To The Hilt

Meet Stan Marye, an 88-year-old former sword swallower who started after reading an excerpt of Daniel Mannix’s 1951 book , Step Right Up! , in  Reader’s Digest . He taught himself fire-eating and then learned to gulp steel. During the 1950s and '60s he worked with numerous sideshows and added various other stunts and skills to his repertoire. Hear about his adventures in sword swallowing and m...

You may have seen Jellyboy the Clown on  America’s Got Talent Season 19, where he amazed audiences and the judges. Or perhaps you've read his recent book: Memoirs of a Coney Island Clown  (Outside Talker Press). In this episode, you'll hear about Jellyboy’s beginnings as a clown, his start in sword swallowing and his creative twists on the art, like adding a chainsaw to the blade and exper...

Keith Nelson, also known as Mr. Pennygaff, is the co-founder of the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus.  The Bindlestiffs have been performing circus, sideshow, and vaudeville acts for thirty years.  The show has presented nearly 600 of the world’s top artists in the circus and variety fields across New York City and the Hudson Valley, and throughout the United States. Performances have engaged audiences i...

Chris Steele is the sword swallowing half of America’s Favorite Sideshow Couple, Captain & Maybelle. In this episode, you’ll hear about his start in gulping steel, his adventures on America’s Got Talent and Wife Swap, working with Ripley’s, lifting cinder blocks from a swallowed sword, twisting 7 swords 180 degrees, the extra-dangerous lightning bolt sword, nearly dying from a sword swallowing...

Bill Berry has been entertaining, juggling, and sword swallowing for more than 25 years, and is world-renowned as a silver medalist IJA juggler. Along with his performing partner Nerdy Noah Royak, they perform a variety juggling-sword swallowing act as the Distinguished Daredevils.   In this episode, you’ll hear about Bill’s beginnings in sword swallowing, the power of visualization, integrating j...

The Amazing Zilla is a sword swallower known for swallowing monster swords, as well as a bearded lady and contortionist. In this episode, she talks about learning to swallow swords from Red Stuart and how to modify her blades properly, swallowing an Excalibur sword at a beard and mustache competition, finding ways to push the limits of her abilities, and much more. The Amazing Zilla is one of more...

Red Stuart has been swallowing swords since 1967, when he learned from sideshow performer Toni Del Rio. Within two years, his quick mastery of the art led him to become the only sword swallower to swallow broadswords and car axles. Red has worked with many shows over the years, including Ward Hall and Chris Christs’ World of Wonders. He can currently be seen at Pexcho’s American Dime Museum in Aug...

Erik Sprague, better known as The Lizardman, is a sword swallower, multi-talented performer, and author. As his website says, he’s “The Modified Marvel from the dark heart of Austin, a man with more ink in his skin, than blood in his veins . " In this episode, he discusses his beginnings in sword swallowing, his experiences with other dangerous stunts, his time with the Jim Rose Circus, and m...

Franz began swallowing swords in 2013, and since then has earned nine world records, including the most bowling pins knocked down while sword swallowing, the most sit-ups while sword swallowing, and swallowing the most curved sword (133 degrees). In this episode, Dan and I speak to him during his recent visit to America. Hear about his start in sword swallowing, his many remarkable feats, and the...

Adam Rinn, aka, Adam Realman, is the artistic director at Coney Island USA and has been swallowing swords for about 25 years after learning at the Coney Island Sideshow School. Years later he took over as its instructor teaching sideshow arts to students eager to learn. In this episode, Adam discusses growing up around the Coney Island sideshow in the ‘80s, his experiences learning the art of swor...

Brad Byers has been swallowing swords for more than 45 years and is known for swallowing 12 swords one at a time and then twisting all 12 blades at once in place. Brad also juggles, rides a unicycle and tiny bicycles, balances on the rola bola board, walks on broken glass, yoyos, throws tops, spins suitcases and other large objects on his finger, balances a running lawn mower on his chin, and blow...

Cyrus Pynn is a sword swallower, juggler, equilibrist, and knife thrower known for his amazing shows at Ren Faires. As his website says, “He's a man of skill, a man of danger, and some would say....a complete lunatic.” Hear about his adventures in sword swallowing and more in this episode. Cyrus is one of more than a hundred sword swallowers featured in the book,  To The Hilt: A Sword Swallowe...

At 89 years old, Jim Ball holds a rare triple distinction in sword swallowing: he’s the world’s oldest living sword swallower; when he learned at age 12, he was the world’s youngest; and having swallowed steel for 77 years, he’s the world’s longest-performing sword swallower. Jim is also unique in that both his parents were sword swallowers: John “Lucky” Ball and Estelline Pike. It was his mother,...

Brianna Belladonna is a tattooed sword swallower, fire eater, and all-around daredevil who’s appeared on How I Met Your Mother, AMC’s Freakshow, CSI, Inked, just to name a few shows, and has performed at The Magic Castle, Six Flags Theme Park, the Playboy Mansion, Coney Island, the Jim Rose Circus, various tattoo expos, and many other shows and venues around the world. In this episode, she shares...

George “The Giant” McArthur  stands 7’ 3” and is known as the world’s tallest sword swallower. He’s been gulping steel since the mid ‘90s. Find out how and why he got started, and about the adventures he’s had since—including being cast in Tim Burton’s 2003 film  Big Fish . George the Giant is one of more than a hundred sword swallowers featured in the book,  To The Hilt: A Sword Swallower’s Histo...