In Passing

In Passing

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Kitty O’Neil, who has died aged 72, overcame disability and serious illness to establish a career as a leading Hollywood stuntwoman and racing driver, becoming, in the process, a minor celebrity and inspiring a biographical film, Silent Victory: The Kitty O’Neil Story (1979), starring Stockard Channing. Kitty O’Neil entered the Guinness Book of World Records for several achievements, including breaking the women’s land-speed record in 1976, reaching a maximum speed of 618 mph and an average speed of 512.7 mph in a rocket-powered racing car. Her most famous stunt came in 1979 when, dressed as Wonder Woman, she jumped nearly 13 storeys – 127 ft – out of a San Fernando Valley hotel and on to an airbag, establishing a high-fall record. She then broke that record in the same role by jumping 180 ft from a helicopter on to an airbag. At that height, she said, it looked like a postage stamp.The Telegraph, London.

from The Sydney Morning Herald National Headlines https://ift.tt/2QMMO0L
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