Mortado - the fountain man and his story (6 photos)

Mortado was a Berlin fakir who performed in Germany and America from the late 1920s to the early 1930s. The man, whose real name remains unknown, had holes in his arms and legs, which allowed him to perform numbers that were comical but frighteningly realistic.





He is most remembered for his "Human Fountain" act, in which water flowed from his pierced arms and legs as he sat on the throne.



His speaking time was short but impressive. The image of the human fountain performance is unforgettable. Very little is known about the artist, and this has given rise to the spread of misinformation. In particular, the sudden disappearance from view is explained by the fact that the public was tired of his performances, and the artist could not come up with anything new, as a result of which he disappeared into oblivion.

Most of what is known about Mortado comes from two sources, both of which are clearly unreliable, although both have some truth to them.

The main one is the advertising brochure. It has a section with a bizarre story about the origins of piercings. The story is that the guy was captured and forcibly crucified when he was a German naval officer during the First World War. This story is dubious, difficult to verify, and is typical of the fables that artists of that time used to attract interest in their person.



At the end of his advertising brochure he writes:

I first took part in an exhibition in Berlin in January 1929, and it immediately received the approval of the press and public. A New York booking agent, hearing of my success, sent a representative to interview me, and as a result I signed a contract to perform at the Dreamland Circus Side Show, Coney Island, New York, for the summer season of 1930. .

Coney Island



In 1930, Mortado was cast in the Dreamland Side Show at Coney Island in New York, which opened on April 17 of that year. His time at Coney Island is the period of most of what has been written about the fountain man, as well as most of the photographs that have appeared in books and are now posted on the Internet.

Mortado became the star of the Dreamland Side Show in Coney Island. It became the main act that people paid extra to watch, a tradition that Dreamland stopped but resumed due to the spectacle of Mortado's performance. From the comments of Dreamland manager Nami Salih:

After careful reconnaissance, I discovered... Mortado's Human Fountain. I am confident in my theory that attractions of this caliber will always be well received by the public.



Something else happened at Coney Island that summer. Mortado allegedly married another Dreamland employee, and the celebration took place on the premises of the establishment. According to one version, his wife was a nurse who cared for him.

Judging by the records, Mortado was a very successful artist who was able to supplement his performances with new numbers and maintain the interest of the public. His show was popular until his last performance in the United States, where he planned to return. It is likely that political unrest in his native Germany was the reason why he was unable to continue performing.



Mortado's subsequent history is unknown, but lives on in the Ripley Museum at Fisherman's Wharf, a museum of curiosities in San Francisco, as an exhibit with a sculpted fountain.