Lillian La France (1894–1979) was billed as the world's foremost woman motorcycle stunt rider,[1] one of a handful of female stunt riders in the 1920s and 1930s.[2]
Lillian La France | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1894 Kansas, USA |
| Died | May 8, 1979 |
| Other names | Agnes Micek (name at birth) |
| Occupation | Motorcycle stunt rider |
| Known for | Wall of Death |
Born Agnes Micek[1] in Kansas, USA and billed as "The Girl Who Flirts With Death", La France started riding the Wall of Death carnival sideshow and motordrome in 1924 at the age of 30. She used a 'skull and crossbones' logo, and was skilled at riding motorcycles and driving four wheel vehicles, and was the first person to ride a wall in a scaled down midget racing car.[3] She was one of the first and most popular female wall of death riders of the 1920s and '30s. At the time, walls of death were often called silo-motordromes.
She later became the operator of a long range shooting gallery.[4]
Cinema
edit- Advice To Adventurous Girls, Director Kim Wood, 1998.
Popular culture
edit"Wall of Death" was a song by Richard and Linda Thompson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcFhyy2kgdo
References
edit- ^ a b Hoaxes, humbugs and spectacles: astonishing photographs of smelt wrestlers, human projectiles, giant hailstones, contortionists, elephant impersonators, and much, much more! Mark Sloan, Roger Manley, Michelle Van Parys, Villard Books, 1 Nov 1990
- ^ The Harley-Davidson Reader. Michael Dregni, Hunter S. Thompson, Sonny Barger, Evel Knievel, Jean Davidson, Arlen Ness. MotorBooks International, 7 Feb 2010
- ^ Evel Knievel and other Daredevils, Scalzo, Joe. Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader. Dominion Enterprises, April 1995
- ^ Midway Confab, Billboard 26 Sep 1953
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