Babbs, Speedy
Name/Title
Babbs, SpeedyTags
Specialty CompetitionDescription
- An internationally famous motorcycle stunt rider who performed all across the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean - Popularized the “Globe of Death,” performing gravity-defying stunts inside a small metal globe, riding a specially modified Indian Arrow motorcycle - Built the tallest motordrome (“Wall of Death”) of his era, which stood 16 feet tall inside the cylinder Louis “Speedy” Babbs was a pioneering stunt motorcyclist who was famous for riding his “Globe of Death” at fairs and carnivals across America from the 1930s through the 1960s. Babbs performed his act well into his 60s and made appearances domestically as well as in foreign countries. Babbs was born in Providence, Ky., on October 27, 1905. Raised in a poor family, he went to work in the coal mines at a young age, just like his father did. He started riding motorcycles when he was 18. In 1925, Babbs moved to Southern California with his family. He was always attracted to the movies and started hanging around the Hollywood studios looking for work. He was eventually hired as a stuntman and often performed stunts on motorcycles. Around this time, he began his short-lived racing career. Babbs put his racing career in perspective in a 1965 interview in Cycle magazine: “I was never a serious threat to anyone winning a race,” Babbs recalled. “That’s why I became a drome rider. There was no competition.” Along with his Hollywood stunt work, Babbs also took to the skies as an airplane wing walker and stunt parachutist. Parachuting nearly cost Babbs his life. On July 4, 1932, Babbs was hired to jump from a plane at night off the coast of Santa Monica, Calif., shooting off fireworks while he was soaring through the air. Embers from the fuse of the first rocket fell into the basket he was using to carry the other fireworks and they all exploded at the same time. Thousands of spectators lining the shore were horrified to watch Babbs falling into the ocean totally engulfed in flames. Fortunately, speedboats were nearby and they reached Babbs before he drowned, though he suffered serious burns in the accident. In 1929, Babbs began riding a motorcycle in a motordrome (essentially a greatly oversized barrel where the riders would gain speed and ride on the barrel’s wall) at Ocean Park Amusement Pier in Venice Beach, near Los Angeles. While he performed other types of stunts, motorcycle stunt riding would become Babbs’ primary focus over the next three decades. Babbs rode in motordromes all over the country through the late 1940s. At one point, he built the tallest drome of the era, which was 16 feet tall inside the cylinder. In the early 1950s, he began touring with an additional contraption: a large, steel-framed sphere he called “The Globe of Death.” Fans would watch in amazement as Babbs performed all sorts of tricks inside the globe, including making loops upside down. Babbs traveled across the country in a specially modified Greyhound bus, performing at fairs and carnivals. He often worked from 10 a.m. to the wee hours of the next morning, only stopping long enough to bring in a new audience between performances. Babbs became so popular that he was invited to perform in Canada, Mexico and throughout the Caribbean. Once, while performing in Haiti, he noticed a commotion and watched all the spectators move away from the platform as a big group of armed guards came in. He thought he was in the middle of a revolution, but it was only President Estime of Haiti, along with many high-ranking government officials, who had come to watch Babbs perform. Babbs suffered numerous injuries during his long stunt-riding career. At one point he estimated that he had broken more than 60 bones. In one particularly humorous accident, Babbs was riding a newly built drome made from green wood that was still slick. Inside the drome with him was a rhesus monkey riding on a go-kart. Babbs slid on the slick wood and crashed, causing him, his motorcycle, the monkey and the go-kart all to land in a heap at the bottom of the drome. Babbs said the monkey was mean to begin with, and once he got free from the wreckage, he started biting Babbs’ legs. When asked by fans if he was afraid he might be killed performing his act, Babbs would glibly reply, “Do you plan on leaving this world alive?” Babbs continued stunt riding through the late 1960s, until he was forced into retirement after suffering two hard crashes in a row in 1968. Babbs died in Florida in 1976 — reportedly passing peacefully in his sleep.Category
Class of 1999