Teodoro A. Valenzuela
1886 - 1924
bornTempe, Arizona, USA
SchooltblData
BiographyPorter for E. Lohmann, 1906.Clerk for J. A. Valenzuela, 1913.
Worked in various downtown Tempe amusement halls, including a pool hall at 404 S. Mill, and his own two-table pool hall in East Tempe in 1921.. He also operated a shoe shine stand. In 1918, he went to work for a Los Angeles motion picture company, but quite after a few weeks because his excessive weight (he weighed 645 pounds) wouldn't permit him to get around fast enough for the movies. In 1921, he signed a contract with R. J. McIntyre to be featured in a Long Beach, California, side show exhibit as the "fattest man on earth," also known as "Tom Ton." He planned to close out his business in Tempe in the fall of 1921, and move with his wife and children to California in January 1922. His wife, Leona, traveled with him as a gypsy fortune teller. In 1923 was with Snapp Bros. Shows.
Lived on 3rd Street in East Tempe (1910), at Dewey and Center (1911), and at 325 E. 6th Street (1915).Lived at 402 Dewey Ave in 1921. With Snapp Bros Shows in 1923
BIO-Estrada
BIO-Valenzuela
Federal census (Tempe), 1900, 1910
TDN, 26 Apr 1971
Ralph Estrada obit, TDN, 5 Oct 1979
Pete Estrada obit, TDN, 11 Jul 1980
Painter Scrapbook
Tempe CD, 1905-1921, -23
Florence Catholic Church, marriage register, 1876
Charles Sigala Coll., THM
Person TypeIndividual
