The Jim Rose Twisted Tour

The art of the sideshow is that of a dying breed the days of bearded ladies, lobster boys, wolfmen and alligator girls has unfortunately come to an end. Some people think it is cruel and inhumane to make money and profit off of others deformities such as those. I don’t see it as that and if you asked the sideshow performers of that day you would see that they were very happy and actually made good money. They lived like you or me; they just looked a little different than us with other talents. I have always been a huge supporter and fan of the sideshow and there is a man who shares that same love and does everything he can to make a modern day one, that man is Jim Rose founder of the Jim Rose Circus sideshow.

Jim Rose burst onto the scene in the early 1990s and became a huge cult hit and got a chance to make a true name for himself after getting booked onto Lollapalooza. His wife Bebe the Circus Queen is his loyal wife and when you see them you can tell their loves is true and genuine. He has other members of his circus past and present who have made their own name in the modern day sideshow such as The Amazing Mr. Lifto, The Enigma and The Lizard Man.

Now in 2003 Jim Rose he had a little known reality TV show which chronicled one of their many tours across America. It shows the amount of time, effort and money it takes to put on one of these modern day sideshows while looking at the interactions and relationships between all the performers. The cast of characters is not short of interesting in any stretch of the imagination. You have Mr Lifto who would rather run around naked, Rubber Boy who is depressed most of the time, Cappy and the 400 lb. lazy yo-yo wizard, plus you have Jim and his wife Bebe and a others.

The show really gives you an insight into traveling the road with different personalities all the while looking at the business behind the madness. Jim is a master of ceremonies and judges all fellow promoters for his venues off of one simple requirement, a bucket of KFC chicken. Through all the breakdowns both emotionally and physically you do find that one common thread that keeps them together no matter what they feel about one another. That common thread is their love for the sideshow and one another as human beings. They recognize their differences and respect one another for that no matter what.

If you can find a copy of this TV show I highly recommend taking a look at it, I have seen a number of reality TV shows and I think this one is the most true to reality.

Be safe and support your local sideshow,
John Cannon