Esther Blackmon

Carnival sideshow performer Esther Blackmon was born Esther Parnell on March 5, 1926 in Kenly, North Carolina. The daughter of James Ransom Parnell and Mitchie Pleasant Parnell, Blackmon was afflicted with a hereditary disease called ichthyosis, which gave her dry scaly skin as well as rendered her completely hairless. Esther had a sister and three brothers (one of said brothers also had ichthyosis). Moreover, Blackmon was married to Thomas Blackmon and was the mother of seven children. Esther appeared in the horror films The Freakmaker (1974) and The Sentinel (1977) as well as performed in carnivals and sideshows up until 1982. She died at age 77 on August 24, 2003 in Hopewell, Virginia.