Schlitzie
Sign in to saveAlso known as Simon Metz, Schlitze Surtees
Schlitzie (alternatively spelled Schlitze or Shlitze; September 10, 1901 – September 24, 1971), possibly born Simon Metz and legally Schlitze Surtees, was an American sideshow performer. He also appeared in a few films, and is best known for his role in the 1932 movie Freaks. His lifelong career on the outdoor entertainment circuit as a major sideshow attraction with Barnum & Bailey, among others, made him a popular cultural icon.
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- Total plays
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Tags
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Key facts
- Person.name
- Schlitzie
- Person.other_names
- Schlitze Surtees
- Person.image
- Schlitzie.jpg
- Person.birth_name
- Simon Metz?
- Person.birth_place
- The Bronx, New York, U.S.
- Person.death_place
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- The Bronx
- Place of death
- Los Angeles
- Occupation
- film actor
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Native language
- English language
- Image
- Schlitzie 1938.jpg
Show 7 more facts
- date of birth
- 1901-09-10
- date of death
- 1971-09-24
- cause of death
- pneumonia
- manner of death
- natural causes
- Commons category
- Schlitzie
- start of work period
- 1932-00-00
- writing language
- English language
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
10 sectionsContents
- Biography
- Career
- ''Freaks'' and later work
- Hospitalization
- Final years
- Death
- Cultural legacy
- Filmography
- References
- External links
Schlitzie (alternatively spelled Schlitze or Shlitze; September 10, 1901 – September 24, 1971), possibly born Simon Metz and legally Schlitze Surtees, was an American sideshow performer. He also appeared in a few films, and is best known for his role in the 1932 movie Freaks. His lifelong career on the outdoor entertainment circuit as a major sideshow attraction with Barnum & Bailey, among others, made him a popular cultural icon.
==Biography== Schlitzie's true birth date, name, location and parents are unknown; the information on his death certificate and gravesite indicate that he was born on September 10, 1901, in The Bronx, New York, though some sources have claimed that he was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Claims that he was born in Yucatán, Mexico, are mistaken reflections of Schlitzie's occasional fanciful billing as "Maggie, last of the Aztec Children". Information about Schlitzie's identity at birth may never be known, the information having been lost as he was handed off to various carnivals in a long line of mostly informal guardianships throughout his career.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Schlitzie” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.