Prince Randian (sometimes misspelled Rardion or Randion; October 12, 1871 – December 19, 1934), also nicknamed Pillow Man, The Snake Man, The Human Torso, The Human Caterpillar and a variety of other names, was a Guyanese-born American performer with tetra-amelia syndrome and a famous limbless sideshow performer of the early 1900s, best known for his ability to roll cigarettes with his lips.
Prince Randian | |
|---|---|
 Prince Randian | |
| Born | October 12, 1871 |
| Died | December 19, 1934 (aged 63) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | Guyanese American |
| Other names |
|
| Occupation(s) | Sideshow performer and film actor |
| Years active | 1889–1934 |
| Known for | Freaks (1932 film) |
He was brought to the United States by P.T. Barnum in 1889,[1] at the age of 18, and was a popular Coney Island carnival and circus attraction for 45 years. In 1932, he was featured in the film Freaks, in which he is seen lighting up a cigarette with a match.[2]
Personal life
editRandian (whose birth name is unknown) was born with no arms or legs in Demerara, British Guiana. He was Hindu and spoke Hindi, English, French, and German.[3] According to a passenger manifest of SS Parima from April 14, 1917, he had lived previously at Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. With his wife, known as Princess Sarah (apparently a Hindu woman, born c. 1872), he fathered 5 children.[4] Their children included Mary Randian (born c. 1893), Richard Randian (born c. 1901), Elizabeth Randian (born c. 1904), and Wilhelmina Randian (born c. 1904).[5] In the 1920s he was working for Krause Amusement Company and lived in Plainfield, New Jersey. He and his wife lived at 174 Water Street, Paterson, New Jersey, until his death.[6]
Routine
editFor his act, Randian wore a one-piece wool garment that fit tightly over his body, giving him the appearance of a caterpillar, snake or potato, and would move himself around the stage by wiggling his hips and shoulders. His best-known ability was rolling and lighting cigarettes using only his lips, but he was also capable of painting and writing by holding a brush or stylus with his lips and of shaving himself by securing a razor in a wooden block. He kept all of the props and materials used in his act in a wooden box that he reportedly constructed, painted and affixed a lock to by himself.
His cigarette-lighting ability was featured in the MGM film Freaks.[7]
Death
editRandian died at 7:00 PM on December 19, 1934, aged 63, of a heart attack shortly after his last performance at Sam Wagner's 14th Street Museum in New York.[citation needed]
In popular culture
editPrince Randian is mentioned in Tom Waits' song Lucky Day (Overture) from his album The Black Rider, about sideshow performers.[8]
See also
edit- Violetta, another limbless sideshow performer
References
edit- ^ Nickell, Joe (2005-09-09). Secrets of the Sideshows. University Press of Kentucky. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-8131-2358-5.
- ^ Church, David (2011). "Freakery, Cult Films, and the Problem of Ambivalence". Journal of Film and Video. 63 (1): 7–8. doi:10.5406/jfilmvideo.63.1.0003. ISSN 0742-4671. JSTOR 10.5406/jfilmvideo.63.1.0003.
- ^ "Prince Randian". Freaks of Nature.
- ^ Vila, Miguel Abad (29 December 2007). "Freaks (1932): Dysmorphisms, Solidarity and Revenge" (PDF). Journal of Medicine and Movies. 4: 58–65.
- ^ List of Alien Passengers for the United States, S.S. Motor Schooner "Creole", from St. Thomas, 1 November 1915.
- ^ Frederick, Drimmer (1973). Very Special People. Bantam Books. p. 103. ISBN 0-8065-1253-9.
- ^ Williams, Jessica L. (2017), Williams, Jessica L. (ed.), "Horror Movies, Horror Bodies: Blurring the Freak Body in Cinema", Media, Performative Identity, and the New American Freak Show, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 37–77, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-66462-0_3, ISBN 978-3-319-66462-0, retrieved 2021-03-02
- ^ "LYRICS: The Black Rider: Lucky Day Overture". www.tomwaitsfan.com. Retrieved 2021-03-02.