Rodman Law
{{short description|American aviator}}
{{infobox person
| name = Rodman Law
| image =File:Frederick Rodman Law and Ruth B. Law in their Wright Model B flyer circa 1910-1915.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption =Frederick Rodman Law and Ruth B. Law in her Wright Model B flyer circa 1912-1915
| birth_name = Frederick Rodman Law
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1885|01|21|df=y}}
| birth_place = Lynn, Massachusetts
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1919|10|14|1885|01|21|df=y}}
| death_place = Greenville, South Carolina
| restingplace =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| othername = "The Human Fly"
| occupation = Parachutist, stuntman, actor
| yearsactive =
| spouse =
| children =
| relatives = Ruth Law (sister)
}}
Rodman Law (born Frederick Rodman Law; January 21, 1885 – October 14, 1919) was an American parachutist, building climber and later silent movie stuntman and actor.Who Was Who on the Screen 3rd edition, page 422 by Evelyn Mack Truitt c.1983
Biography
He was the older brother of pioneering aviator Ruth Law Oliver.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9211065/laws_father/|title=Thrill World But Their Dad is Not So Much Impressed|date=November 2, 1919|page=39|publisher=Wichita Daily Eagle|accessdate=February 27, 2017|via = Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} Law married Florence Kimball and was the father of three children. The family made their home in Brooklyn.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9211221/rodman_law_obit/|title=Rodman Law, Defier of Death, Succumbs to White Plague|page=2|date=October 14, 1919|publisher=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|accessdate=February 27, 2017|via = Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9211574/rodman_law_family_in_need/|title=Rodman Law Hurt, Spent Fortune, Now Family is in Want|date=February 22, 1917|page=1|publisher=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|accessdate=February 27, 2017|via = Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} Law lived in Chicago and Texas.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9211645/rodman_lawdead/|title=Death Claims Rodman Law|date=October 22, 1919|page=2|publisher=Keowee Courier|accessdate=February 27, 2017|via = Newspapers.com}}{{Open access}}{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9211738/rodman_law_obit2/|title=Rodman Law Dead; Famous for Daring Death in Movies|date=October 15, 1919|page=10|publisher=New York Tribune|accessdate=February 27, 2017|via = Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}
On February 2, 1912 Law parachuted or BASE jumped off the top of the candle of the Statue of Liberty. Law starred in or participated in several silent movies including a 1914 film built around his exploits Daredevil Rodman Law.[http://www.allmovie.com/movie/daredevil-rodman-law-v236519 listing of Daredevil Rodman Law (1914) "...the film concentrated on his many death-defying leaps..."] www.allmovie.com, accessed November 16, 2020 His female co-stars in his movies were Claire Whitney, Jean Acker, Ethel Wright, Rosanna Forbes, Beryl Bouton and Constance Bennett,[https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030193/1914-02-05/ed-1/seq-1/ Law and actress (sic) jump off bridge] chroniclingamerica.loc.gov, accessed November 16, 2020[https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1914-vintage-photo-steeplejack-beauty-2061237322 "...Miss Constance Bennett, the 19-year old steeplejack of new York City, climbed the 85-foot pole atop the Equitable Trust Building..."] www.worthpoint.com, accessed November 16, 2020 unrelated to the 1930s film actress of the same name.
Law was seriously injured while performing a stunt in 1914; by 1917, the injury was troubling enough that he entered Kings Hospital in Brooklyn for treatment. During the long hospitalization, the money Law had made through his work in films went to pay hospital bills and to support his family. Law had almost given up stunt work, but when the US entered World War I, Law enlisted in the Army Aviation Corps. He was assigned to Kelly Field in Texas, where he returned to performing parachute jumping.
Law contracted tuberculosis while at Kelly Field. He died of the disease at Camp Sevier in Greenville, South Carolina on October 14, 1919, after being hospitalized there for a few months. Law was believed to be improving; at the time of his death he was planning to perform another parachute jumping stunt.
Filmography
- A Leap for Love (1912)
- The Secret Service Man (1912)
- At the Risk of His Life (1912)
- Saved by Airship (1913)
- Death's Short Cut (1913)
- His Priceless Treasure (1913)
- The Daredevil Mountaineer (1913)
- Fighting Death (1914)
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0492381}}
- [http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/71/7183/4RIU100Z/posters/fighting-death-rodman-law-1914.jpg A poster for Fighting Death, one of Law's movies]
- [http://chiefwritingwolf.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/1912rlaw01.jpg?w=500 portrait]
- [http://www.gettyimages.com/license/515940792 Law and a lady friend]
- [http://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/damp_spot_that_hoaxed_d.c THE DAMP SPOT THAT HOAXED D.C.] (Law falsely claimed to be climbing the Washington Monument for a base jump)
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Category:Male actors from Massachusetts
Category:American stunt performers
Category:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis