Biography
In the mid to late 1960s, a young Benjamin Wade witnessed some of the last of the traveling side shows working the fair and carnival circuit and he was hooked. He developed a lifelong fascination with the working acts, the Blockheads and the Torture Kings, and over the years began to learn, little by little, the secrets behind those amazing and unbelievable feats. He used these feats as party tricks and to win bar bets. It was after a particularly lucrative Mardi Gras excursion to the bars of Bourbon Street in New Orleans that Bennie realized he may have the beginnings of an act.
After becoming adept at these feats, and wishing to expand his audience beyond his circle of mystified friends, he took on the name of SideShow Bennie, and began performing, using his unique wit combined with the astonishing acts he had perfected, to thrill local audiences in his hometown of Nashville. It wasn’t long before he started working regionally and soon began attracting a national audience.
A one-man 10-in-1, Bennie has taken his act on the road and has performed in many non-traditional venues such as tattoo conventions, motorcycle events, arts festivals, colleges and nightclubs. He has shocked and amazed audiences from Miami to Seattle and everywhere in between. He has appeared on many television shows on networks such as E! Entertainment TV, VH-1, CMT, and he was the featured performer in the documentary Stomachs Of Steel, which has aired many times on The Discovery Channel. He has both been a headliner and has appeared as an opener for many musical acts including Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, Big and Rich and Alice Cooper. In the Summer of 2007 he performed at Bonnaroo.
Bennie often caters his show to any audience, from all ages to adults only. Bennie continues to carry on the tradition of the traveling working act like his forebears and yet, his act is up to date and contains current humor of many pop culture topics.
Bennie performed as a solo act for many years. In 2008, he added a partner to his act in the form of Anna Fiametta. Anna is not a mere 'lovely assistant' but a valuable and talented performer in her own right. An accomplished fire eater, she also escapes from a straitjacket and performs a human pincushion act in addition to many other amazing feats.
Bennie and Anna have thrilled and amazed audiences from border to border and coast to coast and continue to tour together.
Read more about this topic: Sideshow Bennie
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