Rudolph Lucasie (and his Albino Family)
Over the years, P.T. Barnum exhibited several “fair-skinned” acts. Albinos were presented as curiosities of nature, and audiences paid good money to look at them close-up. But no such act achieved the fame of Rudolph Lucasie. As well as being the first of Barnum’s albino performers, he also had a family, making the act even more unique and memorable.
Where Lucasie came from originally is not certain, though, according to some accounts, he was born in Madagascar. What is known is that Barnum discovered him working at a circus in Amsterdam in 1857. The showman made him an offer, and Lucasie agreed. From 1860 onwards, he, his wife and their daughter worked at Barnum’s American Museum in New York City. How much they earned is not known, though the marketing from the time reveals that they were presented as ‘white Africans’ who had been born to ‘completely black’ families.
After the American Museum burned down, Lucasie and his family joined Barnum’s traveling circus. Increasingly, their wild hair was exaggerated, with the adverts talking up their bright pink eyes and pale skin. Unlike many of the stars of Barnum’s shows, what happened to the family in their later lives is not so well known, though their years in the employ of the Greatest Showman would have allowed them to lead a financially comfortable life.