Timeline 1950

1959

THE STOBE CAMERA CATCHES JAKE PLUMSTEAD IN A RAMP TO RAMP LEAP IN A 1959 DODGE SEDAN.

1956

Was there twin Jasper the clown??? "King Kovaz" better known as "Jasper the Jerk" considered the Number 1 thrill show clown. His unpredictable antics tend to relieve the tension between each thrill stunt offered by the International Auto Daredevils. Kochman wasn't blind to the marketing capabilities of the automobile thrill show business, and he started a long-standing sponsor relationship with tire companies and a major automobile manufacturer. With the popularity of the auto thrill show growing, Kochman started production of a second thrill show team in 1957 and a third in 1960. Promoted as the “One Legged American Champion Movie Stunt Daredevil,” Ken Butler and his troupe of crash drivers thrilled audiences across the East Coast. Butler retired from the auto thrill show circuit during World War II, only to come out of retirement on a bet with a friend in the mid- 1950s when he was nearing 50 years of age.

WALTER "KING" KOVAZ the internationally famous Thrill Show clown.

BOB CONTO general agent.

1955

Joie Chitwood

1954

The "FLAMING ATOMIC CRISSCROSS LEAP" here pictured with NEIL HAMILTON and, GEORGE PATTON at the wheel, two automobiles race down the track toward the rampways.

1951

NEAL LOTT beginning a high-ski during show at Pekin,Illinois 1951

NEAL LOTT talks to cameraman during the making of a promotional movie for the Nash motor company in Peoria, Illinois 1951.

1950

B.WARD BEAM'S WORLD CHAMPION DAREDEVILS AUTO LEAP COMPLETELY OVER TRANCONTINENTAL BUS.

 

B.WARD BEAM'S WOLD CHAMPION DAREDEVILS Mid-Century YORK Inter-State FAIR'S Terrific Windup.

Beam continued to operate at state and county fairs into the late 1950s, but it was Teter who added the precision driving of new automobiles over elevated ramps. The cars did reverse spins, and stuntmen were added to the show to act as daredevil clowns.