In 1933, Ben Dova (yeah …) the Drunk Daredevil performed his acrobatic act on the roof of New York’s 56-story tall Chanin Building without nets, wires, or camera tricks.
Links: YouTube clip | Article at The Human Marvel – Thanks J. Tithonus Pednaud!
Paul Lagasse
Interesting trivia: Ben Dova was the stage name of Joseph Spah, who was a passenger on the Hindenburg on its last voyage in May 1937. Spah’s acrobatic skills saved his life in the disaster, for as the zeppelin caught fire and began to crash, Spah leaped out a passenger window, caught a landing line, and shimmied down. He had to let go because the line was too short, and in falling the last few feet he badly injured his ankle. But he survived, recovered, and continued performing for several decades.
Chris
Fletcher Henderson’s band playing King Porter Stomp was the best part. Man, that band could swing!
J. Tithonus Pednaud
Paul,
Quite true, and detailed in my article over at http://www.thehumanmarvels.com.
He was also accused of orchestrating the Hindenburg disaster. The captain himself made the claim and that stigma followed Dova for decades.
Foog
Just because there was no CGI at the time, doesn’t mean there were no camera tricks. Once he got on the lamp-post there were no clear shots of him actaully dangling over the endge of the building. just some clever editing and camera angles to make it look like he was.
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jonno
