Ronnie and Donnie Galyon
Encyclopedia
Ronnie and Donnie Gaylon (born October 28, 1951) are two American conjoined twins, who hold the current record for the oldest conjoined twins.
They were born at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Dayton, Ohio
, on October 28, 1951, to Wesley and Eileen Galyon. They were born as conjoined twins
even though Eileen was not expecting twins at the time. They are joined from the sternum to the groin and share a set of organs, so they cannot be separated. According to the 2009 Guinness Book of World Records, the Galyons are the oldest living set of conjoined twins in the world. They have never been to a “normal” school because it was feared that they would cause a distraction. With nine children to support, their father, Wesley, made the difficult decision to take the twins on the road as a sideshow attraction. The boys were exhibited in sideshows throughout their childhood in the U.S. and later in Latin America
. Their tours made them celebrities and brought them fame and - comparative - fortune, with which they were able to support the rest of their family. In 1991, after three decades of work, the pair retired and moved into their first independent home. They live on their own in Dayton, Ohio, in a house they bought with their sideshow earnings, but are heavily reliant on their younger brother Jim for help. To ensure the twins live as normal a life as possible, Jim and his wife Mary regularly take them out for breakfast at a local diner.
Although they are retired from show business, they occasionally make appearances on television. They appeared on The Jerry Springer Show
in 1997, a Discovery Channel
documentary
in 1998 and a Channel Five documentary in 2009. On December 22, 2010, TLC premiered "The World's Oldest Conjoined Twins Move Home". 58-year-old Ronnie and Donnie Galyon, the world's oldest conjoined twins, nearly died last year and now need round-the-clock care. Their small house of 20 years is no longer fit for independent living. So their younger brother Jim offers to move them in, but the home he shares with his wife Mary is not big enough. In desperation, Jim turns to the local community in Ohio to help build an addition to their house for Ronnie and Donnie. "The World's Oldest Conjoined Twins Move Home" followed the family through ups and downs as the twins grapple with everyday tasks and documents the local community coming together to build an addition to accommodate the recently expanded families' needs.
They were born at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, on October 28, 1951, to Wesley and Eileen Galyon. They were born as conjoined twins
Conjoined twins
Conjoined twins are identical twins whose bodies are joined in utero. A rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 50,000 births to 1 in 100,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southwest Asia and Africa. Approximately half are stillborn, and a smaller fraction of...
even though Eileen was not expecting twins at the time. They are joined from the sternum to the groin and share a set of organs, so they cannot be separated. According to the 2009 Guinness Book of World Records, the Galyons are the oldest living set of conjoined twins in the world. They have never been to a “normal” school because it was feared that they would cause a distraction. With nine children to support, their father, Wesley, made the difficult decision to take the twins on the road as a sideshow attraction. The boys were exhibited in sideshows throughout their childhood in the U.S. and later in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. Their tours made them celebrities and brought them fame and - comparative - fortune, with which they were able to support the rest of their family. In 1991, after three decades of work, the pair retired and moved into their first independent home. They live on their own in Dayton, Ohio, in a house they bought with their sideshow earnings, but are heavily reliant on their younger brother Jim for help. To ensure the twins live as normal a life as possible, Jim and his wife Mary regularly take them out for breakfast at a local diner.
Although they are retired from show business, they occasionally make appearances on television. They appeared on The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...
in 1997, a Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
in 1998 and a Channel Five documentary in 2009. On December 22, 2010, TLC premiered "The World's Oldest Conjoined Twins Move Home". 58-year-old Ronnie and Donnie Galyon, the world's oldest conjoined twins, nearly died last year and now need round-the-clock care. Their small house of 20 years is no longer fit for independent living. So their younger brother Jim offers to move them in, but the home he shares with his wife Mary is not big enough. In desperation, Jim turns to the local community in Ohio to help build an addition to their house for Ronnie and Donnie. "The World's Oldest Conjoined Twins Move Home" followed the family through ups and downs as the twins grapple with everyday tasks and documents the local community coming together to build an addition to accommodate the recently expanded families' needs.
External links
- Biography
- World’s oldest conjoined twins, The Sun, 07 Mar 2009
- http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/12/21/worlds-oldest-conjoined-twins-move-home-premieres-wednesday-december-22-at-8-7c-on-tlc-380504/20101221tlc01/#ixzz18toZ4j2n