various professional side show names through their long career in the carnival industry: most frequently The Monkey Girl and the Alligator Skinned Man. They met in the 1930s and eloped to become married in 1938. They had one son, who died at an early age, and a second son that they adopted in the 1960s. They, like many carnival workers moved to Gibsonton in the 1950s, bought a one acre plot of land and a mobile...
Show moreThis is an early photo of Priscillar Lauther and Emmit Bejano, who were known by various professional side show names through their long career in the carnival industry: most frequently The Monkey Girl and the Alligator Skinned Man. They met in the 1930s and eloped to become married in 1938. They had one son, who died at an early age, and a second son that they adopted in the 1960s. They, like many carnival workers moved to Gibsonton in the 1950s, bought a one acre plot of land and a mobile home and called Gibsonton home for the rest of their lives. Emmit died in 1995 and Priscilla died in 2001. A feature article on the couple can be found at this web site: https://showmensmuseum.org/carnival-sideshows/percilla-the-monkey-girl/.
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Identifier
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HCC0101GIB054
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Image (JPEG)
