Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twins born in Brighton, England, shared blood circulation on February 5, 1908, but had separate organs. Tragically, they both caught the flu at different times and passed away, leaving one of them with her sister’s lifeless body for several days.
The story of Daisy and Violet Hilton is a tragic one. Born in Brighton, England, on February 5, 1908, they were conjoined twins who shared blood circulation but had separate organs. Their mother, Kate Skinner, was an unmarried barmaid who sold them to her employer, Mary Hilton. Sadly, Mary exploited the Hilton sisters for financial gain, exhibiting them at pubs and even resorting to physical violence to make them successful performers.
Conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton passed away at different times, leaving one of them to remain with her sister’s lifeless body for days
Despite their difficult start, the Hilton sisters began touring Britain as The United Twins when they were three. Soon, they travelled abroad to Australia, Germany, and the US, captivating audiences with their unique bond. When Mary passed away, the girls were bequeathed to Mary’s daughter, Edith Myers, and her husband, Meyer.
As performers, Daisy and Violet Hilton were in high demand, and their act was reportedly one of the highest-grossing in Vaudeville, earning an impressive $5,000 a week, equating to around $75,000 in today’s money. However, the Myers, now their guardians and managers, took most of the earnings, leaving the sisters with little to show for their hard work.
The girls were sold to a woman named Mary Hilton, who exploited them for financial gain
To stand out from other conjoined twins in the entertainment industry, the Myers pushed Daisy and Violet to relentlessly practice the violin, clarinet, piano, and saxophone, honing their skills and improving their act.
However, the sisters eventually had enough, and in 1931, they sued their guardians/managers and became legally emancipated. The following year, they made their big-screen debut in the MGM drama horror film “Freaks”, which followed the lives of performers in a travelling French circus.
As the popularity of Vaudeville entertainment dwindled in the 1920s and 1930s, Burlesque shows began to take centre stage. To stay relevant, Violet and Daisy had to adapt their act. They started playing ukuleles, singing harmonies, and even partially stripping. Unfortunately, their rebranding efforts failed to capture the audience’s attention, and they were even booed off stage on more than one occasion.
The sisters’ last public appearance was at a drive-in theatre in Charlotte, North Carolina, during the 1960s. However, their tour manager disappeared suddenly, leaving them without financial support and forcing them to look for alternative ways to make a living. It was a difficult time for the sisters, who had spent their entire lives in show business and had little experience outside of it.
The Hilton Sisters would go on to perform Vaudeville and burlesque shows
Daisy and Violet were then hired at a grocery store in Charlotte, where they worked for seven years. It’s believed their employer designed a two-person cashier/weighing station for them so that customers couldn’t tell that the sisters were conjoined.
On January 4, 1969, police forced the door of their home open after the twins failed to show up for work at the store or answer calls from their concerned co-workers.
The twins succumbed to the Hong Kong flu in 1969, with Daisy passing away between two to four days before her sister
There, officers discovered the lifeless bodies of the twins near a furnace vent, where they had crawled in an effort to keep warm. An autopsy later revealed that Daisy had contracted the Hong Kong flu first, succumbing to it between two to four days before her sister also fell victim to the same illness. Also known as the 1968 flu pandemic, the Hong Kong flu is among the deadliest pandemics in history, killing between 1 and 4 million people globally in 1968 and 1969.
Violet didn’t call for any help during the time she spent living next to her deceased twin. The sisters passed away at age 60.A musical based on the Hilton twins, “Twenty Fingers, Twenty Toes,” was produced in 1989 and ran for 35 performances. Daisy and Violet’s story inspired the 1997 Broadway musical “Side Show,” which received four Tony nominations.
