Have you ever heard of Le Pétomane? The Fartiste? No?
Ach! Kids these days! No respect for history! Heads always on a vid screen, ears always plugged in! What kind of entertainment is that? I ask you!
In my day we had talent! We had flair! We had pizzazz! We had The Farting Maniac!
Joseph Pujol discovered, accidentally, that he had very good control of his anal sphincter muscles. At first he used his ability to amuse friends but eventually he went on to international fame. He performed at the legendary Moulin Rouge, headlining, and was the highest paid performer of his time.
An anal-impressionist, Pujol would mimic the gas passed by various people: a bride on her wedding night (and then again on the morning after), a mother-in-law, a merchant ripping fabric, a man in a bathtub, etc. He had a repertoire of farm animals, cannons, machine guns, and musical instruments. He was said to be able to blow out candles (with the air expelled from his anus, of course) at a distance measured, not in feet, but in yards.
He was not only capable of performing musical compositions, but, using a hose, could play the instruments themselves. He would be joined on stage by his wife and children who would accompany/dance to his performance.
It is said that Le Pétomane was so hysterically funny that the Moulin Rouge actually had medical personnel on hand in case someone in the audience succumbed, and it is rumored to have happened more than once.
A 33 minute 1979 film based on Joseph Pujol’s life, starring Leonard Rossiter, can be seen, in it’s entirety, by following links here at Le Pétomane. It may not be the most accurate history, but it gives you a pretty good idea. And if you are an old film buff, it is a fun watch.
There is an off-Broadway play, The Fartiste, a musical comedy running in New York.
And if you are interesting in steering your kids towards the Art of Fart, you might want to check out the children’s book The Fartiste, which relates Joseph Pujol’s career pretty well. My kids enjoyed it. More even than Walter the Farting Dog, another great Fartiste. (Although my plush Walter could never be replaced by a Joseph Pujol doll. Er… Action Figure.) (Actually, now that I think about it, if he did the 1812 Overture, he might….)
Yes, in my day, people had a true air of talent! None of this balderdash of being famous just for being famous nonsense! When we said someone was full of hot air we meant it! I just had to clear the air about that.