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Sidney Franklin

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Athlete

The Resume

    (July 11, 1903-April 26, 1976)
    Born in Brooklyn, New York
    Birth name was Sidney Frumkin
    Matador
    Nicknamed ‘El Torero de la Torah,’ ‘the Torah bullfighter’
    Appeared in the film ‘The Kid from Spain’ (1932)

Why he might be annoying:

    He made his living killing animals for sport.
    Although he was Jewish, he participated in Catholic rituals before bullfights.
    He hid his homosexuality by inventing relationships with women in his autobiography, ‘Bullfighter from Brooklyn.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    His father would beat him over his early interest in theater, once to the point of unconsciousness.
    He was the first American to attain the status of matador.
    Ernest Hemingway praised his technique in ‘Death in the Afternoon’: ‘You will find no Spaniard, who ever saw him fight, who will deny his artistry and excellence with the cape.’
    His niece said, ‘He knew, as a gay man, that there were terrible prejudices about him in the world. He also knew, as a Jewish man, that there were terrible prejudices about him. He confronted that by being larger than life.’
    He said, ‘If you’ve got guts, you can do anything.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 17 Votes: 76.47% Annoying