I was born Simon Metz, (September 10,1881-September 24,1961) in New York. I was a sideshow performer, best known for my role in the 1932 movie Freaks and many years on the outdoor entertainment circuit as a major sideshow attraction.My reasoning power was about equal to that of a child 3 years of age and I required constant care in the simplest tasks of daily life. Audiences thought of me as female, because I was usually clothed in a dress for convenience (I was incontinent). Those who worked with me alternately refer to me as "he" and "she," sometimes in the same sentence. My scenes in Freaks show many of the behavioral characteristics of individuals with microcephalus and Down syndrome.
I was purchased by a showman from my (thus far unknown or unidentified) birth parents. My employers were also my guardians, sometimes by law and sometimes simply de facto. Responsibility for me tended to change hands as shows traded attractions to keep audiences interested. I was variously billed as "What Is It?", "Pinhead," and "The Last of the Aztecs."I appeard with the 1935-1936 editions of the Tom Mix Circus sideshow (a sideshow incidentally operated by one Ted Metz) George Surtees, a chimpanzee trainer also appearing on the show, became my legal guardian. The name on my California Certificate Of Death appears as "Shlitze Surtees", though at least one contemporary photograph identifies me as "Schlitzie Metz." After my death in the early 1960s, my daughter, who was not in show business, had no way to care for me and committed me to Los Angeles County Hospital. It was winter, and I was recognized by sword swallower Bill Unks who was working at the hospital in the off season. Hospital authorities determined that the best care for me would be to make him a ward of Unks' employer, showman Sam Kortes, who provided a male nurse to care for my basic needs.In the course of my career I was employed by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Clyde Beatty Circus, Tom Mix Circus, Crafts 20 Big Shows, Foley & Burke Carnival, West Coast Shows, Vanteen & Lee Circus Sideshow, and the Dobritsch International Circus. I passed away at Fountain View Convalescent Home in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 71 of Bronchio Pneumonia, and was interred at Queen Of Heaven Cemetery, Rowland Heights, California, Plot: Grave 69 - Tier 21 - Section E (grave unmarked).During my challenged lifetime, I entertained millions of carnival and movie goers. I am widely known and fondly remembered by those in the sideshow industry, and my image has become an icon in American culture, often used to this day to signify pleasant but blithely oblivious fools. The Ramones also wrote a song about me and I like it very much.
..
Myspace Layout Generator by TheMyspaceLayout.com
