Did the DeMoulin Bros. have any significant competition in the realm of “burlesque and side-degree paraphernalia”?
CS: There were other companies that made similar goats and spanking paddles, but none came close to the Rube Goldberg-like machines of mayhem which DeMoulin cranked out so artistically. Competition for costumes and outfits was considerably greater. Others merely copied the DeMoulin machines. CT: Do you know if there were ever any serious or fatal injuries reported or suspected from using any of these contraptions? CS: I have only one heard grim, vague whispered rumor of a man — fifty years ago — having a heart attack after being dumped onto an electrified carpet and getting jolted — but this could be apocryphal. I certainly would expect that there were dozens, and probably HUNDREDS of horrible injuries and events that followed the ordering of these potentially lethal super-gags. There were lawsuits. There is no proof of a death — as yet. John Goldsmith says, “People were tougher back then. They were hardier and could endure the pain.” [Charles Schneider photographed at the DeMoulin Mus
