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The
Great Omi (1892-1969)
The
Great Omi was one
of the most popular
showmen of his
time. He was tattooed
over much of his
body including
his head and face,
which had bold
black zebra-like
stripes. Sometimes
referred to as
the "Zebra Man",
Horace Ridler,
(his real name)
was born in Surrey,
England around
1892 to a wealthy
family. He served
twice in the British
Army as a commissioned
officer, but left
the military after
the First World
War, at the rank
of major.
Ridler may have gotten some tattoos
during his many years in the British
Army, but in 1922 Ridler decided
that show business was his life.
He approached a tattooist who claimed
to be Chinese and started turning
himself into a tattoo attraction.
This early tattooing was rather
crude, but Ridler was able to make
a modest living at music hall and
fairgrounds
But Horace Ridler had bigger plans!
In 1927 he first visited London's
famed tattooist, George Burchett,
with a plan that would transform
him into the greatest modern tattoo
attraction in the world. After
much discussion and written approval
from both Horace and his wife Gladys,
Burchett took on the work.
The design of the wide black stripes
would cover his old work and, by
Burchett's account, 150 hours later
Horace Ridler became The Great
Omi. As soon as the tattoo work
was completed the job offers rolled
in from Bertram Mills Circus, Robert
Ripley's "Believe It Or Not", Ringling
Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus and
the Bellevue Circus, to name a
few. Gladys Ridler worked with
her husband and became the Omette,
introducing the Great Omi to the
audiences of the world.
As the years wore on the Omi's
appearance became more and more
outrageous. He took to wearing
lipstick and nail polish and signed
his pitch cards, "Barbaric Beauty".
Despite his appearance, "underneath
it all, I'm just an ordinary man," he
insisted shortly before his death
in 1969.
Tattoo Archive © 2003
See
a postcard and a pitch card of the
Great Omi in our
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