Violet Hilton(1908-1969)
- Actress
Born to a barmaid, Violet and her conjoined twin sister
Daisy Hilton were raised by the midwife who
delivered them. This woman, Mary Hilton, saw her meal ticket in the
curly-haired babies and trained them to perform. The girls were
ill-treated and kept in a state of poverty until they arranged a
private meeting with a lawyer at the age of 23. They then became their
own managers and remained popular vaudeville performers until live
shows were replaced by motion pictures. After performing in
Freaks (1932) and
Chained for Life (1952), Violet
and Daisy fell into poverty and obscurity. They were found dead in
their apartment when their employer, a grocer, reported that they
hadn't shown up for work. They left no known survivors.
