Aloisia Wagner was born in Bremen-Hemelingen, Germany in 1906. While she was healthy, she inherited a genetic condition called tetra-amelia syndrome, which left her with no arms or legs. She strove to be as independent as possible and learned how to get around by hopping.
With her parents' blessing, Aloisia entered the cutthroat world of show business at the tender age of 15. No more was she Aloisia; she became Violetta, the renowned singer and circus performer. She moved to America with her stepbrother and manager in 1924. Upon her entrance to Ellis Island, port authorities almost rejected her as a possible welfare case until she made it clear that she had employment with the Ringling Brothers.
Almost immediately, Violetta became famous as a sideshow entertainer. The main focus of her performance was always singing, but she also flaunted her ability to do seemingly everyday tasks like sewing using only her mouth. It wasn't unusual that a few audience members would try to kiss her forcibly during performances. Luckily, she had a way of using her shoulder to jab the admirer's chin to effectively deny their affections.
She performed with the Ringling Brothers, the Barnum and Bailey Circus, and the Dreamland Circus Sideshow in Coney Island as well as several independent touring circuses. She was married and wore her wedding ring on a chain around her neck. She never felt that others needed to pity her, as she felt that she had no disability. She was often recorded as saying that she had never thought much of limbs, anyways.
While her date of death and the events of her later life are unknown, the impression she left in the minds of her audience was admirable. In a London newspaper, columnist Wallace Stort wrote, "Violetta possesses a perfect figure- firm, beautifully curving bust, small neat waist, and slim, rounded hips...She is merely a beautiful torso...it is no exaggeration that she is billed as the Beautiful Armless and Legless Venus."
Like Violetta, Prince Randian was afflicted with tetra-amelia syndrome. While we don't know Randian's birth name or much about his background, we do know that he was born in 1874 in Demerara, British Guyana. He was a Hindu throughout his life and spoke Hindi, English, French, and German. He was married to a woman known as Princess Sarah and fathered three daughters and a son, none of whom suffered from the same syndrome as their father.
Randian was brought to the United States in 1889 and worked as a performer at dime shows, museums, and at P.T. Barnum's circus. In front of these crowds, he demonstrated the ease with which he was able to paint, write, shave, and roll cigarettes. He kept all of the materials for his act in a box that he had reportedly constructed, painted, and locked by himself. For his act, he wore a one-piece wool garment which gave him the appearance of a caterpillar, snake, or potato and restricted his movement to wiggling his hips and shoulders to get around. Naturally, this led to a number of nicknames for Prince Randian, including The Living Torso, The Snake Man, The Human Worm, The Human Cigarette Factory, and The Amazing Caterpillar Man.
By the 1920s, he was working for Krause Amusement Company in New Jersey, where he lived until his death. His cigarette-lighting routine was so famous that it was featured in the 1932 MGM film Freaks. Sadly, Randian died on December 19, 1934 directly after his final performance at a museum in New Jersey. He was sixty years old.
Like Violetta, Prince Randian was afflicted with tetra-amelia syndrome. While we don't know Randian's birth name or much about his background, we do know that he was born in 1874 in Demerara, British Guyana. He was a Hindu throughout his life and spoke Hindi, English, French, and German. He was married to a woman known as Princess Sarah and fathered three daughters and a son, none of whom suffered from the same syndrome as their father.
Randian was brought to the United States in 1889 and worked as a performer at dime shows, museums, and at P.T. Barnum's circus. In front of these crowds, he demonstrated the ease with which he was able to paint, write, shave, and roll cigarettes. He kept all of the materials for his act in a box that he had reportedly constructed, painted, and locked by himself. For his act, he wore a one-piece wool garment which gave him the appearance of a caterpillar, snake, or potato and restricted his movement to wiggling his hips and shoulders to get around. Naturally, this led to a number of nicknames for Prince Randian, including The Living Torso, The Snake Man, The Human Worm, The Human Cigarette Factory, and The Amazing Caterpillar Man.
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| Prince Randian and his wife, Princess Sarah. |
By the 1920s, he was working for Krause Amusement Company in New Jersey, where he lived until his death. His cigarette-lighting routine was so famous that it was featured in the 1932 MGM film Freaks. Sadly, Randian died on December 19, 1934 directly after his final performance at a museum in New Jersey. He was sixty years old.
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