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Elizabeth Green the Stork Woman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elizabeth Green, also known as Betty Green, was a sideshow performer who was presented to audiences as a human stork during the early 1900s. According to Tod Browning she was a Jewish woman who owned six blocks of flats. A genetic condition was responsible for her unusual features; she also suffered from mild mental retardation. Her large, long nose and thin bone structure earned her the "Stork-Woman" title.
Green was the actual "first" Koo-Koo the Bird Girl and toured with Ringling Brothers Circus. Hers was mainly a comedy act and it involved her dancing around in a feathered body suit with large bird feet and a long feather on her head. Some claim Green was used at the entrance of the circus, being one of the "less weird looking" freaks, in order to catch the attention of passers by. She has also been referred to as "Molina the Pinhead" however this was probably only to differentiate between her and Koo-Koo the Bird Girl, on the Freaks set, who had a similar character.
She is most prominent for her appearance in Browning's 1932 film Freaks as the "stork-woman." At the time she obtained the role, Minnie Woolsey had also received the billing of Koo-Koo the Bird Girl. Although it is unknown what Betty thought of her new competition, she afterwards returned to her role as Koo-Koo the Bird Girl. Minnie is most commonly associated with the billing because it was she, rather than Elizabeth Green, who was featured in the infamous table dance scene.