Lucio and Simplicio Godino

Today is the birthday of Lucio and Simplicio Godino (1908-1936). This pair of Filipino conjoined twin brothers were first exhibited in Coney Island as boys until thwarted by the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. As they had no legal guardian, they were adopted by the Philippine ambassador to the U.S., who gave them an education, and they actually learned to play several sports and several musical instruments. In 1929 they married an (nonconjoined) pair of Filipino identical twins and formed a vaudeville act that consisted of patter, music and dancing. In 1936 Lucio died of pneumonia. The pair were successfully separated (the first time this had ever been done), but unfortunately Simplicio died as well a few days later (of cerebro-spinal meningtitis).