Amazing Feets

W
hen I asked Jeanie Tomaini, inarguably
the most famous living half girl (billed in
her day on the shows, of course, as “The
World’s Only Living Half Girl”), what
was the most amazing act she ever saw on
the midway, without a moment’s hesita-
tion she told me, “Oh, Frank Lentini. He had three legs and you
know he could kick a football the whole length of the show with
that leg.” And Jeanie’s not the only person who’ll bring Lentini’s
name up, either. He was certainly one of the premier sideshow
attractions of this century, a savvy show
owner as well, and it’s a rare book on the
subject of carnival shows that doesn’t men-
tion him. A lot. What follows is an
assortment of his pitch—original text and
images as well. See. Jeanie told you he was
an amazing piece of work.

The life history of a Francesco A. Lentini

I am the subject of the present sketch. I was born

in Rosblini in the province of Siracusa, Sicily, in the
year 1889. I am of a family of twelve children (seven
sisters and five brothers, who are all ordinary
appearing people, there being nothing unusual in
their personal appearance or physical
characteristics).
Indeed careful investigation does not reveal any
peculiarity in any of my ancestors either on the
maternal or paternal side of my family.
I am often asked the question. “What is the
cause of my strange condition?” I have appeared
before the leading medical world in Europe as well
as in the United States, and the only cause that
they can give me is that my mother was to have given Frank Lentini bares all in
birth to twins but at a certain period some of the cells this early pitchcard.
holding one of the bodies ceased to develop so that my
Frank Lentini, the human
tripod, as a youth.
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mother gave birth not to two children, but more than one, yet
not two.
Up to the age of six I was able to extend the third limb so
that it was possible for me to reach the floor with it, but was
never able to use it for walking purposes, but strange as it may
seem at the end of the sixth year my body
started outgrowing the third limb, so that at
the present time you will notice that it is six
or seven inches shorter than the two limbs
that I stand on. And furthermore, you will
notice, that none of my limbs are alike—
yet, I have three and yet, haven’t a pair.
Often people look at me and pass the
remark, “Isn’t that too bad!” But I am here
to tell you that there are lots of people in
the world who are a great deal worse off
than I am. Who have far less to live for, and
who have but a fraction of the pleasure
that I get out of life.
When I grew to the age when boys are
allowed to go out of doors to play it was
then that the realization came to me of
my unusual peculiarity, and naturally, I
grew a little despondent about every-
thing. My parents were fairly well-to-do
and I have every comfort and was not
neglected, but I began to grow unhappy,
nevertheless.
But one time I was taken to an insti-
tution where I saw a number of blind children and children
A young Francis Lentini
who were badly crippled and otherwise mistreated by fate, and
demonstrates he has
then and there, I realized that my lot wasn’t so bad after all.
more than enough legs
to stand on. Even though a child, I could appreciate the fact that I was
possessed of all my faculties and senses. I could hear, talk,
understand appreciate and enjoy the beauties of life. I could
read and they couldn’t. I could talk to my friends, but some of
them couldn’t because they were dumb. I could hear and enjoy
beautiful music, while some of them couldn’t because they
were deaf. I have my mental faculties and began to look forward
to my education, and some of them couldn’t because they were
idiots. The visit to that institution, unpleasant though it was
because of the misery that I saw, was the best thing that could
have happened to me. From that time to this I have never
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J a m e s Tay l o r ' s s h o c k e d a n d a m a z e d
complained. I think life is beautiful and I enjoy living it.
When I was quite young my family moved to America. Wherever
we went I was, of course, considered a curiosity and while at first
their curious, critical gaze was considerably embarrassing, I grad-
ually became used to it. It was natural for everyone to suggest to
my parents that I be put into the show business,
but my father said, “No,” emphatically—at least
until I should have gained an education. He said
he could foresee eventually that I might travel,
but that he would not allow it until I had the ben-
efit of an education.
I am often asked the question if I know of any
other case of my kind, of anyone being born as I
am. Yes, I knew of two three-legged cases, and two
four-legged cases—the three-legged being males,
and four-legged being females—but none of these
had a normal extra lower limb. And none had
control of their extra limbs, and in fact they had
all they could do to get around on their normal
lower limbs. Only one of these lived to an old age.
And that was Mertle Corbet, the four-legged
woman.
No, my limb does not bother me in the least. I
can get about just as well and with the same ease
as any normal person—walk, run, jump; ride a
bicycle, horse; ice and roller skate; and drive my
own car. I can swim—one advantage I have over
the other fellow when I swim is that I use the
extra limb as a rudder. I am sometimes asked how
I buy my shoes. Well, here’s how: I buy two pairs
and give the extra left shoe to a one-legged friend
of mine who had the misfortune to lose his right
leg, so you see every time I buy a pair of shoes I
really do a good deed along with it. Another ques-
tion often asked is “Does the extra limb bother in
sleeping?” It does not: I can lie on my back or
either side of my body without any hardship or
loss of sleep. Frank Lentini
Of course, it was a great shock to my parents that I was in his later years.
born as I was, but when they found that I was perfectly
normal every other way they, too, began to be philosophical
about it. I have been traveling for the most part of my life
and must say that I enjoyed it very much.
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