Peter Robinson (born April 8, 1873; credited professionally as The Living Skeleton or as The Cigarette Fiend, and The Thin Man), was an American theater 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 ...

art performer, perhaps best known for his only film appearance in the

Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of vari ...

cult film ''

Freaks Freak has several meanings: a person who is physically deformed or suffers from an extraordinary disease and condition, a genetic mutation in a plant or animal, etc. Freak, freaks or The Freak may also refer to: Fictional characters * Freak (Ima ...

'', with a lengthy career in the carnival circus circuit at Coney Island and with Ringling Bros. He also appeared briefly in Broadway. He worked as a carnival sideshow entertainer, weighing in at 58 pounds. He had a career in that genre in the vein of circus thin man

Isaac W. Sprague Isaac W. Sprague (May 21, 1841 – January 5, 1887) was an entertainer and sideshow performer, billed as the living human skeleton. Biography He was born on May 21, 1841, in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Although normal for most of his childh ...

and

Artie Atherton Arthur "Artie" Atherton (born Charles Arthur Moll; January 30, 1890 – May 31, 1920) was an American entertainer, showman and circus sideshow performer during the early 20th century, who was billed as "the living human skeleton" or "skeleton dud ...

. He was married to fellow sideshow entertainer Baby Bunny Smith, a , circus fat lady. He married her numerous times for promotional purposes. He was also purported to be an expert harmonica player.

Early life

Robinson was born in

Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. ...

, on April 8, 1873. He was the son of Abraham Robinson, a native of Vermont, and Canadian Victoria Hebert. In later records he used April 6 as his birthday and gave Springfield, Massachusetts as his place of birth, but the birth registry gives the former date and location. His parents were born in the United States, but were of Canadian ancestry. He said that he had a normal childhood and appearance until his early teens, when his weight began to drop precipitously.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Peter American male actors People from Chicopee, Massachusetts Sideshow performers People from Agawam, Massachusetts 1873 births Year of death missing