Biography: Joseph Carey Merrick, often incorrectly called John Merrick, was an English man with very severe face and body deformities who was first exhibited at a freak show as the "Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital after he met Dr. Frederick Treves, subsequently becoming well known in London society. Merrick's life was depicted in a 1979 play by Bernard Pomerance and a David Lynch film in 1980, both titled "The Elephant Man."