Peter Robinson (born April 8, 1873; credited professionally as The Living Skeleton or as The Cigarette Fiend, and The Thin Man) was an American theater and

sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. They historically featured human oddity exhibits (so-called “Freak show, freak shows”), pr ...

art performer, perhaps best known for his only film appearance in the

Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of var ...

cult film '' Freaks'', with a lengthy career in the carnival circus circuit at

Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...

and with

Ringling Bros The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling, is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth ...

. He also appeared briefly in

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. He worked as a carnival sideshow entertainer, weighing in at . He had a career in that genre in the vein of

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

thin man Isaac W. Sprague and Artie Atherton. He was married to fellow sideshow entertainer Baby Bunny Smith, a , circus fat lady. He married her numerous times for promotional purposes. He was also purported to be an expert

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

player.

Early life

Robinson was born in

Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in western Massachuset ...

, on April 8, 1873. He was the son of Abraham Robinson, a native of Vermont, and Canadian Victoria Hebert. In later records he used April 6 as his birthday and gave

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

as his place of birth, but the birth registry gives the former date and location. His parents were born in the United States, but were of Canadian ancestry. He said that he had a normal childhood and appearance until his early teens, when his weight began to drop precipitously.

Personal life

In 1924, Robinson married fellow sideshow entertainer Baby Bunny Smith, leading ''

The Macon News ''The Macon News'' was a newspaper in Georgia, United States that operated from 1884 to 1983. History The ''Macon News'' was founded in 1884 and operated until September 2, 1983.Grimes, Millard. B., Cox, Calvin. (1985). ''The Last Linotype: T ...

'' to run the headline "Fat Lady and Skeleton Wed".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Peter American male actors Actors from Chicopee, Massachusetts Sideshow performers People from Agawam, Massachusetts 1873 births Year of death missing