Samuel Wasgatt (aka Lulu Farini)(1856-1939) was an American circus performer, early drag queen, and acrobat, known for death-defying catapult and somersault acrobatic routines. He enjoyed performing as his Lulu persona so much that he wore his costuming on and off stage for around 10 years.
The first picture shows him performing as Lulu, the second picture shows him when he was going by Lu, third picture shows him early in his acrobatic career, fourth and fifth pictures are more of Lulu and the last picture shows him later in life when he retired his Lulu persona but still occasionally used it as a nickname.
He was such an icon! So many pictures of him performing are just so gloriously over the top, and I absolutely love his flair for the bold and dramatic. Just based on his flamboyance, I have a feeling he’d probably enjoy competing in modern day drag shows with how theatrical they are.
I think it’s so cool that he was able to experiment with his gender expression and was very happy doing so. This is one of the reasons why I think the circus/sideshow culture at the time was so important and fascinating, because it fostered a more inclusive environment for people who didn’t conform to society at the time.
Some facts about him:
-he was born in Mount Desert Island, Maine.
-he had four siblings.
-through some questionable and unknown circumstances he was adopted by Canadian showman and magician William Leonard Hunt (aka the Great Farini) in 1866, when he was 8 years old. (I have EXTREMELY strong opinions about Hunt. He was the person who kidnapped and exploited Krao Farini for profit during her entire childhood and early adult life. I’m a fan of Krao’s and it breaks my heart to know what she was subjected to as a child, therefore I hate Hunt)
-there are differing reports as to Hunt’s treatment of Samuel. According to Samuel himself, he was well treated, but a man who supposedly had a connection to his family claimed that Samuel was extremely mistreated by Hunt, and that Hunt prevented Samuel from visiting his family.
-he soon began learning and performing them during Hunt’s shows, where he was being promoted as Hunt’s biological son.
-he was known for very extravagant and death-defying stunts. Including one in which he would balance himself on a trapeze swing by his neck while playing a drum. (In picture 3)
-around 1870, Hunt began promoting Samuel as a beautiful female acrobat named Lulu. One of the reasons behind Samuel’s drag persona had to do with society being more impressed with female acrobats who could perform intricate and dangerous stunts.
-some of the stunts he performed as Lulu included aerial somersaults and being launched into the air by catapults.
-as Lulu, he quickly became the star of Farini’s show, with hoards of people showing up just to see him.
-Samuel enjoyed presenting himself as Lulu and did so for over 10 years, including many times where he’d dress as Lulu both on and off stage.
-he became so well known that even British author, Lewis Carrol, was a big fan.
-there was a lot of ambiguity in regards to Lulu’s gender, with people seemingly being split in half of whether they were a man or a woman.
-as Lulu, he often wore bright red tunics and pink stockings.
-he once claimed to have taken part in a wedding as a bridesmaid as Lulu.
-he married William Hunt’s sister, Edith Hunt, in 1875 and the two of them had a daughter named May.
-tragically, he suffered a bad fall in 1877, which dislocated his hip. While being tended to by a local physician, his true identity was revealed.
-in the late 1870s/early 1880s, he got a much shorter haircut, grew a mustache, and adopted a much more masculine presenting wardrobe for his daily life (his performance costumes however were still very feminine presenting). His persona at this time was Lu.
-he enjoyed experimenting with gender expression for much of his life, even after retiring his Lulu persona.
-he retired from circuses in 1883 and instead began a career as a photographer alongside his brother.
-he traveled to the Kalahari desert in Africa alongside Hunt in 1885. Hunt was determined to find native Bushmen to exhibit in the United States.
-in the mid 1890s, he opened his own photography studio in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
-he and his family permanently settled in New York in the early 1900s, where he lived until his death.
-he passed away in New York at the age of 83.
Despite the original idea of his Lulu persona being thought of by William Hunt, I’m happy that it brought Samuel a lot of happiness. From everything I’ve read it definitely seems like he had a blast performing as Lulu.