Adam West NOT Shot Out Of A Cannon???

[Steve Rosinski]

Ian:

Not sure if the first picture is the cover of the program or some sort of advertisement. Do these look familiar to you?

[EmergencyIan]

They do not look familiar, but I was quite young in 1977. Those are not from the circus program, but advertisements for the circus, in 1977, featuring Adam West as Batman. They're neat! Where did you find them? By the way, the circus program was sold at the gate or once you were inside Roberts stadium.

- Ian

[Jimmy L. 66]

If Adam is center ring, where is cannon or net? Should we see that maybe? I assume he flew length wise.
Also, the pic of Adam and lil clown looks like the inside of a trailer, possibly the one he is outside of ?
Facebook post has both side by side.
On the yellow program, is that the Batman they used for advertising in 77? He seems like a different Era, the news ad Batman matches the banner pictured.
Great pics coming out in this thread!

[EmergencyIan]

If Adam is center ring, where is cannon or net? Should we see that maybe? I assume he flew length wise.
Also, the pic of Adam and lil clown looks like the inside of a trailer, possibly the one he is outside of ?
Facebook post has both side by side.
On the yellow program, is that the Batman they used for advertising in 77? He seems like a different Era, the news ad Batman matches the banner pictured.
Great pics coming out in this thread!

Yeah, it had to be length wise. I can't tell you I remember that detail anymore. That was probably set up during the intermission, which I assume was in the middle of the circus. So, it was all probably sitting in the dark background until it took place. In saying that, you know how that goes...you may see the cannon and net, from time to time, but you're not sure exactly what either is for until it all comes together during the act. Pictures likely still exist but those people with them haven't been attracted to the Facebook threads or to this site and this thread...while some of the photographs have likely been lost to time. In saying that, I don't ever recall many people in the audience taking pictures during the circus. There probably was a restriction on flash photography for the safety of the performers and animals.

- Ian

[EmergencyIan]

Here are two, more recent, pictures from Roberts Stadium. (It closed down in 2011 and was torn down in 2013..opened in 1956)

From one of the Shrine Circuses:


When the basketball court is set up:


Grand Finale 1960, at Roberts Stadium:


And, November of 1958, The Zacchinni's who made their living being shot from a cannon...that year at the Hadi Shrine circus at Roberts Stadium.


See those tunnels at each corner? The cannon could have been rolled out of one of those just before the act? I don't know. If not, it was set up at intermission and in the shadows until the end of the circus.

- Ian

[John Mack]

Looks like we have another thread here:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5886

[Steve Rosinski]

Looks like we have another thread here:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5886

Yeah, I started a new thread because it was a different circus in Michigan in 1967, The Dobritch International Circus.

[Steve Rosinski]

In the absence of an actual photo of the cannon launch, may I present these for now?

[EmergencyIan]

This is a picture of the cannon and the human cannon ball at the Hadi Shrine Circus in Evansville at Roberts Stadium in 2011. So, it's no stretch to think what Adam said on A&E's biography wasn't true or accurate. We see that they were doing it there, at least, as early as 1958 and all the way to 2011. I personally recall seeing it at the Hadi Shrine circus numerous times over the decades, at Roberts Stadium, in Evansville.


- Ian

[Steve Rosinski]

Just a quick note that Burt Ward appeared solo as Robin at the Shrine Circus in Evansville, Indiana on Thanksgiving Day weekend in 1966.

[Clavier Ankh]

If Adam is center ring, where is cannon or net? Should we see that maybe? I assume he flew length wise.

From the side of Robert's Stadium that I was sitting on, the cannon was on the left, the net was on the right.
I don't remember Adam putting on (or taking off) a extra helmet, but a kid lighting the cannon fuse sounds familiar. Maybe the boy who lit the fuse in the show that I was at was the kid Adam picked out of the crowd to be his "Robin"

[MattHawes]

I hope my fellow board members don't mind me resurrecting this thread, but I have some information which may prove useful about this particular subject. I was born in Evansville, and live here to this day. I also attended the 1977 Hadi Shrine Circus to see Adam West as Batman. I was 8-years-old, and so my memory of the event is somewhat fuzzy, adding that it was also over forty years ago, but I have no recollection of West being fired out of a cannon.

I actually found this forum some years back when I was looking up the West appearance on Google, looking for photos, etc., in general relating to that show. Recently, a discussion on a Facebook group lead me to once again go digging on the 'Net, and once again I found this thread. This time, with some added information and recollections. The question of whether or not Adam West was actually fired from a cannon led me to do some research beyond what I could dig up online. Being in Evansville, I had access to the microfiche files from the local libraries of local newspapers that go back to the 1800s, so I knew I could locate at least a few articles on this event, and I did. I am currently writing up a long entry for my blog, which will detail my personal experience with trying to meet West at that circus, and about my investigation of this whole affair with the cannon.

A couple of other members here said they recall the act, if doing so with differing details. Memory can be a funny thing, and especially so when trying to recall something from your youth. I must say, there is absolutely no evidence in any articles or photos I have seen and read that indicate Adam West was fired from a cannon. I asked my mother, and she didn't recall such a thing. Sadly, my father and one of my brothers have since passed, and one of my two living brothers is younger than I am and unlikely to clearly remember what happened. However, my oldest brother is still with us, and he was 12 -years-old at the time. He said he didn't recall this cannon act, either when I talked to him earlier today.

I held off on talking with my older brother, because he is a busy man. I decided that I would text him, instead. He responded by calling me, and gave the answer I mentioned above. While he was on the phone, though, I decided to ask him if he could get more information on that appearance. You see, my brother is set to become the next potentate (i.e. "the big guy") of the Evansville Hadi Shriners. In other words, he has pretty much direct access to some information on this matter. He told me one of his fellow Shriners that is still with the organization was the circus director that year, and my brother could ask him what he remembered about West and the cannon. Here is what my brother was told:

There is "NO WAY the Shriners would allow (a celebrity guest like) Adam West to have been shot out of a cannon."

I have no reason to doubt the words from a Shriner who was there in 1977, nor his knowledge of Shriner policies. So, it would seem that, yes, Adam West embellished what happened at that circus appearance.

Oh, and in my research I learned that the woman in the photo holding a child alongside West is Trudy Strong. She, along with her late husband Bill Strong performed an aerial act when a rocket ship prop that took place after West as the final act of the night. This act is mentioned in contemporary articles. I found Mrs. Strong online, and wrote to her asking about the performance, the cannon, and West, but as of this writing she has yet to respond. Frankly, after hearing back from my brother at the Shrine, I don't think I need her confirmation for myself, but I still hope to hear back from her regardless.

[MattHawes]

...On the yellow program, is that the Batman they used for advertising in 77? He seems like a different Era, the news ad Batman matches the banner pictured...

The Batman art used on the yellow program was indeed used in 1977. The clip art is from the 1960s (I think it's Carmine Infantino's art), but that was still being used for marketing during the 1970s. I ran across an ad in the 1977 paper about the circus that includes the same graphic. I will be posting it to my upcoming blog on this subject.

[BATWINGED HORNET]

MattHawes, thank you and your brother for providing personal information about this cannon story. I never really believed it, as only the most irresponsible collection of entertainment groups would risk injury, death and lawsuits by firing some "civilian" out of a cannon. That's not to say there were not many unprofessional groups taking those chances, but who would risk that with a then-still known actor?

[mwilbury]

Thanks for sharing. Also, love your avatar/profile picture.