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Uncovering Burnaby: An offscreen tragedy at the drive-in theatre
Dustin Godfrey
November 02, 2022
More than 2,000 patrons of a drive-in theatre were witness to an off-screen tragedy in mid-June 1954, after an aerialist plunged 100 feet to his death.
William Quo Vadis, a taxi driver who performed aerial feats on the side, was a high pole artist performing at the official opening of the CinemaScope screen at the Paramount Drive-In Theatre at Lougheed and Sperling at the time of his death.
According to theatre co-owner, Quo Vadis, who was 36 years old, had approached the theatre to perform at the opening of the screen, and was supposed to do the performance for six days.
Over 2,000 people were in attendance, according to a June 12, 1954 edition of the Vancouver Sun.
“The accident occurred just before the first show when Quo Vadis climbed to the top of the 30-foot flexible steel pole mounted on top of the 70-foot-high screen,” reads the Sun article.
As the pole swayed back and forth, Quo Vadis began doing handstands for the onlookers—an impressive feat, but one destined for tragedy, as the pole snapped.
The aerialist fell 30 feet to the top of the screen, then plunged a further 70 feet to the ground.
The man was “rational and talked to first aid attendants as they waited for an ambulance,” Walsh told the Sun.
About 200 patrons rushed from their cars to help after the accident, but with nothing for them to do, the owners started the first film of the night, and the patrons returned to their cars.
Quo Vadis was rushed to the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster but died of his injuries four hours later.