Daredevils stunt crashing success the seattle times. This descendant from the cherokee indian tribe was most famous for the joie chitwood thrill show a stunt troop that inspired a young evil knievel. Joie chitwood chevy thunder thrill show green tea break. Aug 22, 2015 deathdefying auto stunts were 50s draw. Milligan pressed the backup later painted red, white, and blue into service doing more astrospiral jumps with the thrill show until about 1979 or 1980, but the actual stunt car never jumped again and remained in milligans private museum.
Shipping to the usaeach additional item is 25 cents. He also performed as an automobile stunt man for films including the 1950 mgm film to please a lady. Sep 07, 2019 chitwood also competed in the indianapolis 500 seven times between 1940 to 50, finishing as high as fifth three times. My new passion is collecting buyingselling vintage race cars and thrill show memorabilia. But here it is, currently offered for sale by pro team corvette.
Joies stunt show continued on for over fifty years with his sons joie ii, joie iii and tim chitwood taking over once joie sr. Joie chitwood was the first driver to wear a seat belt at the indy 500 in the 1941 race. Thrill drivers choice joie chitwood and the 1956 chevrolet the. Chitwood also competed in the indianapolis 500 seven times between 1940 to 50, finishing as high as fifth three times. Chitwood was also an indianapolis 500 starter from 1940 to 1950 but the success of his travelling show including national network television coverage persuaded him to give up racing. The thrill drivers choice in 1956, joie chitwood thrill show drivers exclusively drove chevrolet cars 1956 chevy stunt driving the joie chitwood thrill. Nov 11, 2015 chitwood, timothy harris 65, passed away from complications from heart surgery oct. On december 22nd, chick galiano, a 34 yearold stunt driver, guided the javelin through a nearperfect test.
Joey chitwood stunt driver autographed first day cover ebay. Only chitwoods clowns and the announcer, al zany dohany. Joie thats the correct spelling had started out as a dirt track driver before moving up to nascar. He drove both cars and motorcycles, jumping over anything people asked him to. The owner of the car asked joie if he wanted to try driving it.
The joie chitwood thrill show was an exhibition of auto stunt driving that became so successful, chitwood gave up racing his racing career. Jun 06, 2017 we know that stunt drivers captivated audiences early in the 19th century, but perhaps no stunt team will ever top joie chitwoods thrill show for notoriety and spectacle. After receiving his degree in mechanical engineering from the university of. Rivers was a five year veteran of the joey chitwood auto thrill show before he came to hollywood in 1976. Gene came across the companys publicity materials and provided copies of those to allpar. Joie chitwoods indianapolis thrill show car and driver. The first guy to make it popular and perform stunts using newer cars, opposed to barely running wrecks from junkyards, was a driver from noblesville, indiana, with the ironic nick. Joie chitwood 19121988 was an american indian cherokee who became an automobile racer and participated in the indianapolis 500 race several times. He founded the joie chitwood thrill show, which is still running.
Mar 19, 2014 1956 chevrolet promotional film w stunt driver joie chitwood 87644 duration. Currently, the only traditional newcar stunt show in the united states is. Chevrolet stunt driving the joie chitwood thrill show. Joie chitwood auto thrill show good luck coin token i combine shipping. The 2005 racing season was joie chitwood iiis first as president of the indianapolis motor speedway, and it seemed at times to mimic the famous automotive daredevil and. The 2005 racing season was joie chitwood iiis first as president of the indianapolis motor speedway, and it seemed at times to mimic the.
The lead image shows a staged parade of aut swensons thrillcade passing through downtown when it was performing in springfield, missouri in the midfifties. Currently, the only traditional newcar stunt show in the united states is the black cat hell drivers, produced by johnny wisner. Nov 01, 2005 the 2005 racing season was joie chitwood iiis first as president of the indianapolis motor speedway, and it seemed at times to mimic the famous automotive daredevil and stunt show his grandfather. A native of texas who started racing on dirt tracks in kansas, chitwood was a stunt driver for movies such as the clark gablebarbara stanwyck classic, to please a lady, and played the role of.
Aut swensons thrillcade jumbo of all thrill shows the. Famous daredevil drivers and stunt show stars from the past 100 years. Texasborn george rice joie chitwood was an auto racer and stunt driver who operated traveling exhibitions for around four decades. We know that stunt drivers captivated audiences early in the 19th century, but perhaps no stunt team will ever top joie chitwoods thrill show for notoriety and spectacle. All but one of these photos was taken by dodges professional photographers. Loren bumps willert joined joie chitwoods auto thrill show as a mechanic the day after he graduated from high school, in 1953. After filming wrapped, both the stunt car and its backup returned to orchard park. A 1956 chevrolet joie chitwood thrill show commercial. Joie iii is the grandson of joie chitwood, the daredevil driver who founded the joie chitwood thrill show. Send questions, comments or booking inquires to chris and tim. Mike as joie chitwood 1985 miami supercops stunt driver. The next night, willert did the slide for life, where the stunt man lowers himself off the back of a speeding car and slides on his posterior through a circle of flamin. Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
Beidler wants to know if there was a chitwood connection to reading. Celebrating the individuals effort to attempt the frivolous and risky behavior that identify them as free thinkers while escaping any serious injury. Feb 12, 2016 ford motor company supplied cars and financed chitwood for several years until the mid 50s when chitwood switched to chevrolet after unsuccessfully trying plymouth for a year. Loren bumps willert joined joie chitwood s auto thrill show as a mechanic the day after he graduated from high school, in 1953. From there the joie chitwood thrill show was born with its first performance taking place on july 4th 1943 in pennsylvania. The chitwood racing operation was located in reading from the late 1940s to the 1960s, when joie moved it to tampa, fla. I was reading about the era of automobile thrill shows just yesterday.
Tips are appreciated to help in acquiring and sharing these types of oneofa kind videos. Lucky teter hell drivers a dangerous show from the 1930s. Incredible driving stunt team footage from the 50s. Chitwood thrill show corvette is an incredible piece of. Chitwood also operated the joie chitwood thrill show, an exhibition of auto stunt driving that became so successful.
Then, after two more manned jumps, the ramps were shipped to houston where the first public performance of the stunt would be in the astrodome in front of about 45,000 people on january 12, 1972. Incredible driving stunt team footage from the 50s video encodings still in process. Joey chitwood and his stunt driving team tell why they used chevys. From 1976 to 1978 he appeared as a stunt driver or stunt coordinator in four movies including moving violation in 1976. For a time he was a hollywood stunt driver and appeared in a minor role in to please a lady starring clark gable and barbara stanwyck in the 1950 film about auto racing. Buy 10 items in a single purchase and shipping is free. Evel knievel credits joie chitwood for inspiring him to become a stunt rider after seeing the chitwood auto thrill in his home town of butte, montana in the 50s. Purchased by race car driver joie chitwood of thrill show fame, its actually pretty amazing that this 1958 corvette still exists at all. Joie chitwood and his death defying hell drivers 1940s rare 8mm film footage from. He started the joie chitwood hell drivers but also kept a busy nascar schedule, and it 1949 he got a big break when he was featured in the clark gable and barbara stanwyke film to please a lady a semiautobiographical film about a racing driver who leaves competitive motorsport to join the joie chitwood auto stunt show. Dec 03, 2017 he started the joie chitwood hell drivers but also kept a busy nascar schedule, and it 1949 he got a big break when he was featured in the clark gable and barbara stanwyke film to please a lady a semiautobiographical film about a racing driver who leaves competitive motorsport to join the joie chitwood auto stunt show. These shows, joey chitwoods danger angels, dan fleeners thrill show, jack kochmans hell drivers and many more were featured at county and state fairs across the country. Chitwood, timothy harris 65, passed away from complications from heart surgery oct. Joie chitwood was a well established racer prior to starting his own thrill show business.
Joie chitwood iii is ceo of international speedway corporation. Joie chitwoods 1956 chevrolet educational film rod. See more ideas about joie, dodge vehicles and 1958 corvette. Watch the joie chitwood thrill show in its heyday roadkill. May 16, 2016 the lead image shows a staged parade of aut swensons thrillcade passing through downtown when it was performing in springfield, missouri in the midfifties. These promotional films for chevrolet feature the thrill shows hell drivers wailing on thennew chevys with formation driving, jumps, two. Automobile daredevils and thrill shows tokens and medals. A punk rock group, humorously called the bus boys, is stealing from the patrons of tourist buses to get money for a demo record. Joie chitwood stunt driving institute home facebook. The joie chitwoods hell drivers show started just after the second world. They were driving new 69 camaros and corvettes chevrolet began supplying cars to the chitwood i believe in 55. A racecar driver from texas who competed in the indy 500 multiple times, joie chitwood gave up his racing career. After wwii he bought the ramps and cars from stunt driver lucky. Pov on two wheels daredevils this clip is available for licensing without time.
The thrill driver s choice in 1956, joie chitwood thrill show drivers exclusively drove chevrolet cars the joie chitwood thrill show drivers joie chitwood thrill show. Starting just after world war ii, chitwood and his stunt teams took their show on the road in front of thousands, perhaps millions, of gaping audience members. And bonnie plans to leave her job on the force and join up with her former boyfriend, crazy ray conner, the stunt driver with the joey chitwood thrill show. Carson started when he was, leading the people of the joey chitwood stunt show into believing he was 16. Rogers was a stunt driver in movies, tv commercials, and the show route 66, and had appeared in over 4,000 thrill shows by 1964. Mar 01, 2012 joie iii is the grandson of joie chitwood, the daredevil driver who founded the joie chitwood thrill show.
Profile for racing driver joie chitwood from united states. It was a good publicity stunt, and it made good reading, the elder chitwood recalled. Famous daredevil drivers and stunt show stars from the past 100 years joie chitwood. Joie chitwood was inducted into tampa bay walk of fame in 1990. When making multiple purchases please use the shopping cart. Mike as joie chitwood 1985 miami supercops stunt driver 1983 smokey and the bandit part 3 stunts as joel s. Starting just after world war ii, chitwood and his stunt teams took their show on the road in front of thousands, perhaps millions, of. The joie chitwood s hell drivers show started just after the second world war in the usa as a traveling spectacle seen by hundreds of thousands of americans each year. Shipping worldwideeach additional item is 50 cents. Joie chitwood and his death defying hell drivers 1940s rare. George joie chitwood started his career behind the wheel in the midthirties racing sprint cars in the midwest. Dec 31, 2018 famous daredevil drivers and stunt show stars from the past 100 years. He was formerly the president of daytona international speedway, and prior to that president of the indianapolis motor speedway.
Thrill drivers choice joie chitwood and the 1956 chevrolet. Joie chitwood was born on april 14, 1912 in denison, texas, usa as george rice chitwood. The joie chitwood thrill show featured his hell drivers doing amazing vehicle stunts and demonstrations to live audiences for over forty. Ford motor company supplied cars and financed chitwood for several years until the mid 50s when chitwood switched to chevrolet after unsuccessfully trying plymouth for a year. Chitwood didnt invent the thrill show and nobody knows exactly who did. He is the grandson of former indy 500 driver and businessman joie chitwood. A racecar driver from texas who competed in the indy 500 multiple times, joie chitwood gave up his racing.