Well before Evel Knievel or Hollywood stuntmen, reality television or the X Games, North America had a long tradition of stunt performance, of men (and some women) who sought media attention and popular fame with public feats of daring. Many of these feats - jumping off bridges, climbing steeples and buildings, swimming incredible distances, or doing tricks with wild animals - had their basis in the manual trades or in older entertainments like the circus. In "The Thrill Makers", Jacob Smith shows how turn-of-the-century bridge jumpers, human flies, lion tamers, and stunt pilots first drew crowds to their spectacular displays of death-defying action before becoming a crucial, yet often invisible, component of Hollywood film stardom. Smith explains how these working-class stunt performers helped shape definitions of American manhood, and pioneered a form of modern media celebrity that now occupies an increasingly prominent place in our contemporary popular culture.
- ISBN10 0520270894
- ISBN13 9780520270893
- Publish Date 1 May 2012 (first published 1 April 2012)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of California Press
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 282
- Language English