The best known Tempe resident in the 1920,s was not a politician, an athlete or a criminal. He was Teodulo A. Valenzuela, the world’s largest man. He was a feature side show attraction of “The Biggest Show in Earth,” The Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus. However, Valenzuela did not join the circus to become rich and famous, he joined out of desperation.
Valenzuela was born in 1886, the son of Jesus and Dolores Valenzuela. Although his father was normal sized, the other family members were large. His mother, Dolores, weighed 360 pounds. Two of his brothers weighed well over 300 pounds and his sister weighed 510 pounds at the time of her death. Teo was no exception. His increasing weight resulted in his being known as “Fatty.” By the age of 16, he weighed 450 pounds and the Arizona Republican requested a photograph for publication. Theo, as he was also known worked as a boot black at Wyatt’s Barber Shop in Tempe for several years. However, in those days before air conditioning, his increasing weight caused him to suffer more and more from the heat. Just before the summer of 1905, he left the barber shop to take a job selling ice cream. He worked at a variety of jobs, usually with other family members. He was a salesman with the J. A. Valenzuela Co., he mamaged the Valenzuela Confectionary Story in Phoenix, and even as a helper at an alfalfa mill.
Theo married Liondies Estrada [1912], and by 1920 they had two children [Edward and Theodore]. He then had a job managing the pool hall in Tempe at 4th and Dewey in Tempe, which was his main occupation for a number of years. His weight was over 600 pounds and he was attracting a good deal of attention whereever he went. While vacationing in Long Beach, California, he had to request police attention to get relief from the hordes of curious onlookers. After several requests to go on exhibit, he gave in and appeared at the Arizona Cotton Carnival in Mesa and the Arizona State Fair.
In 1921 he hired an agent and was appearing at the Pike at Long Beach. By 1923, Theo went on the road with the Snapp Brothers Shows. This was a minor league circus that toured medium sized towns. It featured high divers, wrestlers, dancing girls, motorcycle acts and a large side show. Theo appeared in the “Congress of Fat People” where he was known as “Happy Val.” Admission was ten cents.
Theo’s big break came in 1924 when he weighed 745 pounds and was considered to be the world’s largest man. Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey, which prided itself on having the biggest and best of everything, wired him to join their side show. Theo immediately left the west coast for New York. But, just getting to their office to sign the contract caused problems. A truck was used to transport him through New York City and then he had to ride the freight elevator to get to the upstairs office. He was now in the “big leagues.” However, “Happy Val” was far too subtle a name for Barnum and Bailey. His new name, “Tom Ton,” more aptly described his role in the sideshow’s “Congress of Strange people.” He appeared with his female counterpart, “Ima Whale” and the world’s smallest man, “Major Mite.” Theo fit in well with the sideshow, being compared in circus publicity to the weight of the baby elephants in the circus.
The contrast between him and Major Mite was played up, even to their wardrobes. Tom Ton’s “tailor insists on multiplying the regular prices by three, so Tom goes for the most economical tunic of all. The Major, on the other hand is the beau Brummel of the circus. His wardrobe...contains the very latest things in up-to-date apparel.” A publicity picture showed The Major measuring Tom for some new clothes. |
