Frank Lentini

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Frank Lentini

Frank Lentini , maiden name Francesco A. Lentini (born July 8, 1889 in Rosolini in Siracusa , † September 22, 1966 in Jacksonville , Florida ) was an Italian-American sideshow actor .

Life

Frank Lentini was born as Francesco A. Lentini into a large family. His parents refused to raise the child, who, apparently born as a Siamese twin with a partially developed parasitic brother, had three legs of different lengths, a rudimentary fourth foot and two sex organs. An aunt took over the boy and took him to a home for disabled children, where he not only learned to walk: he could even run, jump, ice skate and ride a bike. Up to the age of six, Lentini could still reach the floor with the third leg, which he could control but not use for walking, when it grew behind the rest of the body. The foot on the third leg was deformed.

At the age of eight or nine, Lentini left home for the United States , where he began a career as a sideshow star. According to his autobiographical summary of his life, he was accompanied by his family and his father did not want to consent to his son's show career until he had received an education; however, it is not noted whether this request was taken into account.

Lentini's masterpiece on stage was to shoot a soccer ball across the stage with his extra leg, which is why he was marketed as "The Three-Legged Football Player". Lentini sold his short autobiography and pictures of himself, calling himself the only person in the world with three legs, four feet, 16 toes and two bodies below the hips. According to a caption, the doctors declared an operation to be impossible because it would have resulted in Lentini's death or at least paralysis. Lentini's show career lasted several decades and he appeared in every major circus and every well-known sideshow in the United States, including Barnum & Bailey . In 1941 Lentini was seen on Coney Island .

At the age of 30, Lentini became a US citizen. He married a woman named Theresa Murray and had four children with her.

photos

  • Lentini as a boy in the USA

  • Lentini used to hide the fourth foot in later years.

  • Here the year of birth is given as 1885, on other cards as 1884.

  • Frank Lentini as a boy

Web links

Commons : Frank Lentini  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.trivia-library.com/b/biography-of-three-legged-wonder-francesco-a-lentini-part-1.htm
  2. ↑ http://missioncreep.com/mundie/gallery/gallery11.htm
  3. ↑ a b FRANCESCO LENTINI - The 3 Legged Man. In: Circus Freaks and Human Oddites. August 3, 2006; Retrieved December 12, 2018 (American English).
  4. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from October 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Lentini, Frank
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lentini, Francesco A.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian-American sideshow performer
DATE OF BIRTH July 8, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Rosolini , Siracusa
DATE OF DEATH September 22, 1966
Place of death Jacksonville , Florida