Lulu Hurst was married to her manager, Paul Atkinson, at her home in Cedar Valley, Georgia, in 1887. This effectively ended her performing career. She was 18 years old, and had been billed as The Georgia Wonder since she was 14, an apparent psychic marvel. Using a cane or a simple chair, she could challenge a group of men from the audience to push her off balance or lift her up. They invariably failed and lost their bearings, tumbling to the ground. Lulu later explained that she learned she was using leverage, but as a teenager had been convinced of her supernatural abilities. Born Lula, her famous nickname of Lulu was responsible for the etymology of the popular slang term, categorizing someone or something as “a lulu.” Indeed, Miss Hurst was the original lulu, a showbiz sensation.
Image courtesy of Jim Steinmeyer