The Simpsons series based an entire episode on this character. He also appeared in the animated cartoon Freakazoid!, and Van Halen used him as cover art for their album Van Halen III. Of course, we're referring to the man who could take a cannonball to the stomach. His name was Frank Richards, and the most important act of his career automatically earned him the nickname "Cannonball" by which he is remembered today.
From Fists to Cannonballs
Richards's adventure began when he allowed his friends to punch him in the stomach. Over time, as he confirmed that these blows had no effect on his body, Richards accepted bigger challenges.
Even world heavyweight champions Jack Dempsey and Jess Willard, two of the most relentless boxers of the era, couldn't penetrate the steel wall that Richards had in his stomach. The next step was to let spectators jump on him. That act led to direct blows with 2x4 boards, heavy hammers, and the occasional chair.
The Cannonball Act
Finally, Richards took vaudeville by storm with the most extreme act: a cannonball to the stomach. Available sources indicate that Cannonball performed this act for the first time in 1932. The entire world has been amazed by one of the most compelling visual proofs, and there's no trick here... although there is a small technical detail...
The cannon wasn't loaded with gunpowder, but used a spring (hence no recoil). Even so, the cannonball weighed 47 kilograms and had enough force to kill anyone else... but besides withstanding the impact, Richards performed this act twice a day.
Richards was a World War I veteran and a member of the American Legion. During World War II he gave several free shows at military camps and other meetings organized by the Legion.
He also had a special appearance in the short film Crashing the Movies in 1950, but the rest of his film and TV appearances were only archive footage. Frank Cannonball Richards passed away on February 7, 1969, at the age of 81, but his audacity and extraordinary strength remain with us.
