Born with 3 legs and 2 genitals, Franceso “Frank” Lentini still had a wonderful life with both fame and money.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, bizarre circus performances were very popular because of their uniqueness. In these performances, there were often people with strange, unusual features such as bearded women, dwarfs… Franceso “Frank” Lentini – known as the three-legged man also made a living from those strange circus performances and was very successful.
Franceso “Frank” Lentini was born in May 1889 in Sicily, Italy, the only child or the fifth child in a family of 12 siblings. Unlike his siblings, Frank Lentini was born with three legs, four feet, 16 fingers and two genitals.
This is the result of a second embryo developing in the mother’s womb but not being able to separate and instead parasitizing the remaining embryo. As a result, Lentini was born with a parasitic twin brother, clinging tightly to Lentini’s spine, causing his body to have an extra leg and genitals. Strangely, the extra leg also had two feet (however, one foot had only one toe and was useless).
Francesco “Frank” Lentini was born with the parts of his twin brother.
When he was four months old, Lentini was taken to a specialist with the hope of amputating the extra leg, but the high risk of paralysis and death made the doctor refuse to perform surgery. Because of this unusual feature, Lentini was often teased by the people in his hometown as a “little monster”. As a result, the family sent Lentini to live with his aunt far away to avoid scandal.
In 1898, when he was only 9 years old, Lentini and his father went to America to meet Guiseppe Magnano – a professional performer who helped Lentini become a circus performer. Just one year later, in 1899, Francesco “Frank” Lentini was listed as one of the best performers in the world-famous Ringling Brothers circus.
Young Frank Lentini was called the “little monster” by his hometown people.
Lentini was known as the “Three-legged Sicilian”, “The only three-legged soccer player in the world”, “The greatest medical wonder of all time” or sometimes simply “The Great Lentini”. The young man performed feats with his third leg such as playing soccer, jumping rope, skating and cycling.
Despite his extra limbs, Lentini’s daily activities were normal, he could run, jump; ride a bicycle, ride a horse; skate and roller skate. Lentini could also swim and even had the advantage of being able to use his extra leg as a rudder.
In addition to his athletic talent, Lentini was also quick-witted and humorous. During his time traveling around the United States, Lentini learned to speak English. Despite his physical disability, Lentini was not ashamed but on the contrary very proud. Thanks to his intelligence and hard work, he built a reputation and made a large fortune.
At the age of 10, Lentini became a famous performer.
Not only that, Lentini also knew how to take advantage of his charm to get acquainted and fall in love with a young actress named Theresa Murray. The two married in 1907 and had four children: Josephine, Natale, Franceso Jr. and Giacomo. Although Lentini and Theresa eventually separated in 1935, this did not stop Lentini from finding love again and he would go on to spend the rest of his life with a woman named Helen Shupe.
In 1966, Lentini died of pulmonary failure at the age of 77 and throughout his life, Lentini never stopped performing. In 2016, 50 years after his death, Lentini’s hometown of Rosolini in Sicily held a memorial service to honor him.
Seeing his parasitic brother as an invaluable asset rather than a hindrance is the reason Francesco “Frank” Lentini found success and happiness. “I never complained,” Lentini shared. “I think life is beautiful and I love the experiences it brings.”
Lentini has made a famous and wealthy life thanks to his unique appearance.
What is parasitic twins?
Parasitic twins occur when twin embryos begin to develop in the womb, but the twins do not completely separate. While one embryo develops more, the other gradually develops less.
Unlike conjoined twins, where two children are attached to each other and share organs in the body, they are essentially separate and coexist. Although the term conjoined can also be applied to parasitic twins, conjoined twins are fully developed and have separate functions, unlike parasitic twins.
Frank Lentini was born with three legs, four feet, 16 fingers and two sets of genitals.
