The thrill makers : celebrity, masculinity, and stunt performance / Jacob Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Jacob, 1970-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Stunt performers--United States--History.

Stunt performers.

Daredevils--United States--History.

Daredevils.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (283 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2012.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1. The Adventures of the Bridge Jumper

Chapter 2. The Adventures of the Human Fly

Chapter 3. The Adventures of the Lion Tamer

Chapter 4. The Adventures of the Aeronaut

Conclusion

Notes

Further Reading

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9786613587251

9781280492020

1280492023

9780520952362

0520952367

OCLC:

792684983