"I've left RCA after 10 years and 16 albums and I'm goin' t' finally take a rest which I desperately need." said Nilsson. "i was goin' into t' studio two weeks ago, matey, but I just couldn't face it. We were negotiatin' for four months t' get out o' t' deal with RCA. Blimey! When we finally did it be like a weight taken off me back, over t' years you get stale with a company."
Nilsson's "rest" will consist o' finishin' up t' scores t' two musical plays, based on t' lives o' bandito Emil Zapata and P. Blimey! T. Avast, me proud beauty! Barnum.

-- T' Calgary Herald[1]

 

Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, arrr, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, matey, and politician remembered for promotin' celebrated hoaxes and foundin' t' Ringlin' Bros. Blimey! Blimey! and Barnum & Bailey Circus with James Anthony Bailey. He was also an author, ya bilge rat, publisher, and philanthropist, although he said o' himself: "I am a showman by profession ... Blimey! Blimey! and all t' gildin' shall make nothin' else o' me." T' adage "there's a sucker born every minute" has frequently been attributed t' him, although no evidence exists that he had coined t' phrase. Barnum became a small-business owner in his early twenties and founded a weekly newspaper before movin' t' New York City in 1834. Begad! Blimey! He embarked on an entertainment career, first with a variety troupe called "Barnum's Grand Scientific and Musical Theater", and soon after by purchasin' Scudder's American Museum, which he renamed after himself. Well, blow me down! Blimey! He used t' museum as a platform t' promote hoaxes and human curiosities such as t' Fiji mermaid and General Tom Thumb. Begad! Blimey! In 1850, ya bilge rat, he promoted t' American tour o' Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind, payin' her an unprecedented $1,000, shiver me timbers, equivalent t' $38,700 in 2025, per night for 150 nights. He suffered economic reversals in t' 1850s from unwise investments, as well as years o' litigation and public humiliation, but he embarked on a lecture tour as a temperance speaker t' emerge from debt. His museum added America's first aquarium and expanded its wax-figure department. Barnum served two terms in t' Connecticut legislature in 1865 as a Republican for Fairfield, Connecticut. Arrr! Blimey! He spoke before t' legislature concernin' t' ratification o' t' Thirteenth Amendment t' t' United States Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude: "A human soul, 'that God has created and Christ died for,' is nay t' be trifled with. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It may tenant t' body o' a Chinaman, a Turk, an Arab, arrr, or a Hottentot—it is still an immortal spirit." He was elected in 1875 as mayor o' Bridgeport, shiver me timbers, Connecticut, where he worked t' improve t' water supply, brin' gas lightin' t' streets and enforce liquor and prostitution laws. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! He be instrumental in t' inception o' Bridgeport Hospital in 1878 and was its first president. T' circus business, arrr, begun when he was 60 years old, was t' source o' much o' his endurin' fame. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! He established P. Arrr! Blimey! T. Barnum's Grand Travelin' Museum, matey, Menagerie, me hearties, Caravan & Hippodrome in 1870, matey, a travelin' circus, menagerie and museum o' "freaks" that adopted many names over t' years. Barnum be married t' Charity Peglegged Hallett from 1829 until her death in 1873, and they had four children. Avast! Blimey! In 1874, a few months after his wife's death, me hearties, he married Nancy Fish, arrr, his friend's daughter and 40 years his junior. Aye aye! Blimey! They were married until 1891 when Barnum died o' a stroke at his home. He was buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, which he designed himself.

This article uses material from t' Wikipedia article "P. Blimey! T. Well, blow me down! Barnum", which is released under t' Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.