OTIS JORDAN

INNOVATOR, REPAIRMAN, PERFORMER, CIGARETTE FACTORY

Born in Barnesville, GA in 1926, Otis Jordan was a truly unique sibling of six born with the rare defect arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, which is a permanent bentness of the joints.

Though initially, he could hardly move on his own, he was determined to use his inventiveness to his advantage.

Otis would become one of the last “freak” performers of the 1980s as the nation began to recognize the exploitation and degradation of sideshow performers.

Growing up, Otis had to be physically carried from and to his school every day by one of his other siblings. His body was the size of a four-year-old child though he had a normal-adult sized head.

Being so, he was dependent on them for much of his life but in the fifth grade, he designed a cart that would be able to transport him from place to place with the help of his family’s goat.

Determined, he was awarded honors once he finished school and achieved his degree.

Looking to find stable work, he tried being a salesman but wasn’t able to receive a steady income.

Eventually, he became a skilled repairman but his life and career changed when he and a friend met accomplished showman Dick Burnett in 1963 when they visited a local fairground freak show.

The 27-inch performer found fame being one of the only true “born” freaks, meaning he was born with unique physical qualities that made him perfect for attracting and shocking crowds.

During his shows, he would often educate the audience about his rare joint contractures, lecturing them in an interview format with another performer.

His primary act was rolling, lighting, and smoking a cigarette using only his lips.

Those that saw him perform compared him to Prince Randian, an earlier limbless sideshow performer who also rolled cigarettes with his lips.

But as Otis’s career evolved so did the way the world perceived the sideshow.

Later in his career Otis performed for showman John Bradshaw at Coney Island.

He is said to have lived with Bradshaw and his family who gave him constant caretaking because he was unable to provide for himself in the off-season.

He faced a career threat when a woman named Barbara Baskin, a disabled person herself, saw him at a New York State Fair and was reportedly “horrified” at the nature of the show.

Suing the sideshow and seeking it banned, Otis had to fight in court to keep his only means of living alive.

Eventually, facing the pressure of the changing world Otis was renamed the “Human Cigarette Factory”.

In 1991 when Bradshaw’s son was shot, he discontinued his NYC/Coney Island circus, and shortly after Otis died the same year of kidney failure. Otis is one of the last sideshow performers of the ‘80s, meaning some still have vivid memories of his quirky and witty performances.

The lingering appeal of the sideshow would die along with Otis as it began to face a world now aware and perturbed by to its exploitative, degrading, and inhumane nature.

However, it was a means of living for so many black performers who graced the world with their passionate and memorable performances.