Omaha daily bee., 1915-04-29
Deeds of Daring in Mo vies
Cleveland 5Offstt in American Magazine

- Cleveland AGoffstt in American nagazins -
Tx THE spring Of 1919. while George and Ernest
Williamson down in the West Indies their
submarine shariS-kng expedition for the movies. as
already related they made some motion picture studies
Of diver In q divers suit working A. the bottom Of
the ocean. and George Williamson posed quite ofte
for these pictures before motion picture camera
under the water.
In the manner Of a professional. he put the
helmet and ponderous costume and descended TO a
convenient wreck while two natives pumped air TO
him down the hose-and had their motion pic
lures taken at the same time. Unfortunately. the
natives became much interested in this picture
taking that at moment they quite forgot 70 pump
thus leaving George williamson fifty feet below the
surface with no breathe. Had not Ernest seen
the danger and leaped TO the ~ IL likely that
Georges career would have ended suddenly for a
divers life like snuffed candle ~ the air
hose fails
Another case was related to me by Harry Benhan,
a OF the Thanhouser company who was nearly
killed few months ago while posing in "A Man
without Fear thrilling melodrsma In the course
OF which he imprisoned by anarchists in the cabin
OF coal barge real barge that lay at New Rochelle
being used Having burst his bonds. Harry crept
along the over piles OF coal and finally. seeing
no other way Of escape, esped upon great steam
coal shovel that Just swinging its black load
toward the shore whereupon swede who was operat-
ing the derrick and hosting machine, and who had
been watching the pursuing bandits with bullying eyes
lost his sef-possession that he pulled the
leasing lever at the moment, and suddenly
Benham at the top Of flight felt the coal falling
away beneath him and found himself dropping down
with through the opened shovel Fran
ticay he chung the timbers above him and yelled
10 the Swede. who now. in his agitation, closed the
scoops violently that the actors wriggling less
Just missed being sheared off by the massive Jaws
Many other motion picture artists have had ex-
citing experiences Niagara Falls but the film taken
July 25. 1911. by Walter Arthur, veteran camera
msa OF the vitagraph company easily ranks a
record daredevil achievement here, II shows
the actual passage over the falls OF Bobby Leach,
the only who ever performed this feat and lived
describe his sensations And Bobbys description is
rather vague since unconscious in his barrel
during OF the trip
For years before this GREAT adventure Leach had
followed adventurous Mreer as Snowman and
acrobat. He had made many balloon asrensions and
had dropped often parachute. from the height
OF two miles had dived from the great Suspension
bridge 2oe feet high that spans Niagara river and
four times he had gone safely in specially con-
structed barrel through the whirlpool rapids. where
Captain Webb lost His life Finally after years OF
hesitation he made up his mind that II was possible
for go the great cataract in barrel and
i've and. IL so. he, Bobby Leach, was the man TO do
Il In vain his friends and his wife Cshe a little
restaurant near the falls the Canadian sde) tried
to dissuade him The thing could be done he declared
and he was going to do It. Al this time Leach was
white-haired man well over fity
There we're two things he could do to help his
chances: he could provide the best kind Of barrel
him the failh ana he could select an
vantageous point for launching tits barrel For weeks
he experimental with kegs. beer barrels ana hogs
heads setting these adr from various points in the
river above the falls from the American side, from
the Canadian SIDE this that island, and then
following their tumultuous and drawing what
conclusions he could from them In acme cases ne
placed animals In the barrels,-a cat. dog. or q
chicken TO see II living creatures could 60 through
that rage OF and survive. but they never did
This did not deter the enthusiast however. and he
proceeded 20 perfect his barrel which was made OF
auarter-inch iron plates with manhole on one side
and heavy iron that could be oofted IN place
after Bobby was inside TO make the craft water
tight Near one end was hole about an inch In
diameter stopped up by champagne cork with nail
driven through It and cord tied to the nan so tnat
Bobby could pull the cork out from the inside and
perhaps get little air n he found himself suffocatins
Az a matter OF fact he touched this cork dur
ing the swift journey because he tainted away whom
the barrel took its great plunge
Another camera artist who has had many adven-
lures In motion picture work II Carl Gregory veteran
camera man OF the ThanhOuser company,
'One Of the first big motion picture stunts re-
member" he said. was when sent White steam
automobile at full speed the seepest part OF the
Palisades and let IL smash down with wicked noble
man inside played by a dummy. seoundrel who
had ehoked and beaten his young and beautiful Ameri
can wife and had fiercey pursued her when she was
rescued by gallant American lover In his AUTOMOBILES
There five operators With cameras ready watt
| ing for the smssh-up. one man at the top or the
PALISADES 20 get the precipice and four of US down
al the bottom the shore the Hudson river With
our machines pointed at various steep angles When
we heard the director shout. we began turning our
machines and each OF us rot section OF the fal
| We had filled up the steamers tank with gasoline
in the hope that It would explode in the air as Il
turned and. sure enough II. did got picture
showing the automobile shooting straight out from
the rock WALL then turning clean somerssut. then
| with a smash OF black smoke blowing itself into
| thousand pieces. One OF these, a heavy chunk Of
steel whlxzed by my head and buried itself in the
! ground We gave the wreck to policeman who
sold It for go"
In facing dangerous motion picture situations when
ever the director assigns them TO some hazardous
| role That by the way. Il an Interesting element
/ in the motion picture business. the desire OF tho
artist to please the director II young woman with
the real motion picture zeal In her Is asked to appear
| in a photo-pay as snake eharmsr with real snakes
co,ed about her the chances are that will steI