The Fart Heard Round the World. An extraordinary performer, who farted for his living for 20 years, Le Pétomane (YouTube) was the highest paid stage artist of his time in 1897 France. He farted songs, impressions of people, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and farm animals, among other things. The management of Moulin Rouge had to hire nurses to help members of the audience who passed out laughing so hard. He was pusued for many years by an obsessed doctor. Two movies were made about his life in English, the 1979 short film (33 minutes) of Le Pétomane (Google video) and in 2005 Parti Avec Le Vent, which translates as Gone With the Wind. [more]
posted by nickyskye on Aug 20, 2006 - 39 comments

(FPA: First Post Alert) A century or so ago, there lived a French baker with a most prodigious talent. He was also one of the Moulin Rouge's most successful performers (sorry about that, Nicole Kidman). In 1974, Mel Brooks gave him a sly homage in Blazing Saddles that blew over the heads of most theatregoers. And now, sadly, his fame and talent has been mostly forgotten to the ages. His name was Joseph Pujol, aka Le Petomane ("The Fartiste"), and in opposition to today's world of increasingly strict decency standards (and promotion of the unmanly pimpf lifestyle), the legend of this bellowing* blowhard deserves to live on.

*Warning: Salaciously-questionable graphic at the top of this link's page - click on one of the latter three links if you are of a delicate constitution or in a workish environment.
posted by dakotadusk on Jun 21, 2004 - 17 comments