Stanley

Stanley is a con-artist who is working with Maggie Esmerelda to gain access to the Freak Show. He is a character in Freak Show portrayed by Denis O'Hare. He often works under false names and wears disguises. He'll do anything for a quick buck, even if it means murder.

Background

Stanley confesses to Jimmy Darling when he is in jail that he lost his mother at a young age, which leads him into trouble, however, it is uncertain whether or not this is true.

Stanley met Maggie in Kansas City in 1941, where she was stopped by a police officer for theft. Stanley quickly took the opportunity to defend her by stating that she was his child and was aiming to get into the character of Oliver Twist for a stage production. Stanley took Maggie under his wing, training her how to best be a thief/con-artist. He paid her 10 cents to the dollar, which was a payment Maggie couldn't refuse, he also gave her food and lodging.

Personality and Appearance

Stanley is a con man with a quick disguise set up for his next scheme. He is driven by greed and seems to have no moral qualms about inflicting pain and putting others in danger for his own financial gain. Stanley is homosexual. Stanley has what some may see as his own "freak" quality, possessing a very long penis.

Story

Stanley works for the American Morbidity Museum, along with Maggie, under the disguise of medical connoisseurs, in which he tries to convince the curator to buy what he claims to be "a genuine sasquatch fetus," to which she readily dismisses as a fake. With the money drying up, he and Maggie find and attend Elsa Mars' freak show, with Stanley now pretending to be an agent from Hollywood, which immediately attracts Elsa. Using Maggie’s façade as a fortune teller, he uses her as his inside woman to scope out potential money making victims.

With his dark antics, Stanley is primarily (albeit indirectly) responsible for the death of Ma Petite by blackmailing Dell Toledo. He is also responsible for the loss of Jimmy’s hands, and for sawing Salty's head off after his death - ironically one death he was not responsible for. Once Maggie came clean about her conspiracy with Stanley and his crimes were discovered by the remaining freaks, they proceeded to mutilate him by sawing off his limbs and dressing him as Meep - keeping him caged as punishment. His ultimate fate remains unknown, although it is implied that either the remaining freaks or Dandy Mott finished him off at some point.

Quotes

To Maggie Esmerelda: "Nobody cares what happens to a freak."

To Dell Toledo: "quiet slapping of two penises waggling in the wind"

Notes

This is the third character to be portrayed by Denis O'Hare. The first was Larry Harvey in Murder House and the second was Spalding in Coven.

Stanley's mutilation in "Show Stoppers" is similar to that of Cleopatra's in the 1932 film Freaks.

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References

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