Samuel David "Sam" Parks was born on October 20, 1874 in Boston, although he would later change his birthplace to the much more exotic Rio de Janeiro. Parks made his sideshow debut at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and made a healthy living exhibiting himself to medical students before joining up with the Barnum and Bailey circus around the turn of the century.
Parks' physical appearance is very characteristic of people with osteogenesis imperfecta and he suffered frequent bone fractures, the most common symptom of the disease. According to a pitch card published within the 16th year of Parks' showbusiness career, he had had 58 broken bones in his lifetime; within 3 hours of the injury, the card claims, Parks felt no pain, and within 5-7 days he had complete use of the broken bone. The same card boasts that Parks had been examined by "over 5000 physicians" and had "arms, legs and backbone like a frog", as well as no ribs. This is an exaggeration - people with OI do have ribs, but the ribcage tends to be barrel-shaped and the ribs more susceptible to breakage than other bones.
Parks' first marriage was to Ida Granville of Baltimore in 1906, who died giving birth to their second child. The baby died as well, although their first son was born normal and healthy and was 17 years old at the time of Parks' death. Later, while touring Canada with Great Patterson Shows, he met Helen "Lena" Himmel, a dwarf from Connecticut. The two were married in Lyons, Iowa, in 1910 and Lena gave birth to a baby boy in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1911.
Parks died October 23, 1923, aged 49.
Left: Photo from "Hopp, the Frog Boy" pitch card. Right: Sam Parks with Lena Himmel, ca. 1910 (Circus World Museum, Baraboo, WI [Drimmer]).
Updated 5.6.07.