Jump to content

Koo-Koo the Bird Girl: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Reverted edits by 2601:1C0:CA02:36C0:B12B:92A:5ACA:7630 (talk) to last version by Monkbot
→In popular culture: non notable
 
(29 intermediate revisions by 16 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|American side show performer (1880- after 1960)}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2015}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2015}}

{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Koo Koo, the Bird Girl
| name = Minnie Woolsey<br/>Koo Koo, the Bird Girl
| image = Koo-Koo_the_Bird_Girl.jpg
| image = Koo-Koo_the_Bird_Girl.jpg
| alt =
| alt =
| caption =
⚫
| birth_name = Minnie Woolsey
| caption =
⚫
| birth_date = {{birth year|1880}}
⚫
| birth_name = Minnie Woolsey
⚫
| birth_place = [[Rabun County, Georgia]]
⚫
| birth_date = 1880
| death_date = after 1960<ref>{{cite web |title=Minnie Woolsey - Koo Koo the Bird Girl |url=https://www.altereddimensions.net/2012/minnie-woolsey-koo-koo-the-bird-girl |website=altereddimensions.net |publisher=Altered Dimensions Paranormal |access-date=27 May 2021 |date=December 26, 2012}}</ref>
⚫
| birth_place = [[Rabun County, Georgia]]
⚫
| death_place =
| death_date = after 1960<ref>http://altereddimensions.net/2012/minnie-woolsey-koo-koo-the-bird-girl</ref>
⚫
| other_names = Minnie Ha Ha; Koo Koo the Bird Girl; Cuckoo Girl; Koo Koo, the Blind Girl from Mars
⚫
| death_place =
⚫
| known_for = ''[[Freaks (1932 film)|Freaks]]'' film
| nationality = American
⚫
| occupation = Entertainer as sideshow entertainer, film performer
⚫
| other_names = Minnie Ha Ha; Koo Koo the Bird Girl; Cuckoo Girl; Koo Koo, the Blind Girl from Mars
⚫
| known_for = ''[[Freaks (1932 film)|Freaks]]'' film
⚫
| occupation = Entertainer as sideshow entertainer, film performer
}}
}}
'''Minnie Woolsey''' (1880 – after 1960), billed as '''Koo-Koo the Bird Girl''', was an [[United States|American]] [[side show]] entertainer, best known for her only film appearance in [[Tod Browning]]'s film ''[[Freaks (1932 film)|Freaks]]'' in 1932.<ref name="humanmarvels">[http://www.thehumanmarvels.com/koo-koo-the-bird-girl/ "Koo Koo – The Bird Girl", thehumanmarvels.com], retrieved January 8, 2015.</ref>
'''Minnie Woolsey''' (1880 – after 1960), billed as '''Koo-Koo the Bird Girl''', was an American [[side show]] entertainer, best known for her only film appearance in [[Tod Browning]]'s film ''[[Freaks (1932 film)|Freaks]]'' in 1932.<ref name="humanmarvels">{{Cite web|date=2010-12-13|title=KOO KOO - The Bird Girl - Freaks the Movie|url=https://www.thehumanmarvels.com/koo-koo-the-bird-girl/|access-date=2021-05-27|website=thehumanmarvels.com|publisher=Circus Freaks and Human Oddities|language=en-US}}</ref>


==Biography ==
==Biography ==
Woolsey was born in 1880<ref>Hartzman, Marc (2005). ''American Sideshow: An Encyclopedia of History's Most Wondrous and Curiously Strange Performers''. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. p. 178. {{ISBN|1585424412}}.</ref> in [[Rabun County]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. Little is known about her early life, only that she was "rescued" from a mental asylum in Georgia by a travelling showman and was commonly billed as '''Minnie Ha Ha''' (a play on [[Minnehaha]]) in her sideshow entertainment career. She had a rare congenital growth skeletal disorder called [[Virchow-Seckel syndrome]], which caused her to have a very short stature, a small head, a narrow bird-like face with a beak-like nose, large eyes, a receding jaw, large ears and mild [[intellectual disability]].<ref name="humanmarvels"/><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Harsha Vardhan BG, Muthu MS, Saraswathi K, Koteeswaran D |title=Bird-headed Dwarf of Seckel |journal=Journal of Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry |volume=25 Suppl |pages=S8–9 |year=2007 |pmid=17921644 |url=http://www.jisppd.com/article.asp?issn=0970-4388;year=2007;volume=25;issue=5;spage=8;epage=9;aulast=Harsha}}</ref> In addition, Woolsey was bald, toothless, and either completely blind or very [[Myopia|short-sighted]]. She would appear in an American-Indian style bodysuit made of feathers with a single feather on top of her head as her costume and would dance and speak gibberish.
Woolsey was born in 1880<ref>Hartzman, Marc (2005). ''American Sideshow: An Encyclopedia of History's Most Wondrous and Curiously Strange Performers''. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. p. 178. {{ISBN|1585424412}}.</ref> in [[Rabun County]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. Little is known about her early life, only that she was "rescued" from a mental asylum in Georgia by a travelling showman and was commonly billed as '''Minnie Ha Ha''' (a play on [[Minnehaha]]) in her sideshow entertainment career. She had a rare congenital growth skeletal disorder called [[Virchow-Seckel syndrome]], which caused her to have a very short stature, a small head, a narrow bird-like face with a beak-like nose, large eyes, a receding jaw, large ears and mild [[intellectual disability]].<ref name="humanmarvels"/><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Harsha Vardhan BG, Muthu MS, Saraswathi K, Koteeswaran D |title=Bird-headed Dwarf of Seckel |journal=Journal of Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry |volume=25 Suppl |pages=S8–9 |year=2007 |pmid=17921644 |url=http://www.jisppd.com/article.asp?issn=0970-4388;year=2007;volume=25;issue=5;spage=8;epage=9;aulast=Harsha}}</ref> In addition, Woolsey was bald, toothless, and either completely blind or very [[Myopia|short-sighted]]. She would appear in an American-Indian style bodysuit made of feathers with a single feather on top of her head as her costume and would dance and speak gibberish.


She appeared in the 1932 film ''[[Freaks (1932 film)|Freaks]]'', alongside a cast of other sideshow performers from the time, billed as Koo Koo, the Bird Girl. She was not the original Koo Koo however; the billing was previously used by another performer in the film, a "Stork" or "Bird" woman named [[Elizabeth Green the Stork Woman|Elizabeth Green]]. Woolsey is seen in many scenes, particularly at the wedding ceremony, where she is seen dancing on the dining table in a feathery costume. In 1942, a news brief in ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' reported that Woolsey was recovering in Coney Island Hospital after breaking her arm while descending stairs.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DQwEAAAAMBAJ&q=Minnie+Woolsey&pg=PT24|title=Coney Island, N.Y.|magazine=Billboard|pages=44, 54|date=August 29, 1942|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|language=en|access-date=November 23, 2018}}.</ref> She was hit by a car in the 1960s. When and how she died is unknown, but accounts show that she was still alive and performing in 1960, working at [[Coney Island]] in sideshow/circus, in her 80s.{{Citation needed|date=January 2015}}
She appeared in the 1932 film ''[[Freaks (1932 film)|Freaks]]'', alongside a cast of other sideshow performers from the time, billed as Koo Koo, the Bird Girl. She was not the original Koo Koo however; the billing was previously used by another performer in the film, a "Stork" or "Bird" woman named [[Elizabeth Green the Stork Woman|Elizabeth Green]]. Woolsey is seen in many scenes, particularly at the wedding ceremony, where she is seen dancing on the dining table in a feathery costume. In 1942, a news brief in ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' reported that Woolsey was recovering in Coney Island Hospital after breaking her arm while descending stairs.<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 29, 1942|title=Coney Island, N.Y.|pages=44, 54|work=The Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DQwEAAAAMBAJ&q=Minnie+Woolsey&pg=PT24|access-date=2021-05-26|via=books.google.com}}</ref> She was hit by a car in the 1960s. When and how she died is unknown.


[[File:Congress of Freaks at Ringling Brothers, 1924.jpg|thumb|Koo Koo in 1924 (picture top, fourth from Left), was well known for her sideshow career with [[Ringling Brothers]]]]
[[File:Congress of Freaks at Ringling Brothers, 1924.jpg|thumb|Koo Koo in 1924 (picture top, fourth from Left), was well known for her sideshow career with [[Ringling Brothers]]]]


==In popular culture==
==In popular culture==
⚫
* Australian performer [[Sarah Houbolt]] created a performance called Kookoo the Bird Girl. Speaking to Disability Arts Online, Houbolt said “My full length show, KooKoo the Birdgirl, is about Minnie Woolsey, a historical performer with disability, who starred in Freaks (1932). This is an art history piece, and a female perspective on the side show. My passion to uncover her story is as a result of the importance of telling our history from a disability perspective. Minnie lived in a time of compulsory sterilisation and anti-marriage laws for disabled women, which not many people know about.”<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hambrook|first=Colin|date=2017-09-29|title=Accomplished Australian circus and physical theatre performer Sarah Houbolt takes flight|url=https://disabilityarts.online/magazine/opinion/accomplished-australian-circus-physical-theatre-performer-sarah-houbolt-takes-flight/|access-date=2021-05-26|website=Disability Arts Online}}</ref>
* The Manchester-based Gypsy folk band Naymedici released a single titled "Koo Koo the Bird Girl" in memory of the entertainer, with a video featuring scenes from ''Freaks''.<ref name="youtube">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG2_4CH26J8|title=Naymedici - Koo Koo The Bird Girl}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=August 2016}}
⚫
* She is mentioned in [[Tom Waits]]'s song ''Lucky Day (Overture)'' from his album ''[[The Black Rider (album)|The Black Rider]]'', about sideshow performers.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Waits|first=Tom|date=1993|title=Lyrics: The Black Rider: Lucky Day Overture|url=http://www.tomwaitsfan.com/tom%20waits%20library/www.tomwaitslibrary.com/lyrics/theblackrider/luckydayoverture.html|access-date=2021-05-26|website=tomwaitsfan.com}}</ref>
⚫
* Australian performer [[Sarah Houbolt]] created a performance called ''Kookoo The Bird Girl''. Speaking to Disability Arts Online, Houbolt said, “My full length show, KooKoo the Birdgirl, is about Minnie Woolsley, a historical performer with disability, who starred in Freaks (1932). This is an art history piece, and a female perspective on the side show. My passion to uncover her story is as a result of the importance of telling our history from a disability perspective. Minnie lived in a time of compulsory sterilisation and anti-marriage laws for disabled women, which not many people know about.”<ref>http://disabilityarts.online/magazine/opinion/accomplished-australian-circus-physical-theatre-performer-sarah-houbolt-takes-flight/</ref>
⚫
* She is mentioned in [[Tom Waits]]' song ''Lucky Day (Overture)'' from his album ''[[The Black Rider (album)|The Black Rider]]'', about sideshow performers.<ref>http://www.tomwaitsfan.com/tom%20waits%20library/www.tomwaitslibrary.com/lyrics/theblackrider/luckydayoverture.html</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 47: Line 45:
[[Category:20th-century deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century deaths]]
[[Category:Date of death unknown]]
[[Category:Date of death unknown]]


{{US-entertainer-stub}}
{{US-med-bio-stub}}

Latest revision as of 00:28, 29 February 2024

Minnie Woolsey
Koo Koo, the Bird Girl
Born
Minnie Woolsey

1880 (1880)
Rabun County, Georgia
Diedafter 1960[1]
Other namesMinnie Ha Ha; Koo Koo the Bird Girl; Cuckoo Girl; Koo Koo, the Blind Girl from Mars
Occupation(s)Entertainer as sideshow entertainer, film performer
Known forFreaks film

Minnie Woolsey (1880 – after 1960), billed as Koo-Koo the Bird Girl, was an American side show entertainer, best known for her only film appearance in Tod Browning's film Freaks in 1932.[2]

Biography

[edit]

Woolsey was born in 1880[3] in Rabun County, Georgia. Little is known about her early life, only that she was "rescued" from a mental asylum in Georgia by a travelling showman and was commonly billed as Minnie Ha Ha (a play on Minnehaha) in her sideshow entertainment career. She had a rare congenital growth skeletal disorder called Virchow-Seckel syndrome, which caused her to have a very short stature, a small head, a narrow bird-like face with a beak-like nose, large eyes, a receding jaw, large ears and mild intellectual disability.[2][4] In addition, Woolsey was bald, toothless, and either completely blind or very short-sighted. She would appear in an American-Indian style bodysuit made of feathers with a single feather on top of her head as her costume and would dance and speak gibberish.

She appeared in the 1932 film Freaks, alongside a cast of other sideshow performers from the time, billed as Koo Koo, the Bird Girl. She was not the original Koo Koo however; the billing was previously used by another performer in the film, a "Stork" or "Bird" woman named Elizabeth Green. Woolsey is seen in many scenes, particularly at the wedding ceremony, where she is seen dancing on the dining table in a feathery costume. In 1942, a news brief in Billboard reported that Woolsey was recovering in Coney Island Hospital after breaking her arm while descending stairs.[5] She was hit by a car in the 1960s. When and how she died is unknown.

Koo Koo in 1924 (picture top, fourth from Left), was well known for her sideshow career with Ringling Brothers
[edit]
  • Australian performer Sarah Houbolt created a performance called Kookoo the Bird Girl. Speaking to Disability Arts Online, Houbolt said “My full length show, KooKoo the Birdgirl, is about Minnie Woolsey, a historical performer with disability, who starred in Freaks (1932). This is an art history piece, and a female perspective on the side show. My passion to uncover her story is as a result of the importance of telling our history from a disability perspective. Minnie lived in a time of compulsory sterilisation and anti-marriage laws for disabled women, which not many people know about.”[6]
  • She is mentioned in Tom Waits's song Lucky Day (Overture) from his album The Black Rider, about sideshow performers.[7]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Minnie Woolsey - Koo Koo the Bird Girl". altereddimensions.net. Altered Dimensions Paranormal. December 26, 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b "KOO KOO - The Bird Girl - Freaks the Movie". thehumanmarvels.com. Circus Freaks and Human Oddities. 2010-12-13. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  3. ^ Hartzman, Marc (2005). American Sideshow: An Encyclopedia of History's Most Wondrous and Curiously Strange Performers. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. p. 178. ISBN 1585424412.
  4. ^ Harsha Vardhan BG, Muthu MS, Saraswathi K, Koteeswaran D (2007). "Bird-headed Dwarf of Seckel". Journal of Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry. 25 Suppl: S8–9. PMID 17921644.
  5. ^ "Coney Island, N.Y." The Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 29, 1942. pp. 44, 54. Retrieved 2021-05-26 – via books.google.com.
  6. ^ Hambrook, Colin (2017-09-29). "Accomplished Australian circus and physical theatre performer Sarah Houbolt takes flight". Disability Arts Online. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  7. ^ Waits, Tom (1993). "Lyrics: The Black Rider: Lucky Day Overture". tomwaitsfan.com. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Koo-Koo_the_Bird_Girl&oldid=1210926557"