Secrets of the Sideshows by Nickell Joe

Author:Nickell, Joe [Nickell, Joe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Published: 2005-09-09T04:00:00+00:00

Gaffed Acts

There are many other types of gaffs, and here we look at sideshow working acts that were gaffed.

Some acts, although essentially genuine, contain gaffed elements. For example, the previously mentioned tattooed strongman Rasmus Nielsen lifted an anvil allegedly weighing 250 pounds “by his breasts” (Gilbert 1996). Actually, according to anatomical wonder Melvin Burkhart, the anvil was gaffed, being made of aluminum. “It was heavy,” acknowledged Burkhart, “but it wasn't a steel anvil” (quoted in Taylor and Kotcher 2002).

Other strongman stunts were exposed by magical authority Walter B. Gibson, who gained fame as creator of the Shadow. (I once spent an enjoyable afternoon talking with Gibson while I was resident magician at the Houdini museum in Niagara Falls, Ontario.) In his delightful book Secrets of Magic: Ancient and Modern, Gibson (1967) tells of wooden dumbbells painted to look like they were made of iron, as well as hollow dumbbells that were “weighed on false scales, so that the strong man would appear to be lifting a weight of double size.” (See figure 8.11.)

Then there was the veritable Samson, or so he seemed, who could lift a dumbbell that supposedly weighed half a ton. With difficulty, two men wheeled it on stage. Two strong men from the audience were invited up but were unable to lift the great weight, whereupon the performer accomplished the feat to enthusiastic applause. However, says Gibson (1967, 62-64): “During one of his shows, two brawny steel workers stepped on the stage when this modern Samson called for volunteers. They braced themselves, determined to raise the dumb-bell, while the strong man smilingly looked on. As the men raised their shoulders, a strange thing happened. Up came the dumbbell and the truck with it! As they held the dumb-bell on their shoulders, the truck dangled below. The audience was momentarily stunned—then the truth dawned upon everyone.” As Gibson explains: “The dumb-bell was a hollow sham which weighed less than a hundred pounds. It had two slots which fitted into pins in the truck. When the truck was brought on, the dumb-bell was locked tightly in place and could not be lifted. The strong man simply turned it in the right direction, releasing the catches which enabled him to raise the dumb-bell with ease. The truck was so heavy that the average man could only push it, but the combined strength of the powerful steel workers brought the truck up with the dumb-bell.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.