Spider Matlock
William Earnest "Spider" Matlock (June 30, 1901, St. Joseph, Missouri – January 27, 1936[1]) was an American stuntman, stunt pilot, car racing promoter, driver and mechanic.[1][2]
Stunt flying
One day, an airshow was scheduled at the Burdette Air Port and School of Aviation in Los Angeles. When the performers did not show up, Ronald MacDougall, a part-owner of the airport, persuaded Matlock (a student at the aviation school[3]) and Ken Nichols to help him. After five minutes of instruction (according to Nichols), the pair performed as wing walkers, with MacDougall flying the airplane.[4]
The burgeoning field of aviation reached Hollywood, and stunt pilots were needed. In 1924, MacDougall, Nichols and Matlock, formed a group called the Black Cats, later renamed the 13 Black Cats, to set standards and rates for aerial stunts for movies.[5][6] Each of the Black Cats was supposed to have a name that was 13 letters long, which is how Matlock acquired the nickname "Spider", MacDougall got "Bon" and Nichols "Fronty". Among other things, they charged $1500 to blow up an airplane in mid-air. Matlock was once asked to do just that at 2,000 feet (610 m) by a newsreel company.[7] Something went wrong; explosives had been rigged on the wings with a switch with a 30-second delay, but went off prematurely before Matlock could parachute to safety.[7] Fortunately, he survived.
As the 1920s came to a close, the 13 Black Cats succumbed to increased safety regulations and cut-rate competition.
Auto racing
Matlock also participated in auto racing, becoming "a promoter, driver and starter in California 'outlaw' racing circles".[7] He was the riding mechanic for winning 1930 Indianapolis 500 driver Billy Arnold.[8][9] They also teamed together for the 1931 and 1932 races, but crashed both times while leading, in the 162nd and 59th laps, respectively.[9] The first time, Matlock was flung 200 feet (61 m), but landed on some grass and only suffered a collarbone broken in three places.[7] The second time, he was badly injured, with a skull fracture and many broken bones (a collarbone, six ribs, a shoulder, pelvis and hip), but was back racing in six weeks, only to break his nose and a thumb in yet another racing crash.[7] He also teamed with Ernie Triplett in the 1933 Indianapolis 500.[9]
He was scheduled to compete as a driver in the 1936 race for Ford,[7] but his luck finally ran out. He and driver Al Gordon crashed at Ascot Speedway in Los Angeles on January 26, 1936; Gordon died that day, while Matlock succumbed the following day.[1]
He appeared as himself (uncredited) in the 1932 auto racing film The Crowd Roars, starring James Cagney.[10]
References
External links
<templatestyles src="Module:Side box/styles.css"></templatestyles><templatestyles src="Sister project/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Photograph of (left to right) Matlock and fellow Black Cats Al Johnson and "Fronty" Nichols wing walking on the top wing of a biplane piloted by Black Cat "Bon" MacDougall
- June 1935 Popular Mechanics article "Riding Race Cars for a Living", written by Matlock
- YouTube video of his 1932 Indy 500 crash
- Photograph of Matlock and Billy Arnold in the #5 car at the 1932 Indy 500
- Photographs of Matlock in the UCLA Library Digital Collection
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
- ↑ Spider Matlock. Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved from link
- ↑ The 13 Flying Black Cats. San Diego Air & Space Museum. Retrieved from link
- ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title). Template:Open access
- ↑ Hollywood Stunt Pilots. David H. Onskt. Centennial of Flight Commission. Retrieved from link
- ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title). Template:Open access
- ↑ Lua error: bad argument #1 to "get" (not a valid title). Template:Open access
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Spider Matlock. Retrieved from www.champcarstats.com
- ↑ Request for return of copyright deposits. National Audio-Visual Conservation Center blog Now See Hear!. Retrieved from link
