Heroes of entertainment: Joseph Pujol, Le Petomane

In the final decade of the 19th Century Sarah Bernhardt was a star of the Parisian stage. She as well as actor Lucien Guitry and actress Gabrielle Rejane were sure fire attractions that would ensure enormous box office takings. One artiste, however, eclipsed them all. That artiste was Joseph Pujol.

One day Pujol walked into the Moulin Rouge and demanded to see Zidler, the director. He did so with such confidence that the secretary showed him into see him immediately. "I am Le Petomane” he said “and I want an engagement in your establishment." When Zidler asked for an explanation, he calmly replied, "You see, sir, my anus is of such elasticity that I can open and shut it at will. . . . I can absorb any quantity of liquid I may be given. . . I can expel an almost infinite quantity of odourless gas.” Pujol was hired and a star was born.

Pujol discovered his talent not long after leaving school. He had a strange experience while swimming in the sea – putting his head under water and holding his breath he felt an icy cold penetrating his rear. Running ashore, he found there was water pouring from his anus. When he joined the army he performed for his fellow soldiers sucking water up from a pan and then projecting several yards. He also found that he could suck in air as well. After leaving the army Pujol decided to try his talent on the stage, and debuted in Marseille in 1887. His act was successful and in 1892 he went to Paris where he was hired....

Pujol could play a flute through a rubber tube in his anus, farting the sound of cannon fire (Gunners, Stand by your guns... Ready! Aim! Fire!) a dressmaker tearing two yards of calico as well as farting La Marseillaise. Pujol left the Moulin Rouge after two years (they had sued him after he gave an impromptu exhibition to help a friend in economic trouble), and set up his own show called the Theatre Pompadour Pujol retired from the stage at the start of World War I, horrified at its inhumanity, and returned to his original trade as a baker. He died in 1945, aged 88.

A feature film, il petomano was made in the 80s but the screen version I remember and love was a British comedy short starring Leonard Rossiter. Although never released on video or DVD it is now available on You Tube (but not embeddable) courtesy of the official Leonard Rossiter website It is well worth watching.

The Complete Le Petomane Film

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Joseph Pujol, the fartiste a reprint of an article that originally appeared in RE/Search in 1994 is well worth reading

I daresay I will come back to Pujol: I am awaiting a biography by Jean Nohain and D Caradec to land on my door mat.