Before reality TV there were carnivals. People looked forward to the carnival coming to town. It was where they would go to see the abnormal, oddities and freaks. Rides were secondary to the live acts. As previously mentioned, tattooing originally wasn't allowed on the 'front end' of the midway on the carnival lots. They were only located on the 'back end' with the freak shows/live shows. Tattooing being considered an oddity itself is the reason why the history of carnivals and tattooing crossover. Many old timer tattoo artists that crossed paths with The Steinhart Family while traveling the carnival circuit also owned freak shows/live shows. Many of the stories you'll read about the Steinhart Family will contain tattoo artists that were show owners. Sailor Barney Sr. started traveling with the carnivals in the late 40's. By 1968 his son's Sailor Barney Jr. aka Howie the Hand, Larry, Captain Frog and Sailor Fred were traveling the carnival circuit. Some of the tattoo artists that crossed their paths, that were also show owners, were Commodore Dick out of FL, Karl Cullison out of OH and Sailor Bill Killingsworth out of GA. They owned shows like Monkey Speedways, Freak Shows, Gorilla Girl or Wildman Shows and Motordromes. The Steinhart's all tattooed and were equally involved on the back end of the carnival midways. Both Sailor Barney Sr and Sailor Fred owned live show shows. The Steinhart Family traveled west as far as Chicago, north as far as Maine and south as TX and FL. The Steinhart Family will be sharing family photos at a later time (coming soon!). In the mean time below are examples of some of the live shows tattoo artist around the US owned while tattooing. Enjoy the video as well.
4 Comments
Mike silver
7/25/2016 05:00:49 pm
Great idea,good luck Sailor Fred and crew
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brandy a ferge caraballo
7/25/2016 06:19:24 pm
Wow this warms my heart to see this truely amazing, sailor fred was like a uncle n a good friend to my parents. Thanks for the memories
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Jeannie Thomad
7/25/2016 08:36:31 pm
Miss you guys. Would love to see you both
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8/4/2016 02:20:01 am
Great idea to tell the story & show all of this history. Thx for sharing.
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AuthorSailor Fred is a renown American Tattoo Artist that started his career in 1968 Archives
November 2016
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