Frank "Cannonball" Richards was an American carnival and vaudeville performer whose act involved taking heavy blows to his stomach. Richards began by letting people punch him in the gut. Dempsey hit him in the stomach a reported total of seventy-five times. He then progressed to letting people jump on his belly, being struck by a two-by-four, being struck by a sledgehammer, and finally being shot by a 104-lb. cannonball from a spring-loaded 12 ft. cannon. Richards limited his cannonball act to twice per day, as performing it more often was too painful.
Early life
Frank Anson Richards was born to Richard Jones Richards and Ellen Elizabeth Richards on February 20, 1887, in the Ottawa County town of Minneapolis in the state of Kansas. He had two siblings, sister Rose May Richards and brother Edwin H. Richards, both of whom would later end up in Long Beach, California as well. Before he became a performer, Richards served in World War I.
Career
Prior to 1924, Richards joined the theatrical world of vaudeville, creating an act for himself by exhibiting how much "punishment" his stomach could take. These included being hit in the solar plexus with a sledgehammer, battering rams, and allowing people to jump on his stomach. He also allowed champion boxer Jess Willard to punch him in the gut, to prove its strength. Richards's most famous act involved him being shot in the gut with a cannonball weighing over one hundred pounds. He performed this act twice a day during the peak of his career, but more than that was too painful.
Richards died on February 7, 1969, at the age of 81. He died in Long Beach, California, where he had been living for many years. He was buried at the Pomona Cemetery and Mausoleum in Pomona, California.
A short clip of Richards performing his cannonball trick has become a well-known example of stock footage and well known in popular culture. In the episode "The Chip " of the cartoon television show "Freakazoid!, the well-known stock footage clip was first played with a narration describing Richards's feats. It was also used in the 1977 documentary "Gizmo!," the episode "Fairly OddBaby" of "The Fairly OddParents", and in the episode "Chuck versus the Fear of Death" of "Chuck", as well as being referenced in the "Seinfeld" episode "The Apology". In its most notable usages, it was made into a parody in the "Homerpalooza" episode of The Simpsons, which shows Homer Simpson becoming a carnival freak doing Richards's act, but quitting after it is revealed it would kill him to keep going. Other uses include a still image from the clip being used for the cover of the albumVan Halen III and stuntman Preston Lacy reenacting the trick in the opening to Jackass 3D.
