Johnny Eck

Article summary

John Eckhardt Jr (August 27, 1911 – January 5, 1991), professionally billed as Johnny Eck, was an American freak show performer in sideshows and a film actor. Born with sacral agenesis, Eck is best known today for his role in Tod Browning's 1932 cult classic film Freaks and his appearances as a bird creature in several Tarzan films. He was often billed as "The Amazing Half-Boy", "King of the Freaks" and "The Most Remarkable Man Alive". Besides being a sideshow art performer and actor, Eck was also a folk artist (specifically a screen painter), musician, photographer, illusionist, penny arcade owner, Punch and Judy operator, and expert model-maker.

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1932 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of birth: 1911-08-27 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of birth: 1874 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. date of death: 1995-02-25 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of birth is "1932". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of birth is "1911-08-27". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of birth is "1874". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the date of death is "1995-02-25". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
7. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1363399880