Watch Joie Chitwood’s Original Auto Daredevils perform death-defying crash-and-burn stunts in this great old Ford Motor Company film.
We have to salute the entrepreneurial spirit of auto thrill show impresario Joie Chitwood (1912-1988). Taking over the daredevil show of the late Lucky Teeter in 1942, Chitwood turned crash-and-burn stunts into a big business, with as many as five touring crews at once roaming the country to fill a thousand event dates a year. We’ve featured several of his thrill show films here before and in reviewing them, we were once again impressed with his ability to secure major sponsorship deals from multiple auto manufacturers—including both Ford and Chevrolet at different times. Wherever, we suppose, he could cut the best deal.
In this eight-minute For Motor Company film from 1951, we can easily see how the automaker found value in the Chitwood performance. The ramp jumps, rollover contest, and wall-of-fire stunts were sure to keep the state-and-county fairgoers riveted to their seats. And for the kids, Chitwood even provided a troupe of professional clowns. A race driver and stuntman by trade but a master showman by nature, he knew how to entertain the pre-television audience. And meanwhile, Ford could play up the durability angle as the cars were tested far beyond their usual limits, as in this show at the Florida State Fair in Tampa. Video below.
Joie Chitwood drove in seven Indianapolis 500 races, best finish 5th three times. In 1941, he was the first driver in history to use a seat belt at the Brickyard…
Auto thrill shows were a few of the things my old man took me to see at State Fair Park in Milwaukee as a kid. I think he, like most, wanted to see them crash. I remember Joie Chitwood, but it should be noted, Lucky Teter wasn’t so “lucky,” and crashed a 1938 Plymouth attempting a 150 jump over a transport truck at 65 mph in Indiana,, landing several feet short and crashed into the opposite ramp support and died on the way to the hospital. He was 41. I seem to remember another, and that was “Lucky” Lee Lott that used Ramblers. Contrary to the video, the cars were significantly reinforced, and packed in the crowds.
There was a minor downside to those shows,,you know, monkey see, monkey do, and upon returning home, a jump track of sorts, was built hastily in the alley and we would jump our bikes. Oh, we took many a lump, but all in good fun. I remember a familiar doctors joke, “who do you think you are, Joie Chitwood?”
I witness this type of driving everyday on the Garden State Parkway.