The Life and Times of a Performer

 Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Schlitzie the Pinhead by Bill Griffith

Nobody's Fool book cover

I can’t believe I found this book and it was on sale! I also didn’t know that Griffith was responsible for creating Zippy the Pinhead, the character popularized by the Ramones. In this graphic novel, Griffith takes us through the life of Schlitzie, the performer from Tod Browning’s Freaks. I also read Freak Show by Robert Bogdon, which traces the history of sideshow performers throughout the 19^th and 20^th centuries, and Simon Metz (possibly Schlitzie’s real name) featured in that book as well. I absolutely loved this book as it presented the human story of Schlitzie and helped to share some of his possible thoughts and concerns throughout his life. Griffith did a lot of research to learn more about who Schlitzie was and where he traveled throughout his long life performing in movies and on side shows. While there were many performers who were exploited because of their differences, and Schlitzie was one of them, he also received some great treatment from others, and due to the circumstances of the time, institutionalization would have been much worse for someone like Schlitzie. Griffith’s book is a loving tribute to Schlitzie and differences, and I thought that the book really advocates for learning more about those with differences and seeing what they have to offer and contribute rather than making assumptions about them based on appearances. Furthermore, Griffith shows how the context and setting of situations can influence behavior, and when not in the proper context and not given appropriate opportunities, someone like Schlitzie may act out. I greatly appreciated this book, and I can see how someone like Griffith also recognized how important Schlitzie was from his moment from Freaks. This book helped to give me more insight into Schlitzie’s background and experiences. Highly recommended for those who are fans of the film Freaks.