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262:"It started spinning real bad. After a while the people started getting so impatient that we went ahead and dropped him," said a worker who asked that his name not be used. "Just as we started to release the barrel, it started spinning again." Instead of landing in the center of the tank, the barrel struck the rim and splashed in..
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in
Hamilton to test its shock absorbence. Soucek's custom-made barrel was 9 feet (2.7 m) long and 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter. It was bright red and bore the words, "Last of the Niagara Daredevils - 1984" and "It's not whether you fail or triumph, it's that you keep your word... and at least
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On
January 19, 1985, as Soucek was enclosed in his barrel, 180 feet above the floor of the Astrodome, the barrel was released prematurely and began spinning as it fell toward the floor. Instead of landing in the center of the tank of water, the barrel hit the rim. Foam pads which had been placed at
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Soucek was fined $ 500 for performing the stunt without a license. He had also spent $ 15,000 on materials and labor and $ 30,000 to film the stunt, but quickly earned back all his costs from sales and interviews. Having tasted success, Soucek decided to build a museum at
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The crowd applauded at first, thinking the stunt was successful, said Brian Becker, a spokesman for Pace
Management Corp., which promoted the show. But a hush spread quickly when paramedics were called and Soucek was taken away in an ambulance. He died early Sunday at
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the bottom of the tank to cushion Soucek's fall had floated to the surface before the barrel was released. Soucek, severely injured, was still alive when he was cut from the barrel but died while the
Astrodome stunt show was still going on. Stuntman
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Soucek's grave at
Drummond Hill Cemetery. The inscription reads: "It is better for a person to take chance from life than to live in that gray twilight and know not victory nor defeat. – Karel Soucek"
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1,000 feet (300 m) above the cataract of
Niagara Falls with Soucek inside. In seconds, the barrel was swept over the brink. Shortly after, Soucek emerged bleeding but safe.
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in which to display his stunting paraphernalia. He convinced a corporation to finance a barrel drop of 180 feet (55 m) from the top of the
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by researching previous attempts, by sending unmanned barrels over the falls to test the currents, and by dropping his barrel off the
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had tried to persuade Soucek not to go through with the stunt, calling it "the most dangerous I've ever seen".
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210:"Karel Soucek's barrel July 2, 1984 - being towed to shore"
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Soucek in the barrel in which he went over
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try!" On July 2, 1984, the barrel was rolled into the
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117:List of inventors killed by their own invention
87:into a tank of water to pay for his project.
32:(April 19, 1947 – January 20, 1985; né
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54:Soucek prepared for his 1984 Niagara Falls
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16:Czech-born Canadian stuntman (1947–1985)
367:Inventors killed by their own invention
275:"Daredevil Buried Near Horseshoe Falls"
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145:"Niagara Falls Daredevils: a history"
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171:Warwick, Peter D. A. (Spring 1995).
307:News video of fatal Astrodome stunt
247:from the original on March 10, 2020
178:Invention & Technology Magazine
372:People who went over Niagara Falls
362:Filmed deaths in the United States
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47:in a barrel in 1984. He lived in
352:Czechoslovak emigrants to Canada
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147:. Niagara Falls Thunder Alley
337:Accidental deaths from falls
214:Niagara Falls Public Library
181:. Vol. 10, no. 4.
173:"Over the Falls in a Barrel"
36:) was a Czech professional
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342:Accidental deaths in Texas
112:Over the Falls in a barrel
347:Canadian stunt performers
357:Filmed deaths from falls
100:Niagara Falls, Ontario
81:Niagara Falls, Ontario
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243:. January 21, 1985.
283:. February 1, 1985
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60:Niagara Escarpment
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260:Ben Taub Hospital
236:Los Angeles Times
183:American Heritage
85:Houston Astrodome
49:Hamilton, Ontario
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187:the original
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34:Karel Souček
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30:Karel Soucek
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332:1985 deaths
327:1947 births
321:Categories
287:January 1,
251:August 18,
193:August 18,
151:August 18,
123:References
102:, Canada.
42:went over
245:Archived
106:See also
38:stuntman
312:YouTube
280:AP News
56:stunt
289:2020
253:2012
195:2012
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