Hugo Zacchini
Encyclopedia
Hugo Zacchini was the first human cannonball
. His father Ildebrando Zacchini
invented the compressed-air cannon used to propel humans in circus acts.
He was known for being a daredevil and a painter, and for being litigious. He was involved with a lawsuit that made it before the U.S. Supreme Court, Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co.
, which he ultimately won. Zacchini sued Scripps-Howard, the owner of an Ohio television station, when it filmed, and then broadcast on the evening news, Zacchini's entire act of being shot out of a cannon at a county fair. The United States Supreme Court sided with Zacchini, ruling 5 to 4 that the publicity rights overrode the First Amendment rights in this case where the entire act was shown on television.
Aside from his circus talents, Zacchini also held two engineering degrees from the University of Florida
. He died on October 20, 1975.
Human cannonball
The human cannonball is a performance in which a person is ejected from a specially designed cannon. The impetus is provided not by gunpowder, but by either a spring or jet of compressed air...
. His father Ildebrando Zacchini
Ildebrando Zacchini
Ildebrando Zacchini was a painter, inventor, and travelling circus owner. Inspired by the works of Jules Verne, Zacchini came up with an idea for a human cannonball act. Instead of explosives, Zacchini's human-firing cannon used compressed air, and he first tested it on his son Hugo Zacchini...
invented the compressed-air cannon used to propel humans in circus acts.
He was known for being a daredevil and a painter, and for being litigious. He was involved with a lawsuit that made it before the U.S. Supreme Court, Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co.
Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co.
Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co., 433 U.S. 562 , was an important U.S. Supreme Court case concerning rights of publicity. The Court held that the First and Fourteenth Amendments do not immunize the news media from civil liability when they broadcast a performer's entire act without his...
, which he ultimately won. Zacchini sued Scripps-Howard, the owner of an Ohio television station, when it filmed, and then broadcast on the evening news, Zacchini's entire act of being shot out of a cannon at a county fair. The United States Supreme Court sided with Zacchini, ruling 5 to 4 that the publicity rights overrode the First Amendment rights in this case where the entire act was shown on television.
Aside from his circus talents, Zacchini also held two engineering degrees from the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
. He died on October 20, 1975.