Melvin Burkhart

Clarence Melvin Burkhart (1907–2001) was a sideshow performer known as the Human Blockhead for driving a large steel spike up his nose with a hammer. He was also known as Melvin the Two-Faced Man, due to his ability to wear different facial expressions on the two sides of his face, and as Melvin the Anatomical Wonder for his abilities as a contortionist. His act also included magic, sword swallowing, fire eating, and an electric chair.

Biography alt=Sideshow performers of Strates Shows, with Melvin Burkhart pictured (back row, third from left, holding his swallowing swords). Sideshow performers of Strates Shows, with Melvin Burkhart pictured (back row, third from left, holding his swallowing swords). Clarence Melvin Burkhart was born in Atlanta on February 16, 1907, and grew up in several places throughout the southern US, principally New Orleans. He dropped out of school in his early teens and moved to Louisville, Kentucky where he worked as a field hand by day and in burlesque halls by night.

At the age of 20, he joined a small one-ring circus, Mr. Leroy Easter's Traveling Family Circus, as a contortionist. In 1934, he joined Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performing five acts. In 1939, he went to New York to perform at Robert Ripley's Odditorium in New York City, before returning to work with Ringling Brothers.

Burkhart performed a variety of acts, including a human blockhead routine, magic tricks, an electric chair illusion, and a snake-wrestling show. He was also able to suck in his abdomen to an extreme degree, becoming known as the "Man Without a Stomach".

Legacy In 2007, Burkhart was inducted into the Coney Island Sideshow Hall of Fame.