Planned Biopic of Frances O'Connor

Frances O'Connor was born in Granite Falls, Minnesota on September 8, 1914. She was born without arms and worked as a circus artist and sideshow performer. She was billed as the "living Venus de Milo". Standing just 5 feet tall, there were few things O'Connor couldn't do with her feet, and she performed all manner of tasks, ranging from the mundane to the technical. She was said to perform at all times with elegance and balletic artistry. At home, she liked to sew and knit with her feet.

O'Connor's mother was her stage manager. When her mother's health was failing, she cared for her. They stayed together until her mother's death. In retirement, O'Connor continued with her hobbies. She died in Long Beach, California in 1982.

O'Connor acted in Tod Browning's masterpiece 'Freaks' (1932), one of the most important horror films of the 20th century. She worked on set with fellow midwesterner Martha Morris who was born on October 20, 1902 in Chicago, Illinois. Morris was also born without arms and learned to knit, sew, thread a needle, write, and use a typewriter with her toes. She too became a sideshow performer to earn a living, being billed as "the armless wonder". Morris is said to have appeared at the Century of Progress Exposition, held in Chicago in 1933 and 1934 to commemorate the city's centennial. Sadly, she died of pneumonia at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago in 1937, aged 34. She's buried beside her mother in Waldheim Cemetery in Cook County, Illinois.

It's long been rumoured that a biopic of O'Connor is in the pipeline, but nothing seems to have ever come about. The same can be said for her 'Freaks' co-star Johnny Eck. But as I write, among the film's cast, I only know of the Hilton Sisters having theatrical biopics in the form of two stage shows, the musical 'Twenty Fingers Twenty Toes', and the musical 'Sideshow' which played on Broadway. They too stood 5 feet tall and allowed their talent to shine brightly.

In 1994, 'Freaks' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, which preserves "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" films.