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Prince Randian was billed as
"The Caterpillar Man”, "The Armless and Legless Wonder”, “The
Human Torso” even “The Human Worm” and for 45 years, entertained
audiences primarily at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York, but
also in other parts of the United States - at circuses,
carnivals and museums. He drew large crowds who watched him
perform tasks using only his lips and teeth where one would
ordinarily use one’s hands.
He was often introduced as the 'human caterpillar who crawls on
his belly like a reptile.' This was because he moved from one
place to another by wiggling his shoulders and hips. In his
performances he wore a woolen garment of one piece that covered
him like a sack. At one end was a busy head. The rest was torso.
One of his so-called “tricks” was rolling cigarettes, which was
really making cigarettes out of raw tobacco leaf and paper. His
other activities included writing with a pen or pencil, painting
with brushes and shaving with a razor fixed in a wooden block –
all done by the skilful use of his lips.
Randian claimed that the box in which he kept his smoking
materials and the other paraphernalia for his act had been made
by him, using a saw, knife and hammer. He also said he had
painted it, holding the brush with his teeth and that it was he
who fitted it with a lock.
“Someday,” he used to say, “I’ll build myself a house.”
Randian also became an actor. When Tod Browning made his famous
movie "Freaks" in 1932, Prince Randion was featured rolling a
cigarette.
Prince Randian spoke English, German and French. He also raised
a family. The “Prince” had a wife, “Princess Sarah,” four sons
and a daughter. Their home was at 174 Water Street, Patterson,
New Jersey.
He died at the age of 63, shortly after a performance at Sam
Wagner’s 14th Street Museum in New York City on
December 19, 1934. The newspapers of the day, calling him
Randian, or Randion, or Radion, or Radian took note of his
passing. |
Prince Randian
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