Video: Who really was the hero of modern memes, the artist Schlitzi, who remained 3-year-old until the end of his life
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Nowadays, Schlitzi's photos are often used by authors of Internet memes and demotivators, as a rule, not knowing who he was, and not even suspecting that he is a real person, and not a figment of the imagination of the masters of Photoshop. Schlitzi's story is truly unique: despite his congenital developmental pathology, he became a famous artist who made thousands of viewers laugh. But in fact, in his biography there were few reasons for laughing …
Presumably, he was born in New York in 1901 (other sources indicate 1892) and at birth received the name Simon Metz, but the whole world became known as Schlitzi Surtis. It is impossible to establish precisely this information, since in childhood he changed guardians several times. Who his real parents were is unknown. According to one version, his mother abandoned him immediately after birth, according to another, she sold him to the owners of a traveling circus. His first guardians were the artists of the touring circus troupe.
The fact is that the baby had a congenital pathology - microcephaly. This is a developmental defect in which there is a significant decrease in the size of the skull and, accordingly, the brain. Schlitzie grew to 122 cm, lived to be 70 years old, but at the same time his intellectual abilities could be equated to the developmental level of a three-year-old child.
At the beginning of the twentieth century. there were many circus troupes gathering the same people with developmental anomalies. Circus administrators called microcephals "pinheads." Guardians did not choose expressions for Schlitzi, presenting him as a "pinhead", "missing link in evolution" and even a "monkey girl" (he most often appeared in public in a woman's dress).
Usually, this pathology deprives a person of the ability to independently take care of themselves and reproduce articulate words. At the same time, the doctors assured that Schlitzi responded perfectly to sounds, could speak individual words and even phrases, showed an almost perfect reaction and a talent for imitation. He understood a lot, but he really couldn't take care of himself.
Schlitzi was very good-natured, funny, sweet, lively and sociable, and therefore always enjoyed great popularity with the public. At first, he amused the audience in all sorts of scenes and show programs, accompanied by caustic comments from the hosts. Of course, now they would be called antihuman, but then such performances gathered a lot of onlookers.
Probably, Schlitzi visited all the famous circuses in the United States, and gained nationwide popularity after in 1932 he starred in a film that caused a lot of noise. It showed a team of circus artists with special needs, and immediately after the premiere, fierce discussions began both in the circles of critics and among ordinary spectators. As a result, a scandal erupted, due to which the film was banned from showing for 30 years and placed in the archive. After that, Schlitzi starred in several more films, but nothing is known about their fate.
In 1935, luck finally smiled at him: in the circus, trainer George Surtis drew attention to Schlitzi, who was imbued with sympathy and sympathy for the unusual charming artist and became his official guardian, giving his surname. For 30 years, George took care of his ward, for whom this time was the happiest in his life. But after he was gone, the daughter did not want to continue her father's work and chose to get rid of the unusual pupil, sending him to a psychiatric clinic.
When another circus performer, sword swallower Bill Unks, learned about Schlitzi's plight, he convinced the doctors that Schlitzi could continue performing. The doctors felt that the new caregiver and familiar job would help their patient to get out of the depression in which he had been after the departure of George Surtis. So Schlitzi returned to the circus arena and again continued to amuse the audience. In a familiar atmosphere, he came to life again - from childhood, the cheerful Schlitzi got used to the audience's attention and laughter and, perhaps, perceived life as a big carnival. He was often seen in city parks in Los Angeles, where he walked with a guardian and fed pigeons. As soon as a crowd of onlookers gathered around the smiling Schlitzie, a cheerful performance immediately began.
His life ended in 1971. Schlitzi had severe pneumonia, and doctors could not save him. Another wave of Schlitzi's popularity rose in the new century, when his photographs began to be used in various Internet memes and demotivators. He still makes people smile, although his own story was very sad …
In the movie, Schlitzi starred with Olga Baklanova, a former Moscow Art Theater actress, an emigrant from Russia: How a Russian silent film actress became a Hollywood star.
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