Ben Dova (born as Joseph Späh (also written as Spah) on March 14, 1905, in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

Alsace–Lorraine Alsace–Lorraine, now called Alsace–Moselle, is a historical region located in France. It was created in 1871 by the German Empire after it had seized the region from the Second French Empire in the Franco-Prussian War with the Treaty of Fra ...

– died September 30, 1986, in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...

) was an German–American acrobat and actor.

Career

He emigrated from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1922 and became a

contortion Contortion (sometimes contortionism) is a performance art in which performers called contortionists showcase their skills of extreme physical flexibility. Contortion acts often accompany acrobatics, Circus (performing art), circus acts, street ...

ist in the

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

genre, using the artist name Ben Dova, from the English "bend over". His signature act was playing a drunk man balancing on a street light. In 1933 he performed his act on top of the 56-story Chanin Building in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

with no safety measures, for the benefit of the newsreels. Next to his acrobatic career he became an actor, performing in small parts in movies and television episodes, most notably as Klaus Szell (the brother of the movie's antagonist) in '' Marathon Man'' (1976).

Hindenburg disaster

Dova was a passenger on board the LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' during the

Hindenburg disaster The ''Hindenburg'' disaster was an airship accident that occurred on May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States. The German passenger airship LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' caught fire and was destroyed during its attemp ...

and escaped using his acrobatic skills.One survivor of the Hindenburg disaster was an acrobat who jumped out
''

Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' ( ) is a design, technology, science and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton, and runs on the Kinja platform. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the subsite ''io9'', whic ...

'', July 3, 2014Survivor Describes Jump From Blazing Hindenburg
'' The Pittsburgh Press'', May 8, 1937 The

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

investigated him as a possible saboteur but found no evidence and cleared him from wrongdoing.Monsters: The Hindenburg Disaster and the Birth of Pathological Technology
Edward Regis, 2015 He was played by Robert Clary in the motion picture '' The Hindenburg'' (1975).The Golden Age of Disaster Cinema: A Guide to the Films, 1950–1979
p.122, Nik Havert, 2019

Filmography

* ''A Chinatown Fantasy'' (1930, short) * ''The Way of All Freshmen'', (1933, a Broadway Brevity short) – Acrobatic dancer * ''

Toast of the Town ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night ...

'' (1952, television variety show, one episode)Toast of the Town / Season 5 / Episode 48
''

TheTVDB TheTVDB.com is a community driven database of television shows. All content and images on the site have been contributed by the site's users; the site uses moderated editing to maintain its own standards. Purpose The stated aim to be the most co ...

'' * '' Naked City'' (1962, television series, season 3, episode 20: ''To Walk Like a Lion'') – TailorTo Walk Like a Lion (1962)
''cinemagia.ro'' * '' Marathon Man'' (1976) – Klaus Szell * ''

Der Preis fürs Überleben ''Der Preis fürs Überleben'' is a 1980 West German drama film directed by Hans Noever. It was entered into the 30th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Michel Piccoli - René Winterhalter * Martin West - Joseph C. Randolph * Marilyn ...

'' (1980, West German movie) – JimDer Preis fürs Überleben
'' filmportal.de'' * ''

Dear Mr. Wonderful ''Dear Mr. Wonderful'' (also known as ''Ruby's Dream'' in some US video releases) is a 1982 German comedy-drama crime film starring Joe Pesci. Plot Ruby Dennis (Joe Pesci) is a small-time lounge singer who owns a bowling alley. The film follows h ...

'' (1982, West German movie) – Ben * ''Höllenfahrten: Titanic der Lüfte – Die letzte Fahrt der Hindenburg'' (2000, German TV episode) – SelfTitanic der Lüfte – Die letzte Fahrt der Hindenburg
''fernsehserien.de'' * ''Die letzten Stunden der Hindenburg'' (2011, German documentary) – SelfDie letzten Stunden der Hindenburg
''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

References

External links

*
Faces of the Hindenburg – Joseph Späh
Acrobats American actors LZ 129 Hindenburg 1905 births 1986 deaths {{US-actor-stub