Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Zip the Pinhead
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Short description|American freak show performer (1842β1926).}} {{About|the circus performer|the comic strip character|Zippy the Pinhead}} {{Infobox person | name = William Henry Johnson (Zip the Pinhead) | image = Zip the pinhead.jpg | caption = | birth_name = William Henry Johnson | birth_date = {{circa|1857}} or {{circa|1842}}{{refn|name="age"|group=nb}} | birth_place = [[Liberty Corner, New Jersey]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date|1926|4|9}} (aged 68β69 or 83) | death_place = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S. | other_names = | known_for = performer with [[Ringling Brothers]] and [[Barnum and Bailey]] sideshows, entertainer at [[Coney Island]] | occupation = [[Freak show]] performer | nationality = American }} '''William Henry Johnson''' ({{circa|1857}} or {{circa|1842}}{{refn|name="age"|group=nb|Johnson's headstone gives his birth year as 1857,<ref name="grave" /> but his death certificate lists his age as 83.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://weirdnj.com/stories/local-heroes-and-villains/zip-the-what-is-it/ | title=Weird NJ β Zip the What Is It | website=Weird N.J. | date=April 6, 2023}}</ref> The Matthew Brady photo of Johnson taken approx. 1860-1870 seems to depict him as too old to have been born in 1857.}} β April 9, 1926), known as '''Zip the Pinhead''', was an American [[freak show]] performer known for his tapered head. ==Early life== William Henry Johnson was likely born in New Jersey,<ref name="nickell" />{{rp|159}} and was one of six children in a very poor [[African Americans|African-American]] family. His parents were William and Mahalia Johnson, former [[slavery|slaves]]. As he grew, his body developed normally, but his head remained small. His tapering cranium and heavy jaw made him attractive to agents from van Emburgh's Circus in [[Somerville, New Jersey]]. His appearance caused many to believe that he was a "pinhead", or [[Microcephaly|microcephalic]]. Microcephaly patients are characterized by a small, tapering cranium and often have impaired mental faculty.<ref name=Drimmer>{{cite book |last1=Drimmer |first1=Frederick |title=Very Special People: the struggles, loves and triumphs of human oddities |date=1974 |publisher=Amjon Publishers Inc |location=New York City |isbn=9780517467985 |url=https://archive.org/details/veryspecialpeopl00drim/page/291/mode/1up |access-date=5 June 2022}}</ref> It is arguable, however, whether he was intellectually disabled.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fuller|first=Randall|title=The book that changed America: how Darwin's theory of evolution ignited a nation|publisher=Viking|location=New York|year=2017|pages=101|isbn=978-0-5254-2833-6}}</ref> Johnson's parents agreed to allow the circus to display him in return for money. He was billed as a [[Missing link (human evolution)|missing link]], supposedly caught in Africa and displayed in a cage.<ref name=Drimmer/> He was a popular attraction, and his success led his agent to show his charge to showman [[P.T. Barnum]]. Barnum purchased the right to display Johnson from the circus and gave him a new look. A furry suit was made to fit him, and his hair was shaped to a tiny point that further accented his sloping brow. Finally, he was given the name, "Zip the Pinhead", the "What-Is-It?,"<ref>{{cite book|last=Hornberger|first=Francine|title=Carny Folk: The World's Weirdest Sideshow Acts|publisher=Citadel Press|location=New York|year=2005|pages=122|isbn=978-0-8065-2661-4}}</ref> or the "Man-Monkey".<ref name="nickell" />{{rp|158}} ==Career== [[Image:Brady Zip.jpg|thumb|right|x300px|A photo by Matthew Brady, taken c. 1860-1870.]] Johnson was first exhibited by Barnum when he was 18, and his career lasted longer than 60 years.<ref name="nickell">{{Cite book |last=Nickell |first=Joe |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/65377460 |title=Secrets of the sideshows |date=2005 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=0-8131-7179-2 |location=Lexington, Ky. |oclc=65377460|author-link=Joe Nickell}}</ref>{{rp|158}} He was eventually renamed "Zip" after "Zip Coon", an archetypal character in [[Minstrel show|minstrel shows]].<ref name="nickell" />{{rp|158}} Johnson was "[l]aughed at, pelted with coins, called a 'cross between a nigger and a baboon{{'"}}.<ref name="nickell" />{{rp|158}} Zip's early performances were set against a background story. It was told to the audience that a tribe of "missing links" had been discovered in Africa, and that Zip was one of these. It was further explained that the "wild man", the "What-Is-It", subsisted on raw meat, nuts, and fruit, but was learning to eat more civilized fare such as bread and cake.<ref name=Drimmer/> Zip would then be revealed in a cage where he could rattle the bars and screech. This act was tremendously successful for Barnum, and Zip was as big an attraction to [[Barnum's American Museum]] as the famous [[Conjoined twins|Siamese twins]], [[Chang and Eng Bunker]].{{refn|group=nb|The cited reference says, "Zip didn't upset sideshow visitors the way [some other performers] do... that's why he was more successfully exhibited than any other freak outside [[General Tom Thumb|Tom Thumb]]" (p. 295).<ref name=Drimmer/>}} In later years, Zip became more "civilized" in his act. He shared the stage with other anomalies, including his friends "Texas Giant" [[Jim Tarver]], "Tallest Man in the World" [[Jack Earle]] and [[Koo-Koo the Bird Girl]]. He traveled extensively with the [[Ringling Brothers]] [[Circus (performing art)|circus]]. In 1860, he was visited at the museum by [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|Albert Edward]], the [[Prince of Wales]]; his photo was taken by [[American Civil War|Civil War]] photographer [[Mathew Brady]].<ref>{{Cite journal | url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051016/news_1a16skin.html | date=October 16, 2005 | title=Racial profiling | journal=The San Diego Union-Tribune | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216091955/http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051016/news_1a16skin.html | archive-date=February 16, 2007}}</ref> Throughout this period, Zip's best friend and manager was Captain O.K. White. White conscientiously looked after Zip's interests. He also gave Zip one of his prized possessions, a [[tuxedo]]. In his later years, Zip eschewed traveling in favor of performing at [[Coney Island]]. One Sunday afternoon in 1925, Zip heard a little girl cry for help. He noticed the girl waving her arms in the ocean and swam out to rescue her.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17123705/the_brooklyn_daily_eagle/ Zip Rescues Drowning Girl | Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 29, 1925]</ref> Zip caught [[bronchitis]] in early 1926, and despite the wishes of his doctor and Captain White, he continued to perform his part in the stage play ''Sunny'' at the [[New Amsterdam Theater]]. Upon the closing of the play, he returned to his home in [[Bound Brook, New Jersey]], where he was cared for by his doctor, Captain White, and his sister. When his condition worsened, he was moved to [[Bellevue Hospital]] in [[New York City]], where he died.<ref name=Drimmer/> It is estimated that during his 67 years in show business, Zip entertained more than one hundred million people.<ref name="WWT">{{cite video|title="Wild West Tech" Freak Show Tech|people=Colin Campbell (director), David Carradine (host)|date=21 December 2004|publisher=History Channel productions}}</ref> Zip the Pinhead was buried in Plot 399 of the Bound Brook Cemetery on April 28, 1926. A small gravestone bearing the inscription "William H. Johnson, 1857β1926" marks his resting place.<ref name="grave">{{Cite web | url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7635469/william-henry-johnson | title=William Henry "Zip" Johnson (1857-1926) - Find a Grave Memorial | website=Find a Grave | access-date=June 4, 2022}}</ref> ==Inspiration== Johnson is partly the inspiration for [[Bill Griffith]]'s comics character, [[Zippy the Pinhead]]. He was featured in the "Freak Show Tech" episode of the [[History (U.S. TV channel)|History Channel]] series ''Wild West Tech''. Although not the first pinhead in the American circus sideshows, his costumes and presentation led to the display of several other microcephalic people to the American public.<ref name="PMID21115959">{{cite journal | title='Pinheads': the exhibition of neurologic disorders at 'The Greatest Show on Earth' | vauthors= Mateen FJ, Boes CJ | journal = Neurology | year=2010 | volume= 75| issue= 22 | pages=2028β32 | pmid=21115959 | doi=10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181ff9636| s2cid= 207118420 }}</ref> ==See also== * [[Human zoos]] * [[Krao Farini]], one of several sideshow performers billed as a "missing link" * [[Ota Benga]] ==Notes== {{Reflist|group=nb}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[https://www.thehumanmarvels.com/zip-the-pinhead-what-is-it/ The Human Marvels β ZIP THE PINHEAD β What is it?] *{{Find a Grave|7635469}} {{Barnum}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Zip the Pinhead}} [[Category:1850s births]] [[Category:1926 deaths]] [[Category:19th-century African-American people]] [[Category:20th-century African-American people]] [[Category:Ethnological show business]] [[Category:People from Bernards Township, New Jersey]] [[Category:People from Bound Brook, New Jersey]] [[Category:People with microcephaly]] [[Category:American people with disabilities]] [[Category:Entertainers with disabilities]] [[Category:Sideshow performers]] [[Category:20th-century American people]] [[Category:19th-century American people]]
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page
(
help
)
:
Template:'"
(
edit
)
Template:About
(
edit
)
Template:Authority control
(
edit
)
Template:Barnum
(
edit
)
Template:Circa
(
edit
)
Template:Cite book
(
edit
)
Template:Cite journal
(
edit
)
Template:Cite video
(
edit
)
Template:Cite web
(
edit
)
Template:Find a Grave
(
edit
)
Template:Infobox person
(
edit
)
Template:Reflist
(
edit
)
Template:Refn
(
edit
)
Template:Rp
(
edit
)
Template:Short description
(
edit
)