Fedor Jeftichew, The Dog Boy
Fedor Jeftichew was already a well-established circus star before he signed up with P.T. Barnum. Born in St Petersburg, Russia, in 1868, he suffered from hypertrichosis, a medical condition which causes long hairs to grow virtually all over the body. Young Fedor’s father also had the condition, and the duo performed as a father-and-son act both in their native Russia and then in France.
When he was aged just 16, Fedor’s father died. Sensing his opportunity, Barnum presented the young entertainer with an offer he could not refuse. Fedor signed a contract and, before long, he was performing in Barnum’s travelling circuses. As was often the case, the great showman made up a far-fetched backstory for the act he called ‘The Dog Boy’ due to his medical condition. According to the legend, a hunter in rural Russia had stumbled across the Dog Boy and his father living in a cave. He captured them and, though they lived in the city and worked in the circus, neither father nor son could be tamed or even civilized.
Fodor was routinely humiliated to earn his money. Barnum would boast that when his young entertainer was upset, he would growl and even bark. Sticking close to character, Fodor would often have to do both, greatly amusing the audience. The irony was that Fodor was far smarter than most members of the audience. He was well-read and, as well as his native Russian, he also spoke English and German fluently.
The act was part of Barnum’s circus until around 1900. After that, Fodor spent time with several different circuses, traveling extensively through Europe. He was ‘on tour’ when he died of pneumonia while in Greece in January of 1904.