Well, I was wrong. I thought he really did say “There’s a sucker born every minute,” but it would appear that was just attributed to him. But no matter–one of the greatest showmen of all time was born on this date in 1810, Phineas Taylor Barnum. Among other things, he was known as a deceiver, a charlatan, a museum owner, an amazing businessman, a politician, Prince of Humbug, and king of the circus! He brought such acts to us as General Tom Thumb (a midget), a slave woman purported to be 160 years old, Jenny Lind of opera fame, and the Siamese twins. He is fondly remembered after his death of his undeniable ingenuity and possession of the true American spirit. If you ever get to see Michael Crawford in the musical Barnum (it’s available on video and probably DVD), I encourage you to watch it. I absolutely adore it!
For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There’s_a_sucker_born_every_minute
http://www.melaniebenjamin.com/pt-barnum.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._T._Barnum
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/nation/jb_nation_barnum_1.html
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6 Comments
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Does someone fall??? LOL MY GOSH! When someone slips on stage, I think it’s the FUNNIEST thing in the world.. LOL (as long as it’s not serious) I will definitely take a look. 🙂
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It’s actually a special effect thing that does not work, and it absolutely cracks up the cast. It’s almost at the end of this clip:
http://youtu.be/VJiFvECLeFA
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I haven’t thought about Barnum in years. I guess it’s been too long since I visited the circus. I will have to peruse your links and check out the video suggested. I was thinking that W.C. Field said that about suckers? Did you ever discover who quoted it?
Thanks for the inside view to your likes
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Jeanne, it seems to be that David Hannum, a critic of Barnum and his customers, coined the phrase. Check out the link here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There's_a_sucker_born_every_minute
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You learn something new everyday. I am a musical theater performer and Barnum is a musical I have not seen yet. After this, it seems like it’s going to be a hoot. I just may check it out! Thank you so much for sharing.
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So glad you stopped by. I stopped by your blog, too. I promise you will like the performance as it is done in front of a live audience. There is even a definite mistake–something that doesn’t go as planned. It is a hoot, to be sure!!
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