User:Louis Diemert/sandbox

Louis Diemert (June 20, 1877 – March 28, 1951) was a costume entertainer and Mardi Gras showman who was known as Mobile, Alabama's "Man of Many Faces". From 1920 until 1950, Diemert won nearly every costume contest held by the Mobile Carnival Association and in doing so was awarded the privilege of leading many parades and local events.

Diemert's approach to Mardi Gras costuming was unique because instead of the more commonly used traditional Mardi Gras masks, he preferred to use makeup, wigs and costuming to cover his true identity. Diemert is remembered as saying he did not want to simply dress up as someone else, he wanted to become that someone else.

His early costumes were simple, but never boring - a scary witch, jolly old Saint Nick. the comic strip character Jiggs - Diemert portrayed all of these varying personas with authentic appeal. As his popularity grew, so did his desire to make a statement about the time he was living in. Diemert began basing his characterizations on real life celebrities and contemporary newsmakers. He dressed as a very convincing Haile Selassie, the emperor of Ethiopia in 1936 and in 1938, just as World War II was gearing up, Diemert decided he would become Adolf Hitler. This may have not only been his most controversial costume, it was likely his most accurate portrayal as well. He made such a convincing Hitler, spectators threw rocks and bottles at him as he walked the parade route. This led to a small feature about him in the April 3, 1939 issue of Life Magazine "Pictures to the Editors" section. This was a really big deal at the time and helped put Diemert, Mardi Gras and Mobile, Alabama on the national stage.

See also

Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama

Life Magazine

External links

http://www.orderofmanyfaces.com/

http://www.manofmanyfaces.com/

http://www.cityofmobile.org/

http://time.com/life/

https://books.google.com/books?id=lk0EAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false