Barnum

4/28/2024

**_The life of PT Barnum in the 1800s_** Burt Lancaster stars as PT Barnum, breaking the fourth window to tell the story of the showman, author and politician who died four months shy of 81 years-old in 1891. The man is known as the best purveyor of entertainment in history, a master of sales and marketing. He entered into showmanship in New York at the age of 25 after purchasing a blind and near-paralyzed slave woman, supposedly George Washington's 161 years-old former nurse. She died a year later with an autopsy revealing that she was no more than 80. He then acquired a museum on Broadway that attracted people with exhibits, such as stuffed animals and changing live acts or curiosities, including the "Feejee" mermaid and General Tom Thumb. Barnum toured Europe with the little en