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Johnny Eck
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Johnny Eck
John Eckhardt Jr (August 27, 1911 – January 5, 1991), professionally billed as Johnny Eck, was an American freak show performer in sideshows and a film actor. Born with sacral agenesis, Eck is best known today for his role in Tod Browning's 1932 cult classic film Freaks and his appearances as a bird creature in several Tarzan films. He was often billed as "The Amazing Half-Boy", "King of the Freaks" and "The Most Remarkable Man Alive".
Besides being a sideshow art performer and actor, Eck was also a folk artist (specifically a screen painter), musician, photographer, illusionist, penny arcade owner, Punch and Judy operator, and expert model-maker.
John Eckhardt Jr. was born on August 27, 1911, to Emelia (born 1876) and John Eckhardt Sr. (born 1874) in Baltimore, Maryland, as a fraternal twin.
His brother Robert Eckhardt was also a performer. He also had an older sister named Caroline Laura Eckhardt. Although Eck capitalized on the resemblance between himself and Robert, the twins were fraternal.
Eck was walking on his hands before his brother was standing when he was a year old. Both of the Eckhardt twins could read by the age of four. His sister Caroline educated Eck at home until he and his brother enrolled in public school at age seven. He recalled that larger students would "fight each other for the 'honor' or 'privilege' of lifting [him] up the stone steps" to school, and that school windows were blacked out to discourage throngs of curious onlookers from peering in at Eck during his studies.[citation needed]
Emilia Eckhardt intended that Eck go into the ministry, and the young Eck was often called upon to perform impromptu sermons for guests. "I would climb atop of a small box and preach against drinking beer and damning sin and the devil," Eck recalled in an autobiographical fragment.[citation needed] These sermons quickly came to an end when Eck began passing around a saucer for donations.
Eckhardt was born with sacral agenesis, a congenital condition in which the lower part of the spine does not develop completely. As a result, he had a shortened torso and underdeveloped legs and feet that were not functional. Throughout his career, he concealed his legs beneath specially tailored clothing.
At birth, Eckhardt weighed two pounds (0.91 kg) and measured less than eight inches (20 cm) in length. As an adult, he stood approximately eighteen inches (46 cm) tall.
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Johnny Eck
John Eckhardt Jr (August 27, 1911 – January 5, 1991), professionally billed as Johnny Eck, was an American freak show performer in sideshows and a film actor. Born with sacral agenesis, Eck is best known today for his role in Tod Browning's 1932 cult classic film Freaks and his appearances as a bird creature in several Tarzan films. He was often billed as "The Amazing Half-Boy", "King of the Freaks" and "The Most Remarkable Man Alive".
Besides being a sideshow art performer and actor, Eck was also a folk artist (specifically a screen painter), musician, photographer, illusionist, penny arcade owner, Punch and Judy operator, and expert model-maker.
John Eckhardt Jr. was born on August 27, 1911, to Emelia (born 1876) and John Eckhardt Sr. (born 1874) in Baltimore, Maryland, as a fraternal twin.
His brother Robert Eckhardt was also a performer. He also had an older sister named Caroline Laura Eckhardt. Although Eck capitalized on the resemblance between himself and Robert, the twins were fraternal.
Eck was walking on his hands before his brother was standing when he was a year old. Both of the Eckhardt twins could read by the age of four. His sister Caroline educated Eck at home until he and his brother enrolled in public school at age seven. He recalled that larger students would "fight each other for the 'honor' or 'privilege' of lifting [him] up the stone steps" to school, and that school windows were blacked out to discourage throngs of curious onlookers from peering in at Eck during his studies.[citation needed]
Emilia Eckhardt intended that Eck go into the ministry, and the young Eck was often called upon to perform impromptu sermons for guests. "I would climb atop of a small box and preach against drinking beer and damning sin and the devil," Eck recalled in an autobiographical fragment.[citation needed] These sermons quickly came to an end when Eck began passing around a saucer for donations.
Eckhardt was born with sacral agenesis, a congenital condition in which the lower part of the spine does not develop completely. As a result, he had a shortened torso and underdeveloped legs and feet that were not functional. Throughout his career, he concealed his legs beneath specially tailored clothing.
At birth, Eckhardt weighed two pounds (0.91 kg) and measured less than eight inches (20 cm) in length. As an adult, he stood approximately eighteen inches (46 cm) tall.
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