Stephan Bibrowski was born in 1891 in Warsaw, Poland his body covered in a coat of fine hair. Sometimes babies are born this way but the hair gradually disappears. But Stephan's only continued to grow until by age four he looked nothing like his five siblings. When a circus came to town and expressed an interest in the little boy his parents (like those of Percilla, the Monkey Girl twenty-seven years later) had a difficult decision to make.
Poland at the time was under Russian rule and an attempt was being made to wipe out the entire Polish culture, so times were very hard for the Bibrowski family. Their little boy had a chance at a better life. Ultimately, his parents seized the opportunity and the show business career of "Lionel, the Lion-Boy" began. |
