Hugo Zacchini
| Hugo Timonte Zacchini | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
October 20, 1898 Peru, South America |
| Died |
October 20, 1975 San Bernardino, California |
| Education | University of Florida; Attended Rome Arts Academy where at age of 12 he graduated. Graduated Jamestown Academy in New York, where he received a Master's in Art. |
| Occupation | Daredevil and artist, sculptor, taught art in Chaffey College, interpreter to as many as 11 languages. |
| Spouse(s) | Elsa Gertrude Walker Zacchini |
| Children | Hugo Anthony Zacchini, Patchay "Pat" Zacchini |
Hugo Zacchini (20 October 1898 – 20 October 1975) was the first human cannonball as one of the Zacchini Brothers. 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.
Biography
He was born on October 20, 1898 in Peru to Ildebrando Zacchini. He held two engineering degrees from the University of Florida.
He was involved with a lawsuit that made it before the U.S. Supreme Court, Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co., a case which he ultimately won in 1977. Zacchini sued Scripps-Howard, the owner of an Ohio television station, when it filmed, and then broadcast Zacchini's entire act of being shot out of a cannon at the Geauga County Fair in Burton, Ohio.[1] The United States Supreme Court sided with Zacchini, ruling 5 to 4 that his personality rights overrode the First Amendment rights in this case where the entire act was shown on television in violation of his common law copyright.[2][3]
He died on October 20, 1975 in San Bernardino, California.[4]
References
- ↑ White, Byron (28 June 1977). "HUGO ZACCHINI, PETITIONER, V. SCRIPPS-HOWARD BROADCASTING COMPANY.". Legal Information Institute. Cornell Law School. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ↑ "First Amendment Limitations on Civil Law Liability". University of Missouri, Kansas City. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
- ↑ "Image Rights vs. Free Speech in Video Game Suit". New York Times. November 15, 2010. Retrieved 2012-11-03.
The court has taken up the right-of-publicity issue only once, in 1977, when it ruled in favor of Hugo Zacchini, a circus performer who originated the human cannonball act and who sued the owner of a television station that broadcast his entire act without his consent.
- ↑ McQuiston, John T. (October 21, 1975). "Hugo Zacchini, 77, Dies; First Human Cannonball". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
Hugo Zacchini, a circus performer who originated the human cannonball act in which he was catapulted from a cannon 200 feet into a net, died yesterday of a stroke in San Bernardino, Calif. He was 77 years old.