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Geek Show
Geek shows were an act in traveling carnivals and circuses of early America and were often part of a larger sideshow. The billed performer's act consisted of a single geek, who stood in the center ring to chase live chickens. It ended with the performer biting the chickens' heads off and swallowing them. The geek shows were often used as openers for what are commonly known as freak shows. It was a matter of pride among circus and carnival professionals not to have traveled with a troupe that included geeks. Geeks were often alcoholics or drug addicts, and paid with liquor – especially during Prohibition – or with narcotics. In modern usage, the term "geek show" is often applied to situations where an audience is drawn to a performance or show where the performance consists of a horrific act that the crowd finds distasteful but ultimately entertaining. It may also be used by a single person in reference to an experience that he or she found humiliating but others found enterta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traveling Carnival
A traveling carnival (US English), usually simply called a carnival, or travelling funfair (UK English), is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, and animal acts. A traveling carnival is not set up at a permanent location, like an amusement park or funfair, but is moved from place to place. Its roots are similar to the 19th century circus with both being fitted-up in open fields near or in town and moving to a new location after a period of time. In fact, many carnivals have circuses while others have a clown aesthetic in their decor. Unlike traditional carnival celebrations, the North American traveling carnival is not tied to a religious observance. History In 1893, the Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition (also called the Chicago World's Fair) was the catalyst for the development of the traveling carnival. The Chicago World's Fair had an area that included rides, games of chan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlatan
A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through false pretenses, pretense or deception. Synonyms for ''charlatan'' include ''shyster'', ''quack'', or ''faker''. ''Quack'' is a reference to ''quackery'' or the practice of dubious medicine, including the sale of snake oil, or a person who does not have medical training who purports to provide medical services. Etymology The word comes from French '','' a seller of medicines who might advertise his presence with music and an outdoor stage show. The best known of the Parisian charlatans was Tabarin, whose skits and farces were influenced by ''commedia dell'arte'' inspired Molière. The word can also be traced to Spanish ', an indiscreetly talkative person, a ''chatterbox''. Ultimately, etymologists trace ''charlatan'' from either the Italian ', to chatter or prattle; or from ''Cerretano'', a resident of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freak
A freak is a person who is physically deformed or transformed due to an extraordinary medical condition or body modification. This definition was first attested with this meaning in the 1880s as a shorter form of the phrase " freak of nature", itself a broader term meaning " whimsy or caprice of nature", attributed at least as far back as 1847. The term's original neutral connotation became entirely negative during the 20th century; therefore, ''freak'' with its literal meaning of "abnormally developed individual" is viewed purely as a pejorative today. However, the term is also recently used playfully to refer to an enthusiast or obsessive person. Usage Freak saw usage as jargon by promoters and performers of freak shows, though its use in this sense has decreased along with the popularity of freak shows. One well-known example of this word was in reference to Joseph Merrick, the "Elephant Man." As a jargon, side-show freaks were classified into two groups: ''natural freaks' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geek Love
''Geek Love'' is a novel by Katherine Dunn, published completely by Alfred A. Knopf (a division of Random House) in 1989. Dunn published parts of the novel in ''Mississippi Mud Book of Days'' (1983) and ''Looking Glass Bookstore Review'' (1988). It was a finalist for the National Book Award.Abernethy, Michael"Family Circus: Katherine Dunn's Geek Love,"''Pop Matters'' (1 February 2006). The novel is the story of a traveling carnival run by Aloysius "Al" Binewski and his wife "Crystal" Lil, and their children, seen through the eyes of their daughter Olympia ("Oly") who writes the family history for her daughter Miranda. When the business begins to fail, the couple devise an idea to breed their own freak show, using various drugs and radioactive material to alter the genes of their children. The results are Arturo ("Arty," also known as "Aqua Boy"), a boy with flippers for hands and feet; Electra ("Elly") and Iphigenia ("Iphy"), Siamese Twins; Olympia ("Oly"), a hunchbacked albino ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katherine Dunn
Katherine Karen Dunn (October 24, 1945 – May 11, 2016) was a novelist, journalist, voice artist, radio personality, book reviewer, and poet from Portland, Oregon. She is best known for her novel ''Geek Love'' (1989). She was also a prolific writer on boxing. Early life Dunn was born in Garden City, Kansas, in 1945."Katherine (Karen) Dunn." ''Contemporary Authors Online''. Detroit: Gale, 2005. ''Biography In Context''. Web. 5 Oct. 2013. She was the second-youngest of five siblings; her father left before she was two. Her mother, Velma Golly, an artist from North Dakota, married a mechanic or/and fisherman from the Pacific Northwest. The family moved often during her childhood. She went to high school in Tigard, Oregon, and later attended Reed College in Portland on a full scholarship, but never graduated. She suffered a difficult childhood due to poverty and a violent mother. She left home for good when she was 17. Poverty was an important element in her novels as well. In colle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luther The Geek
''Luther the Geek'' (Alternately spelled ''Luther, the Freak'') is a 1989 American Horror film directed by Carlton J. Albright and released by Troma Entertainment. It stars Edward Terry in the titular role, with Stacy Haiduk and Joan Roth playing supporting roles. Plot A young Luther Watts has a fascination with carnival geeks. When he loses his teeth while at a geek show and has them replaced with a pair of sharp metallic dentures, he acquires a liking for human blood. He begins murdering people by biting their heads off, but is captured and placed in prison. After being in prison for over twenty years, Luther is paroled and released. He begins roaming around his hometown, killing people by eating off their heads. Luther invades a farm, where he holds a mother and her daughter captive. Eventually, he is shot dead by the mother while inside the farm's chicken coop. Cast * Edward Terry as The Freak * Joan Roth as Hilary * Stacy Haiduk as Beth * Thomas Mills as Rob * Jerry Clarke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Troma
Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them play on 1950s horror with elements of farce, parody, gore and splatter. In 2012, the company officially released many of its films on YouTube. However, their YouTube channel was eventually terminated for not meeting community standards. Troma has produced, acquired and distributed over 1,000 independent films since its creation. Its slogan in 2014 was "40 years of Disrupting Media". Another slogan the company has used is "Movies of the Future." The company also has its own streaming service called Troma Now. Company information Troma films are B-movies known for their surrealistic or automatistic nature, along with their use of shocking imagery; some would categorize them as "shock exploitation films". They typically contain overt sexuali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Coleman (painter)
Joseph Coleman (born November 22, 1955) is an American painter, illustrator actor and performance artist. He has been described as the "walking ghost of Old America" by his wife, photographer Whitney Ward, for his over-riding interest in the historical arcana and personae that often populate his paintings. Of Coleman's work, the New York Times wrote that, “If P. T. Barnum had hired Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Breughel or Hieronymous Bosch, Bosch to paint sideshow banners, they might have resembled the art of Joe Coleman.” While Berlin's ''Der Tagesspiegel, Tagesspiegel'' said of Coleman, "Like George Grosz, [George] Grosz in the 1920s, he holds a drastic mirror up to his own times." ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Starsky & Hutch Episodes ...
This is a list of episodes from the 1970s US series '' Starsky & Hutch''. Series overview Episodes Pilot movie Season 1 (1975–76) Season 2 (1976–77) Season 3 (1977–78) Season 4 (1978–79) References External links * *Encyclopedia of Television {{DEFAULTSORT:Starsky And Hutch Episodes, List Of Lists of American crime drama television series episodes Lists of American action television series episodes Episodes Episodes may refer to: * Episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starsky & Hutch
''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a ''Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired by the success of the then recent movie ''Busting''), produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast from April 1975 (pilot movie) to August 1979 on the ABC network. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures Television in the United States and, originally, Metromedia Producers Corporation and later on 20th Television in Canada and some other parts of the world. Sony Pictures Television is now the worldwide distributor for the series. The series also inspired a theatrical film and a video game. Overview The series' protagonists were two Southern California police detectives: David Michael Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser), the dark-haired, Brooklyn transplant and U.S. Army veteran, with a street-wise manner and intense, sometimes childlike ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Highway 61 Revisited
''Highway 61 Revisited'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 30, 1965, by Columbia Records. Having until then recorded mostly acoustic music, Dylan used rock musicians as his backing band on every track of the album, except for the closing track, the 11-minute ballad "Desolation Row". Critics have focused on the innovative way Dylan combined driving, blues-based music with the subtlety of poetry to create songs that captured the political and cultural chaos of contemporary America. Author Michael Gray has argued that, in an important sense, the 1960s "started" with this album. Leading with the hit song "Like a Rolling Stone", the album features songs that Dylan has continued to perform live over his long career, including "Ballad of a Thin Man" and the title track. He named the album after the major American highway which connected his birthplace of Duluth, Minnesota, to southern cities famed for their musical heritage, includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ballad Of A Thin Man
"Ballad of a Thin Man" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan, and released in 1965 on his sixth album, ''Highway 61 Revisited''. Recording Dylan recorded "Ballad of a Thin Man" in Studio A of Columbia Records in New York City, located at 799 Seventh Avenue, just north of West 52nd Street on August 2, 1965. Record producer Bob Johnston was in charge of the session, and the backing musicians were Mike Bloomfield on lead guitar, Bobby Gregg on drums, Harvey Goldstein on bass, Al Kooper on organ, and Dylan himself playing piano. Driven by Dylan's sombre piano chords, which contrast with a horror movie organ part played by Al Kooper, this track was described by Kooper as "musically more sophisticated than anything else on the ''Highway 61 Revisited'' album." Kooper has recalled that at the end of the session, when the musicians listened to the playback of the song, drummer Bobby Gregg said, "That is a ''nasty'' song, Bob." Kooper adds, "Dylan was the King of the Nasty Song at that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
