Early Yumans enjoyed many of the same types of entertainment that are popular today: movies, concerts, sporting events, etc. But there were also some highly unique entertainers who stopped off in Yuma to perform stunts and tricks for theater crowds or for the general public. I will offer a sampling of these performers, who were often far from perfect in their personal lives, but who routinely risked life, health, and sanity to complete their stunts in order to please audiences—and to make a living doing their “odd jobs.”
Stockton’s Tricycle Dogs—April 4-5, 1914
The Gandolfo Theatre
In addition to showing motion pictures, the Gandolfo Theatre hosted an eclectic lineup of visiting performers and presenters, including opera star Alice Verlet, “March King” John Philip Sousa, burlesque troupes, religious evangelists, politicians, and countless boxers and wrestlers. The following four purveyors of magic and mystery also performed at the Gandolfo Theatre.
Raffles, escape artist—January 26, 1921
The Yuma newspaper stated that Raffles was “known all over the world as THE MAN OF MYSTERY.” That was promotional hyperbole, but this escape artist was still performing as of May 1935—his Salt Lake City show also included “three comely girls who sing and dance.” Raffles’ talents included escaping from handcuffs, strait-jackets, and steel burial vaults.
Li Ho Chang, Chinese magician—April 9-10, 1921
McAlbert, Crystal Seer—December 18-23, 1921
“McAlbert” appeared at the Gandolfo and Somerton theaters in December 1921. (Somerton’s Theatre De Luxe opened in June 1917.) The shows opened with vaudeville-style songs and stories, and closed with the “Crystal Seer” and his mind-reading theatrics. Audience members were asked to submit questions to which McAlbert would provide answers, along with his advice and predictions. During the show “spirit paintings” would appear with images and messages that seemingly came from the beyond. And the floating tables mentioned in the ads? Mysterious indeed.
Texas Bob, the Cowboy Hypnotist—February 14-15, 1925 / Nov. 6, 1925
“Texas Bob, the Cowboy Hypnotist” was Robert Godwin (1894-1939) of Los Angeles. He often spelled his surname “Goodwin” in order to claim (falsely?) to be the nephew of actor Nat Goodwin. His performances at the Gandolfo Theatre were heavy on comedy—spectators laughed heartily as fellow audience members were coaxed into embarrassing moments while under hypnosis.
Robert Godwin was a serial groom. Articles written after his death noted eight wives. The headline with this July 24, 1927 photo states that Columbine Case was “Texas Bob’s” 10th wife. Since his wife at the time of his death was Florence Smith, it seems that Godwin may have been married at least 11 times!
Robert Godwin’s was shot to death in front of a Hollywood hotel on February 8, 1939. In recent years Godwin had been using the stage name, the “Mysterious Mr. Q” for his hypnotism performances. He had also been arrested multiple times on morals and narcotics charges. The man who killed Robert Godwin, Dr. Harold Edwards, was an acquaintance of the hypnotist. Although Godwin was unarmed when shot, the physician’s attorney presented a successful plea of self-defense.
Bozo, the Wild Man—October 31, 1925
“Suicide Slim,” parachute daredevil—May 19, 1928
On Saturday May 19, 1928, 21-year-old Walter Cahill, aka “Suicide Slim,” made a parachute jump from an airplane 2,000 feet above Yuma’s Main Street. The newspaper reported that the aerial stunt attracted a crowd of 6,000 spectators. (Charles Lindbergh achieved his transatlantic flight a year earlier, and flying fever was “in the air.”) High winds resulted in Cahill landing, not on Main Street, but on top of the Security Bank building. According to the paper, “Suicide Slim” also offered the Yuma crowd a truly suicidal stunt prior to his jump: “Previous to his parachute jump, he hung from the plane by a pair of silk stockings, and this stunt proved thrilling to the crowd.”
Rolla Clark, the “man who eats nails”—Oct. 24, 1933
In its preview of the Orpheum Theatre appearance of Rolla Clark, the “man who eats nails,” the newspaper noted that “Clark’s diet will consist of glassware, fish hooks, carpet tacks and razer blades. While at the Orpheum he will also consume his favorite dish—an automobile windshield.”
Ten years after his (first) Yuma appearance, Rolla Clark was arrested in St. Louis by federal narcotics agents. It seems that Clark had been growing marijuana on his small farm in order to sell it to soldiers at the nearby Jefferson Barracks. One wonders how well the “glass eater” adapted to his new diet of prison food.
The return of the “man who eats nails”—May 11-13, 1950
In 1950 Rolla Clark, age 49, was living in Tucson, Arizona—and still making a living by eating nails, razor blades, and glass. His May 11-13, 1950 performances were held at the Yuma Theater. When Mr. Clark died at age 62 on January 1, 1963, lung cancer was given as the cause of death.
Jimmie James—“Human Icicle” & Endurance Driver–June 5, 1939
Endurance driving exhibitions were common during the Depression years, and Yuma did not miss out on this curious practice which typically involved a driver being handcuffed to a car’s steering wheel for a continuous drive lasting several days. Some drivers drove around (and around) a circular track while others drove nonstop throughout the host city. Jimmie James was a latecomer to the endurance driving fraternity, but he added a new element: prior to driving the vehicle of the sponsoring car dealership for 120 hours, he would become a “human icicle” by being frozen in ice for one hour. The Yuma exhibition took place at the Henry Durr Dodge dealership where spectators were encouraged to hop into the slow-moving car and visit with the “endurance champion.”
“Dare Devil” Warner, year-long endurance driver—May 17, 1928
On May 17, 1928 , eleven years before Jimmie James’ endurance driving stunt, “Dare Devil” Warner of Los Angeles made a stop in Yuma at the outset of what he claimed would be a year-long endurance drive throughout North America. Warner was handcuffed to the steering wheel of his Auburn automobile in Los Angeles, and he planned to remain shackled to the car for a full year! It appears that he fell short of reaching that questionable goal, but on September 22, 1928 the Sheboygan, Wisconsin newspaper reported that “Dare Devil” Warner was in town, and that after 4½ months and 35,000 miles, the endurance driver was still going strong, with brother Bob serving as a traveling companion.
Yuma Morning Sun—May 18, 1928
Billy West—“Buried Alive”—Nov.-Dec. 1937
Irwin Westheimer, aka “Billy West,” (1896-1939) was a veteran daredevil and former movie stuntman who was “buried alive” for the last two months of 1937 in front of Yuma’s Paradise Club/Big Barn nightclub. He had performed this stunt at other locations, including his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia. In the summer of 1933 Billy West aimed to remain in his underground coffin at the Ocean View amusement park for 60 days, but he had to be quickly rescued when the deadly Chesapeake-Potomac hurricane struck Norfolk on day 54 of the stunt.
The Yuma newspaper did not cover Billy West’s 1937 “buried alive” saga, but nearly 30 years later, E.N. Sturdivant, former manager of radio station KUMA provided some recollections, since it was his station that had sponsored the stunt while providing daily on-air coverage and interviews. Sturdivant mentioned that a burial vault had been obtained from a local funeral home. A mattress, fan, and other necessities were provided, and a microphone was installed to allow Billy West to give radio interviews. Sturdivant described an unexpected consequence of the “buried alive” procedures: “During all the time we had him buried, we had a girl in attendance, dressed in white to look the part of a Registered Nurse. She was on duty to take care of Billy’s needs, dropping food, water, cigarettes and other necessities. In the interim, it seems as if they fell in love, became engaged, and announced their engagement over the radio . . . “
Billy West and Elvaree Jones were married on January 5, 1938–her first marriage and his fourth. Sadly, this romance did not have a fairy tale ending. Billy West married wife number five the following year in Pine Barren, Florida, where he opened a service station called “Billy West’s Blue Heaven.” Then, on June 23, 1939, the man who had been “buried alive” multiple times died of a heart attack at age 43. This news does not appear to have reached Elvaree Westheimer, because four months later she filed a divorce action based on being abandoned by a husband who had since died.
Yuma History Guy 