John Strong was born into a circus family.  He performed magic and juggling in Big John Strong’s Circus, a small circus that traveled the West Coast in the 1960s and 1970s.  He started collecting oddities at 11. He managed the last circus sideshow associated with Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey in 1978 for two years fresh out of high school.  He is also the youngest person ever to perform a 1-finger handstand. He has swallowed swords and ate fire for nearly 30 years, most notably in the movie “Batman Returns”.

John Strong worked 25 years with Butler Amusements presenting various oddity and single attraction shows. He has produced circuses, haunted houses and circus sideshows. He has even assisted in Circus of the Stars and Ozzfest.

In 2009, John Strong brought not just one but two large shows to Coney Island.  In the former Astroland site, he set up his oddity museum and produced a live 10-in-1 with real human marvels and oddities.

Interviews for further reading about John Strong can be found here and here.  Onward to the 2010 Coney Island Proposal.