The Cash Value Of Body Parts

When Asylum says it's not unusual to insure your chest hair, you know they're talking about Tom Jones, right?

He's not the first to insure body parts.

Insuring body parts seems to have begun with koogle-eyed silent film star Ben Turpin, who in the 20's bought a $20,000 policy to protect himself from loss should his his signature crossed-eyes go straight. Two decades later, Jimmy Durante insured his signature nose for $50,000 and Marlene Dietrich bought a $1 million policy on her throaty voice. Betty Grable's million dollar legs were insured for just that, while poor Fred Astaire's were a mere $75,000 per leg (additional $20,000 on his wrists and arms).

The insuring of sexual attributes has become standard. Dolly Parton insured her infamous 42-inch breasts for $600,000, and Poh, a Thai transvestite performer, who, when told that if she flew to an appearance in Edinburgh her breast implants could explode at high altitude, insured her breasts for $500,000. It's so common for Brazilian celebs to insure rear-ends that insurers there coined such policies 'bumbum policies'.

Frankie Jakeman, a British stripper, insured his penis for $1.6 million in 1987. Jakeman, who appears to be be this Frank Jakeman from Quality Indigo (see also here and listings at the Promises Agency), apparently was only working in the adult entertainment industry to own his own zoo. This, naturally, after having been a zoo keeper from 1974 until the the late 70's.

Jakeman's book, Being Frank: The Story of Britain's Number 1 Male Stripper, is now on my list. (And if anyone's got/found images/video of Jakeman, please do send/post!)

But maybe Frank should have insured his hair.

Surely now, Tom's chest hair insurance seems less titillating -- but I still want a few hairs for my scrapbook. Don't look at me that way.

For more on insurance policies for body parts see this article at Insure.com.