human
cannonballs - from the pasthuman
cannonballs - from the past
There is an early account (1875)
of a performer named George Loyal, with the Yankee Robinson Circus,
who is reported to be the first person to be fired from a cannon.
This circus ad appeared in a 1881, Wilmington, NC newspaper
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There is more recorded history about a person being shot from a cannon in England, circa 1877. And yes, it was a girl, (14) called "Zazel" (Rossa Matilda Richter). She went on to tour with the P.T. Barnum Circus. Unfortunately (as some stories are told), during one of her performances, she broke her back and had to spend the rest of her life in a back brace. Since then, dozens of brave (?) souls have been propelled from cannons at speeds up to 90 mph and as far as 201* feet at a height of 100 feet. They endure "G" forces of around 12 G's when hitting the net. More than half of these entertainers were killed while performing their act, most by missing the net. New York State even issued a law prohibiting anyone from being shot from a cannon.
The most famous family, the Zacchini's, (over 35 members) devoted their entire life to this entertainment starting in 1922, coming to the US in 1929. At times, (1939 to 1991) they had as many as 5 traveling shows with 14 cannons. The Zacchini's introduced launching two people simultaneously from the same cannon. Aside from the original five brothers who took flight, eventually two of their daughters also became human bullets (Duina and Egle Victoria). Hugo was the last of the family members to take flight on August 29, 1991. The Zacchini's also suffered several serious accidents, including one, where two of them collided in mid air having been simultaneously shot from opposing cannons.
* Worlds record (201 feet), August 2002 / David Smith (The Smith family travels, performing this show)
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This entertainment continues today by a
handful of male & female performers. Recently (February 9, 2002) , Ermes
"the Human Cannonball" Zamperla was injured when he missed the
air bag target by some 25 feet during a show at the Florida State Fair. He flew about
100 feet. Ermes has been doing this for 20 years. His
brother, Atos Zamperla, filled in a couple days later to complete the
show. |
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Mary Connors, 21, England - Misses target (August 1974) |
...and how do they work? It's a circus trade secret!
We just heard about the human cannon ball who wanted to retire from his
circus job.
"But you can't quit the show after all these years," moaned the circus
director. "Where else can I find a man of your caliber?"
Most pictures below are from the
1920's 30's,
40's & 50's.
Click on them to view larger.
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Cannon-Mania receives several requests each year to build a "Human Cannonball Cannon". We don't build them, as no one on the staff is willing to try it out...
But, ... if you are looking for one
can help.
Also, if you are looking for a Human Cannonball act... we can help arrange one.
Serious inquires only! Click here!
If
your looking for a smaller human cannon ball cannon to practice with, we have
one! Click here!
Click on "Home Fort" below to
see the rest of the features of this site.
The "Arsenal Store"
shows the cannons we offer.
