Grady Stiles | |
|---|---|
| Born | Grady Franklin Stiles Jr. June 26, 1937 United States |
| Died | November 29, 1992(1992-11-29) (aged 55) Gibsonton, Florida, U.S. |
| Other names | Lobster Boy (stage name) |
| Occupations | Freak show,sideshow performer |
Grady Franklin Stiles Jr. (June 26, 1937 – November 29, 1992) was an Americanfreak show performer and murderer. He had the genetic conditionectrodactyly, in which the fingers and toes are fused together to form claw-like extremities. Because of this, Stiles performed under the stage name "Lobster Boy."[1]
According to Grady's father, the Stiles family had a long history of ectrodactyly, dating back to 1840. Grady Stiles Jr. was the fourth child of Grady F. Stiles Sr. and his wife Edna. Capitalizing on his deformity, Grady Stiles Sr. was a sideshow attraction in atraveling carnival. After Grady Jr. was born he was folded into his father's sideshow act at the age of seven.[2] Stiles married twice and had four children, two of whom also had ectrodactyly. Stiles and his two children toured together as The Lobster Family. When not traveling with the carnival, the Stiles family lived inGibsonton, Florida,[3]: 148 where many other carnival performers lived during the winter season.
Stiles was an alcoholic and was abusive to his family.[2][3]: 149 Due to his ectrodactyly, he was unable to walk. While he sometimes used a wheelchair, he most commonly used his hands and arms for locomotion. He developed substantial upper body strength that, when combined with his bad temper and alcoholism, made him dangerous to others. Grady's first wife, Mary Teresa, left him to marry Harry Glenn Newman, a little person who was billed as the "Smallest Man in the World".[3]: 149
On September 28, 1978 inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Stiles shot and killed his oldest daughter's fiancé on the eve of their wedding, as Stiles did not approve of him.[3]: 149 He was brought to trial, where he openly confessed to killing the man and was convicted ofthird-degree murder.[4][5] He was not sent to prison as no state institution was equipped to care for an inmate with ectrodactyly. Stiles was instead sentenced tohouse arrest and fifteen yearsprobation.
Stiles stopped drinking thereafter, and during this period remarried his first wife, Mary Teresa. However, he soon began drinking again and his family claimed that he became even more abusive.
In 1992, Teresa, together with her son from a previous marriage, Harry Glenn Newman Jr., hired a seventeen-year-old sideshow performer named Chris Wyant to kill Stiles for $1,500 (equivalent to $3,361 in 2024).[6] As Stiles smoked a cigarette on the sofa while watching the videoMonkey Boy,[7] Wyant entered his home with asemi-automatic pistol and shot him in the head twice, killing him. Stiles was reportedly widely disliked in his community, so much so that only 10 people came to his funeral, and nobody volunteered as apallbearer to carry his coffin.[8]
Stiles' son, Grady Stiles III, disputes the claim that Mary Teresa had him murdered. According to him, his mother, Mary Teresa, and father were arguing. Mary Teresa had said 'Something needs to be done.' Teresa's son overheard this, and went to a neighbor and repeated those words. Mary Teresa was convicted of manslaughter; Harry Newman Jr. was convicted of first degree murder and received a life sentence, and Wyant was convicted of second degree murder and received a 27-year sentence.[3]: 150
 | This articlemay containirrelevant references topopular culture. Please helpimprove it by removing such content and addingcitations toreliable,independent sources.(February 2023) |
Fred Rosen wrote a book on the case calledLobster Boy: The Bizarre Life and Brutal Death of Grady Stiles Jr., andE! made aTrue Hollywood Story episode based on the case titled "The Murder of Lobster Boy".A&E Network also made aCity Confidential episode based on the case called "Gibsonton: The Last Side Show".
Stiles' likeness appears on the album cover forSilverchair'sFreak Show.
A person like Grady, going by the name of "Lobster Boy", appears in aDeadpool comic. Deadpool was hired to assassinate him, but fails when he figures out he is possessed byXaphan, a fallen angel, and starts possessing the souls. He was later saved by the twoGhost Riders, but at the end is shot again in the head by Deadpool for being cruel to other freaks.[9]
OnHBO'sCarnivàle, set on atraveling carnival during theGreat Depression, the central character,Ben Hawkins, is sent out by his employers to investigate rumors of a "Scorpion Boy" in a nearby town in the episode "Lonnigan, Texas".
American Freakshow: The Terrible Tale of Sloth Boy, agraphic novel published byIDW Publishing, tells the tale of Dante Browning, a carnival sideshow performer with clawed hands who, because of his abuse and cruelty to his family, is shot to death by a hit man hired by his wife and stepson while in his home inGibsonton, Florida.[10]
American Horror Story: Freak Show has a Lobster Boy character. It also includes a small statue in the likeness of Stiles in the opening credits. In addition, a snapshot of Stiles is briefly seen at the American Morbidity Museum in the third episode ("Edward Mordrake, Part I").
John Strohm wrote "Ballad of Lobster Boy," inspired by Grady Stiles and recorded the song for his 1999 albumVestavia.[11]
In his memoirTibetan Peach Pie, authorTom Robbins refers to Stiles' life and death.
American History comedy Podcast,The Dollop, did an episode in 2014 discussing Grady Stiles.[12]Killer Carnies TV show on the Discovery Plus app Season 1 episode 1 titled The Sideshow Murders tells the story of the murder of Grady Stiles Jr. AKA Lobster Boy.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
