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Do you think they should have done this? Or maybe more importantly, do you think they should have filmed themselves doing it?

A story that both breaks my heart and warms me at the same time.

Edit: [u/EphemeralTypewriter](u/EphemeralTypewriter) provided more info and facts about Mary Ann; be sure to check their reply :D

Second Edit: Their reply was unfortunately removed, so here it is:

“Here are some facts about her:

-she worked as a nurse for much of her early life and quit that profession when she got married in her late twenties to a man named Thomas Bevan. Together they had 4 children.

-early on in her marriage, Mary began experiencing symptoms of acromegaly These symptoms included painful headaches, worsening eyesight and swelling in her hands, feet and face. Her acromegaly symptoms, including the joint pain, prevented her from going back into nursing.

-she was described as having a very lovely smile and voice.

-she entered herself into an “ugliest woman contest” in October of 1919 and didn’t win. In an interview with her a few months later she explained that the public was on her side and wanted her to win, but the judges weren’t on her side. This is what she said,

"That is," she explained, "I was and I wasn’t (declared the winner). The public was for me but the judges were against me. But it was all a dirty mess. First prize went to whom do you think? -the wife of the manager of the contest."

-she began her sideshow career in the spring of 1920. And sold over 5,000 postcards of herself during a tour through Scotland in 1921. She was very successful during her sideshow career and earned around $50,000 in the 1920s (the equivalent of about $925,000 today adjusted for inflation)

-she was very outspoken when it came to negotiating and demanding fair pay. She once sued her managers over unpaid work hours and drew up a new contract that put into writing, “that she was not to be required to exhibit herself in any manner otherwise than clean and presentable and that she was not to be required to expose herself unduly to public gaze." She was granted a portion of the money she requested as part of her unpaid work hours.

-she had a great sense of humor and enjoyed joking around with people, both about sideshow life and more general things.

-in the fall of 1922, she entered herself into another beauty contest and did win the title of “ugliest woman”, and here are her thoughts on the experience:

“Twenty quid and a blue ribbon they gave me, and I had my photograph taken with the mayor of Canterbury, and the mayor of Newcastle and the mayor of Hull. Yes, twenty quid I got and the young girl that won the prize for the prettiest only got ten pounds. Why they gave me twice as much I never found out, but I didn't worry about it at all."'

-she was known for being very kind and really enjoyed showing pictures of her children to visitors. She was especially proud when her son went into the British navy. This paragraph from an article in The Washington Herald from April 25th, 1923 perfectly sums it up:

“Four of them I have, and all
are dears. And they're not like me, they're pretty children. Wait, I’ll show you a picture of the girls." and she digs back of the platform for her bag. And sure enough, the photograph shows Mrs. Bevan between two comely school girls with their hair tied up in ribbons. They are twelve and fourteen years of age. The oldest boy, age eighteen, is in the British navy, and at present stationed at Constantinople, Mrs. Bevan states with motherly pride.”

-when asked if any of her children wanted to follow her footsteps in the sideshow/circus industry, she said jokingly,

“No, no! One prize winner in the family is enough.”

-she was a beloved figure in her home city.”

Here's an article detailing the whole thing. Judge sides with New York taqueria in lawsuit over spicy salsa

He went on to explain that most actors and indeed most entertainers are gig workers. For every a-lister many other actors work gig to gig and having steady work and a steady income that pays well is really hard because the field is so unpredictable. And many actors including many well know actors and artists have to have a secondary source of regular income between gigs and for most working entertainers it means getting a regular job and taking whatever roles you can get.