| Fedor was born in the late 1860's and was about 16 years old when his Dad passed away in Paris. He began to be exhibited as a solo attraction in London in 1884 and then sailed to the U.S. in October of that year and was successfully exhibited there at a (purported) salary of $700 a week. The young Fedor was described, physically, as being "well-developed though short in stature, muscular, active, energetic and intelligent." The hair on his face was fine and glossy and about four inches long and of a blond color. His body hair was very fine and more "fluffy" than that on his face and was especially pronounced down the spinal column where it stood out "like the mane of a horse". Fedor had only five teeth - two upper canine, two lateral and one middle incisor. If you look closely at some of his photos you'll also notice that his left eye turns in a bit. In his later years, a cataract and near-sightedness made him virturally blind. Intellectually, Fedor was said to be very bright. One writer who met him described the hairy man as being of superior intelligence and conversant on many subjects and was able to speak German and (possibly) French. The writer mentions, "I have conversed with him on various topics and invariably became so much interested in what he said that I forgot for the moment that I could merely see his twinkling eyes through the hair that made the rest of his face invisible." It is difficult to piece together Mr. Jefticheff's touring schedule following his American stand. He appeared in the States in 1887 and 1894 but it is not clear if he returned home in between or remained there all the while. What is certain is that the Barnum & Bailey Circus toured Europe 1897-1902 and "Jo-Jo" was a member of the sideshow when on tour there, so it is not clear if he traveled with the show to Europe or if he was already on the Continent when the Show arrived there. Fedor's final days are not obscure however. While on his way to visit family in Tbilisi, Georgia he took ill and died of pneumonia in Salonika, Greece in January of 1904. He was then only about 35 years of age. |
| FEDOR JEFTICHEFF |