Stephan Bibrowsky
Lionel the Lion Man was the stage name of Stephan Bibrowsky (* 1890 in Bielsk near Warsaw ; † 1932 or 1934 in Berlin or Italy ), who traveled the world as a circus attraction.
At the age of four, Bibrowsky, who had hypertrichosis , was discovered by a German entrepreneur named Josef Sedelmayer and made the attraction of a curiosity show ; later he traveled with the circus company Barnum and Bailey through the USA, where he was one of the train numbers for five years. Bibrowsky, who presented his long, blonde body hair at his appearances, stylized his face into a lion mask and had it rumored that his mother had “mistaken” a lion during pregnancy , was an educated man who spoke five languages.
Postcards are still in circulation today that show Bibrowsky only half dressed and in a "lion pose". Carl Zuckmayer took up the motif of the lion man in his work The Carnival Confession . In the exhibition Look at me. Vienna portraits in the Hermesvilla was a picture by Bibrowsky created by Wilhelm Scharmann in 2006/07 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Heimatmuseum Dischingen: The Extraordinary | Ulm | Baden-Württemberg | SWR news. April 28, 2014, accessed June 29, 2020 .
- ↑ From "Lexicon of the fallen professions" by R. Palla, keyword 'Haarmenschen', p. 131
Web links
- Stephan Bibrowski in the database of Find a Grave (English)
- Lionel the Lion Man (1890-1932 / 34), actually Stephan Bibrowsky - Andreas-Andrew Bornemann (private) on www.postkarten-archiv.de
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bibrowsky, Stephan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lionel the Lion Man (pseudonym) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Fairground attraction |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bielsk |
| DATE OF DEATH | between 1932 and 1934 |
| Place of death | uncertain: Berlin or Italy |