Johnny Eck Voted Number One Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Act of All Times

ORLANDO, Fla. (Sept. 21, 2010) – Half Man Johnny Eck beat out Lizardman Erik Sprague,  Khagendra Thapa Magar the 22 inch tall teen sensation, and Mel “The Blockhead” Burkhart to win the distinction of being the “All-Time Greatest Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Star.”

The Half Man Tops all other Strange Acts in new AOL News Poll

Of the nearly 4,500 votes cast on the on-line poll at AOLNews.com, Eck received 35%, Lizardman, 28%, Khagendra 25% and Burkhart 12%.

Johnny Eck in his famous hand-stand pose.

Eck was born with a truncated torso due to sacral agenesis with no legs. At birth, he weighed two pounds and was less than eight inches in length. He would eventually reach 18 inches tall and aside from the sacral agenesis, he was otherwise healthy.

“In a world where we constantly feel that bigger is better, this vote proves the opposite is sometimes true – less is more,” said Buck Wolf, editor of AOL News Weird News section. “Johnny Eck was billed as and known for being “The Half Man,” but those who saw him perform live realized that he was an amazing acrobat and entertainer as well. He deserves his status as a Ripley legend.”

“The list that Buck (Wolf) put together showcases four great individuals, two of which worked for Ripley himself in the 1930s, and two that currently are big Ripley supporters,” adds Ripley’s VP Communications, Tim O’Brien. “It was Robert Ripley who first billed Eck as the “Most Remarkable Man Alive.”

A little about Johnny Eck

Billed as “The Half Man,” Eck tried several jobs as a young man, including the ministry, and after spending a year in a magic show, he became a solo act and played the midway of many circuses and carnivals. While performing in Montreal at the Canadian Exposition in 1931, he was discovered by an MGM Studios scout who cast him in the Tod Browning classic 1932 film, Freaks.

After Freaks, he was featured as a bird creature in three Tarzan movies: Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), Tarzan Escapes (1936) and Tarzan’s Secret Treasure (1941). Watch the movie Freaks.

His first appearance with Robert Ripley was as a performer in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair.  After suffering a heart attack in his sleep, Eck died on January 5, 1991, at the age of 79. He died in the same home in Baltimore, Md., in which he was born 79 years earlier.

To learn more about Johnny Eck, visit the online Johnny Eck Museum.

Contact:

Tim O’Brien
VP Communications
Ripley Entertainment
Obrien@ripleys.com
615-646-7465

About Ripley Entertainment

Ripley Entertainment Inc. (www.ripleys.com), keepers of the venerable Ripley’s Believe It or Not! brand, is a global leader in location-based entertainment, entertaining more than 13 million annually at its 80 attractions in 11 countries.  In addition to its 31 Believe It or Not! Odditoriums, the Orlando, Florida-based company has publishing, licensing and broadcast divisions, best-selling books and the popular syndicated cartoon strip, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, that still runs daily in 42 countries. Ripley Entertainment is a Jim Pattison Company, the third-largest privately held company in Canada.