Check out these rare circus photos from the past

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Originally published at: Check out these rare circus photos from the past | Boing Boing

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Acromegaly, I had a friend growing up that was diagnosed with this. By the time he was 13 he was 6 feet tall and had the strength of 5 men. He had some type of medical procedure to stem his growth at 15, but by then he was 300 pounds of solid muscle, but it worked and ceased to growing. I never witnessed any outward feelings of being odd or different from other folks, he was a true giver, good heart, and a happy soul. I still keep up with him, and his farm doings in Vermont. Still strong as an ox, and sharp as a tack with the New Jersey sarcasm. I gotta give him a call.

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Maurice Tillet and his acromegaly condition was an inspiration for the character of Lothar in the Rocketeer.

I’ve heard the same for Shrek, but I haven’t looked into that one.

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Hate to be the “well, actually…” guy, but it was Rondo Hatton who was the inspiration for Lothar:

(It’s a more obvious resemblance in the comics than in the movie).
I hadn’t heard that about Shreck, but looking at the photos of Millet I can totally see it.

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In a similar vein, the 1932 movie Freaks is basically a showcase of notable “circus freaks” loosely scattered around a plot of love and betrayal involving some non-disabled circus members.

Huge doses of sad, disturbing and fascinating at the same time.

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Pedantic (it’s Wednesday, after all) but EVERY photo is “from the past.”

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Lothar, of the Hill People?

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