Grady Stiles Jr. was a fourth-generation member of the Stiles family born with ectrodactyly, a rare hereditary condition documented in the family as far back as the 1840s. The condition caused the fingers and toes to fuse, forming claw-like limbs that became the defining feature of the family’s public identity. His father performed in traveling carnivals, and Grady followed the same path from an early age, becoming widely known as “The Lobster Boy.”
As an adult, Stiles performed alongside his two youngest children under the name The Lobster Family. Behind the scenes, however, his life was marked by severe alcoholism and domestic abuse. In 1978, on the eve of his eldest daughter’s wedding, Stiles shot and killed her fiancé, an 18-year-old whom he resented after being insulted by him. Stiles later claimed self-defense and was convicted of third-degree murder. Due to the lack of prison facilities equipped to accommodate his condition, he was sentenced to house arrest and fifteen years of probation.
In 1992, Stiles’ wife Mary and her son Harry Glenn Newman arranged for his murder, hiring fellow sideshow performer Christopher Wyant for $1,500. Wyant fatally shot Stiles in the back of the head while he was watching television in his trailer. Stiles was 55 years old.
His funeral was sparsely attended, with only ten people present. No one volunteered to serve as pallbearers. The coffin was adorned with a floral arrangement bearing a ribbon that read, “From your loving wife.” Prison records later noted that Mary had a tattoo bearing Grady Stiles Jr.’s name.
Stiles’ son, Grady Stiles III, was also born with ectrodactyly and continues the sideshow tradition today. He and his sister Cathy publicly discussed their father’s legacy during a 2014 television appearance.
Silver Round Details
Contains 1 oz troy of .999 fine silver
Obverse: Portrait of Grady Stiles with the inscription “THE LOBSTER BOY”
Reverse: Circus tent backdrop with the inscription “FAMOUS CIRCUS SIDESHOW ACTS” and hallmark along the lower circumference
