Johnny Carson & Bob Sinclair

[tbrown 26]

Just tonight there was a rerun of Johnny Carson's skydive with Bob Sinclair at Elsinore back in the sixties. Lately there's been a Carson rerun show on four nights a week and my wife's been watching for the usual funny stuff like Karnack the Magnificent.

But tonight they reran the entire skydive segment, start to finish. It went on for a good ten or fifteen minutes. Part of the segment had Bob Sinclair in the studio as a guest talking with Johnny and then there was a lot of footage of Johnny getting trained to exit a Howard, doing PLFs off a training platform, arching and even doing a live pull on the ground with the pilot chute springing out onto the packing table. Remember, this was a good fifteen years before AFF and what Sinclair was doing was VERY progressive, modeled after the "buddy system" method used by the Air Force.

The actual freefall film was great. Maybe faded and not too clear by our standards nowadays, but you could plainly see Johnny was having a wonderful time of it. And he looked really good ! He was rock steady stable and relaxed looking. Sinclair only had a one handed grip on Johnny and the two were flying side by side until he pulled. His landing even looked good, he PLF'ed but landed so softly you'd think he almost didn't really need to. And all the while Carson was narrating, with comments like, "Oh what a feeling that is". He was PASSIONATE about it.

I'd always heard about this jump and seen some still pics over the years. But what a TREAT to see the original show in its entirety tonight !

Something else I noticed, Elsinore sure has changed a LOT since those days, it was a pretty wide open landscape back then....

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[TFFTM 1]

Does anyone know if this clip is available anywhere for download?

BSBD
Home of the Alabama Gang

[lekstrom10k 0]

Bob was at Richmond last fall where he showed me his staple line scar from a cyst removal. He was living in Michigan with his sister around Grand Rapids. He said I could give out his address if anyone wanted it. He cant get E-Mail in his Van. His sister has Cancer and bed ridden so phone calls wouldnt be a great idea. but not impossible. He jumped with us at Napoleon last May or so. I didnt know he was around until coming down with a tandem. I saw his accuracy pad wondering what it was? Duh Bob is here. I havent heard anything else, as the saying goes about no news

[tbrown 26]

Quote

Does anyone know if this clip is available anywhere for download?

I just tried doing a little research on this question with a Google search for "Johnny Carson". Haven't pinpointed the skydiving episode, but I can tell you that Barnes & Noble has tons of "Best of Carson" videos for sale at some very affordable prices. Unfortunately their website didn't list a Table of contents per se for any of the vidoes/DVDs.

But Carson always insisted his skydive was one of the greatest adventures of his life and he continued to have skydivers and films on his show through the years - I remember him having Carl Boenish on in 1978 with fresh film, hot off the presses of the astonishing 50 Way dive at Elsinore, which completely blew my mind as I was still trying to earn my SCR.

Also, the fact that some cable station just ran it last night means that it just HAS TO be out there, so happy hunting.

Besides, the rest of the show reminded me just how funny he really was; "May a weird holy man tape your sister shut...."

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[kenneth21441 0]

Bob,

and his sister live in Battle Creek, Mi between Kalamazoo and Marshall. Battle creek is famous for Kelloggs ceral.

Kenneth Potter
FAA Senior Parachute Rigger
Tactical Delivery Instructor (Jeddah, KSA)
FFL Gunsmith

[skr 1]

> modeled after the "buddy system" method used by the Air Force

Which Bob invented.

I wasn't there but as I understand it Bob and Bud Kiesow took
about 150 Air Force Pilots out harness to harness as it was called.

I have a vague memory that Jim Hall, who did the first live
zero-zero (zero altitude - zero airspeed) ejection, and some
one else, possibly Verne Williams, were also involved.

Also probably Dave Burt.

When I met these guys Dave wasn't jumping anymore because
he'd gotten hurt really badly doing some kind of jump in Mexico
some years before.

Dave jumped into Grand Canyon in 1948.

He was a graduate student in geology doing research for his
thesis, so he cargo dropped some supplies onto a sand bar
and then jumped in himself and spent several weeks going
down the river doing geology.


These guys have more jump stories per square jump than
anybody I have ever met.

Also I believe it was George Speakman holding on to Johnny
Carson, and Bob doing the filming because he wanted to be
sure he got the footage he had in mind and there was only
going to be one jump.

Skr

[JerryBaumchen 1,436]

Hi Skratch,

You are taking me back into some very fuzzy memory areas.

As I recall, Bob Sinclair & Jim Hall had a commercial parachute business; "Parachuting Something' or other.

I 'think' that it was just a 2-man business but they hired others (Kiesow & Burt) when they needed more people.

I 'think' (again ) that Jim Hall's wife & kids were killed in a traffic accident ( I 'recall' something about a station-wagon, him driving and their getting t-boned at an intersection) and this took him out of the business. Not an injury thing, just a traumatic event.

Anyway, all of this is a little fuzzy; do you remember things as being like this?

Jerry

[skr 1]

> do you remember things as being like this?

By the time I met them Bob and Dave were working
together doing Hollywood movies, TV commercials,
demos and assorted exotic stuff.

Dave was the business half and Bob was the camera,
stunt and other stuff half.

I remember Bob being on the Connie loads at Taft in
1965 and may have met him before that somewhere,
but I didn't meet Dave, that I remember, before I
started working for them.

I still have a couple of their cards here somewhere.
The company was Para-something, not Paraventures
which was an earlier incarnation that Jim Hall was
part of. I was never clear where Verne Williams fit
into all this except that he came up often in the jump
stories.

I didn't meet Jim Hall or Verne Williams until much
later.

Starting in 1965 I dropped out of Caltech, where I
was ostensibly getting a PhD in math, so I could
get a job so I could have more money so I could
jump every weekend, which is what I was already
doing anyway, on a $200 a month NSF scholarship
if you can believe that.

I went to work at JPL for several years and that's
where I met Bud Kiesow. He was in a different
group but we talked often and he filled me in on
all kinds of unbelievable stuff about the early days
("early days" meaning the 50s and early 60s).

I was hanging on every word :-) :-)

I got to do demos with Bob, but for most of the
Movie and TV commercial stuff Clarice was in
front of the camera and I was support, packing
rigs, running the day's film up to someplace in
Hollywood for overnight processing and so on.


Dave Burt was in the car accident.

He was an amazing guy but you really had to coax
him to say much. I mostly learned about him from
Bob and Bud Kiesow.

One night some drunk in Los Angeles ran a red light
and dead centered his car and killed his wife and kids
and left him in a coma for a long time, 18? months.

Then he died.

It took the wind out of Bob and things were never the
same after that.

Bob is a very talented and creative guy with a touch
of the true madness, but Dave was the one with the
magic touch for business.

Bob tried to keep on keepin' on, but without Dave he
was like an incomplete protein missing some essential
amino acids.


George Speakman worked at Elsinore. We made a lot
of jumps together and somewhere in all this he met
Bob and was involved in a lot of typically unlikely
jump stories. I believe he was jumping in Nevada
before he headed out west.


I'm not kidding when I say these guys had more jump
stories per jump than anybody I have ever met.

I accumulated several just standing around with them
and getting caught up in their whirlwind.


It's distressing that all this early history is just disappearing.

At least some bits and pieces are being captured by
these conversations here on dropzone.com.

Skr

[timber 4]

As many of you have met Bob Sinclair you probably realized he is a ledgend and has helped pioneer the sport into what it is. I have the honor of having him as a part of my extended family. He and my Dad have been friends since they met in 1980.

Bob keeps on jumping even into his ripe old age at 82 (I believe).

Many people have helped take care of our "DZ Vagabond" I say that with pure affection !

Bob has had a run of bad luck. He Broke his leg at Lake Whales recently. He is going to be coming to stay with my Mom and Dad to heal up for awhile. I am going to try and convince him to stay in Pensacola as he only has the Veterans Administration for health care. They are about to open a large VA hospital in the area. Bob is trying to live by a meagar Social Security pension. I am interested in starting a fund to help him buy a decent FEMA trailer so he stay in. Is anyone interested in helping me with this idea ? I don't think Bob will read this thread and I hope to keep this kind of a secret.

Thank You and Blue Skies,

Timber

[dobber 0]

Timber, was reading your post on Bob and wonder how he is doing now since he got hurt. I consider him a dear friend and hope he is doing well. Thanks.

[timber 4]

Bob is doing much better! He has gotten his cast off a few weeks ago and drove his van up to see his sister in Michigan. I think he plans on staying up there as his sister has terminal cancer. I expect he will come back to Florida shortly.

My dad did a great job of playing nurse maid to Bob. I see what a true friend is! I know Bob really appreciated it!

Blue Skies, Timber

Blue Skies,

[dobber 0]

Thanks so much to you and your dad for taking care of him. He is definetely a one of a kind person. Thanks again, Jim

[ridgerunrbunny 0]

Quote

As many of you have met Bob Sinclair you probably realized he is a ledgend and has helped pioneer the sport into what it is. I have the honor of having him as a part of my extended family. He and my Dad have been friends since they met in 1980.

Bob keeps on jumping even into his ripe old age at 82 (I believe).

Many people have helped take care of our "DZ Vagabond" I say that with pure affection !

Bob has had a run of bad luck. He Broke his leg at Lake Whales recently. He is going to be coming to stay with my Mom and Dad to heal up for awhile. I am going to try and convince him to stay in Pensacola as he only has the Veterans Administration for health care. They are about to open a large VA hospital in the area. Bob is trying to live by a meagar Social Security pension. I am interested in starting a fund to help him buy a decent FEMA trailer so he stay in. Is anyone interested in helping me with this idea ? I don't think Bob will read this thread and I hope to keep this kind of a secret.

Thank You and Blue Skies,

Timber

My God, is he still alive. The last I saw Bob was in the 1980's, Yeah, he's gotta be in his 80's. And as far as I am concerned he is more than a fruit cake. But then George Speakman ( my ex-husband) always said he was a "Man's man". Only because not too many women really "liked" him. Too ruff. Anybody know where George is? I sure would like to get ahold of him or vice versa.

Bunny Speakman

[SpeedPhreak 0]

Quote

Bob was at Richmond last fall where he showed me his staple line scar from a cyst removal. He was living in Michigan with his sister around Grand Rapids. He said I could give out his address if anyone wanted it. He cant get E-Mail in his Van. His sister has Cancer and bed ridden so phone calls wouldnt be a great idea. but not impossible. He jumped with us at Napoleon last May or so. I didnt know he was around until coming down with a tandem. I saw his accuracy pad wondering what it was? Duh Bob is here. I havent heard anything else, as the saying goes about no news

Bob stops by my DZ every now and then either to BS or to toss out his little accuracy tuffet and do $1 accruacy contests.

Here's a picture I took last year about three weeks after his surgery, he said the doctor had forbidden him to drive (but he didn't say anything about skydiving).

Bob Sinclair

SkydiveAllegan.com

[ridgerunrbunny 0]

I see he has a new set of dentures, but he has gotten bolder with no goggles or helmet. And just what is he packing. He never used to jump with anything but a doubleL. Course that was a long time ago. Does not look like he changed much, hasn't had hair for as long as I knew him. Bet he still likes big titted woman over 18 too.


Bunny Speakman

[ridgerunrbunny 0]

I was there, on the TV too with George. George Speakman was my husband, one of the others that jumped with him. I don't remember to very much about who did what. George was on one side of him, Bob filmed, maybe it was Milt Platt on the other? Maybe not. Anyway, yes Johnny loved it, he was very calm, about the whole thing, cracking jokes, even made a pass at me. Had his producer come over with a note saying "if you are ever in N.Y. look me up". I was 19 and had absolutely no idea in hell what that note meant back then. Duh. The only picture I have of the whole thing was one with me, my baby daughter and Carolyn DeVore Jims wife who was not supposed to be his wife for contract purposes. When she was announced on TV that they were husband and wife, the *hit hit. Just prior to the show going on someone in the studio yelled over to one of the camara men (who was also a jumper) and asked him if he was a member of that infamous jump club where everymember owned a donkey and across the studio you could hear "You bet your sweet Ass I am". Everyone laughed. Its a vague memory for me now, at 62 years of age. Kinda wished I had understood Johnny's note tho.

Bunny Speakman

[timber 4]

Does anyone know of the status of one Bob Sinclair? I have not heard from him in awhile?

[rapter 0]

I know Bob, he use to show the film of him converted to VHS. I remember sitting in his bus, eating hotdogs and watching his old tapes and films. He was out at Cal- City my first few years in the sport. He a great guy,

Hi ya Timmer

Only the good die young, so I have found immortality,

[jackwallace 3]

Quote

Does anyone know of the status of one Bob Sinclair? I have not heard from him in awhile?

I saw him wandering around Deland weekend before last.

U only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler.
scr 316

[timber 4]

OK thanks! I will have to get down and see him soon! Glad to know he is still around. I have heard he is in poor health.

[kimemerson 7]

Found this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4UeK4oKQCg

Watch the other stuff if you're so inclined but the part we're all wanting to see is at about 5:16
Someone please clicky it for me. Thanks

[stratostar 5]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4UeK4oKQCg

URL button place link, click URL button again.... you get clicky link! (yea those buttons just below your posting window that say code, reply, quote, b, U, i, email, & URL

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[kimemerson 7]

That's it? That easy? What an idiot I am. Thanks.

[stratostar 5]

Quote

What an idiot I am. Thanks.

You said it, not me Not really, how would you know if no one told you? Your welcome..... Just wanted to keep you posted, ya know!

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[kimemerson 7]

Quote

Quote

What an idiot I am. Thanks.

You said it, not me Not really, how would you know if no one told you? Your welcome..... Just wanted to keep you posted, ya know!

I've called myself worse. I let myself off light with that one.