Vaudeville specialty performer. Cairo-born Hadji Ali was known as "The Great Regurgitator" and "The Egyptian Enigma," entertaining audiences on both sides of the Atlantic with his unique ability to swallow objects, then bring them up at will. He would ingest various objects such as live goldfish, peach pits, costume jewelry, watches and lit cigarettes, and then bring up specific items at an audience member's request. One of his most popular routines involved drinking copious amounts of water followed by kerosene. He would then spew out the kerosene at a stage prop, lighting it on fire, then spout huge streams of water to douse the flames. He can be seen on film in "Strange As It Seems" (1930) and "Politiquerios," the Spanish-language version of Laurel and Hardy's "Chickens Come Home" (1931). Hadji Ali died at the Victoria Hotel, Victoria Square in Wolverhampton, England of cardiac failure due to myocarditis and influenza. His grave marker in the National Vaudeville Association plot shows his date of burial, Dec.9, 1937.
Vaudeville specialty performer. Cairo-born Hadji Ali was known as "The Great Regurgitator" and "The Egyptian Enigma," entertaining audiences on both sides of the Atlantic with his unique ability to swallow objects, then bring them up at will. He would ingest various objects such as live goldfish, peach pits, costume jewelry, watches and lit cigarettes, and then bring up specific items at an audience member's request. One of his most popular routines involved drinking copious amounts of water followed by kerosene. He would then spew out the kerosene at a stage prop, lighting it on fire, then spout huge streams of water to douse the flames. He can be seen on film in "Strange As It Seems" (1930) and "Politiquerios," the Spanish-language version of Laurel and Hardy's "Chickens Come Home" (1931). Hadji Ali died at the Victoria Hotel, Victoria Square in Wolverhampton, England of cardiac failure due to myocarditis and influenza. His grave marker in the National Vaudeville Association plot shows his date of burial, Dec.9, 1937.
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