John Thomas Trunley (14 October 1898 – 30 September 1944) was a British

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

and

sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers a program of ten seq ...

performer famed for his obesity and known during his lifetime as ''The Fat Boy of Peckham''. As a child he gained weight rapidly and by the age of seven months he weighed . By the age of four he weighed and was taken to be examined by

Sir Frederick Treves Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet (15 February 1853 – 7 December 1923), was a prominent British surgeon, and an expert in anatomy. Treves was renowned for his surgical treatment of appendicitis, and is credited with saving the life of Ed ...

, the same doctor who famously treated "Elephant Man"

Joseph Merrick Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...

. He made his

music-hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

debut in 1903 at the Yarmouth Hippodrome in December 1903, and appeared at the Royal in Holborn the same year. One of his jokes was, "I want to be a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

." At some point he began to tour England under the management of entrepreneurs such as

Fred Karno Frederick John Westcott (26 March 1866 – 17 September 1941), best known by his stage name Fred Karno, was an English theatre impresario of the British music hall. As a comedian of slapstick he is credited with popularising the custard-p ...

and

Buffalo Bill Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...

. However, at age "six and a half" he was forced to begin attending school at the Reddins School in Peckham. When Trunley started school he had a chest and waist. By December 1906 he was well-known enough for ''

The Sketch ''The Sketch'' was a British illustrated weekly journal. It ran for 2,989 issues between 1 February 1893 and 17 June 1959. It was published by the Illustrated London News Company and was primarily a society magazine with regular features on roy ...

'' to run a humorous item alleging that the London County Council (then occupied in expanding the electric tram service) was considering the construction of a "special service" specially to carry Trunley. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he negotiated a film contract playing small character parts. He married Florence Weeden (b. 1899) and fathered one child, also named John. Trunley died of

pulmonary tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...

in 1944. He is buried in Camberwell New Cemetery.

References

Bibliography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trunley, John Sideshow performers 1898 births 1944 deaths People from Camberwell 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in the United Kingdom