Boom Boom Benny – Looking for a Woman to Learn His Russian Mystery Trick
Boom Boom Benny informed me, “I am look for a young attractive female to teach the mystery of the trick I stole from a Russian. I have at times wished I’d given it back. In my daredevil stunt driver days and while manager of the world famous Hollywood Death Dodgers Thrill Show out of Chicago, while on tour in Canada, I saw that Russian who changed my life.
“He blew himself up in a chair and I knew immediately that I had discovered my way to make a bigger noise in the thrill field. The very first time I tried it I nearly died. I couldn’t hear a thing for a week, and then all I heard was a doorbell ringing in my head.
“But before all that and fifteen years before anyone even heard of Evil Knievel, I was jumping ramps, making firewalls with go carts, crashing head onto junker cars going sixty miles per hour.
“As a kid I wanted to be a big-time stock car racer but I went into the daredevil business instead. I had a neighbor who shot himself out of canons and another who was an auto stunt man. Being a daredevil is who I am and I have been hospitalized more times than I care to recall.
“I had life insurance until they found out what I did. Lloyds of London made me an offer back in the1970’s but it was more than I could afford. Back then, I carried $300,000 insurance for spectators and $250,000 for the grounds. Today; it’s a whole other world after 9/11. Everything is out of proportion and it keeps getting tougher to make a living.”
Boom Boom Benny, was still known as Benny Koske; Captain Dynamite when the Chicago Daily News reported on November 12, 1974, “A SMALL MAN with the lean build of a dynamite stick comes from Palm Bay, Fl., 30 miles south of Cape Canaveral, where the only big noise is on U.S.1.”
During the race car circuit off season, Benny usually hangs out at JD’s not too far from Roonie’s Tavern in Palm Bay. The walls of both establishments are adorned with photos of Boom Boom Benny with Jay Leno, David Frost, and Mike Douglas, but none of the T-Bone Crash.
“Before I began to blow myself up, I did the most dangerous stunt trick there was; the T-Bone Crash. I’d floor my car, jump a ramp and land T-bone style into a pair of parked autos. Many who tried it, never walked away.
“The first time I tried blowing myself up, I nearly died. The second time I tried it, it took the most nerve. Every blast is different and I have blown myself up thousands of times. Even after the first eight years, I still hadn’t perfected the technique, but I got better fast because I learned a lot more about short sticks of high explosives.
“I began at state fairs, race tracks and I’ve been everywhere and have met many people. I’ve been to Reno, Chicago, Fargo, Minnesota, Buffalo, Toronto, Winslow, Sarasota, Wichita, Tulsa, Ottawa, Oklahoma, and Tampa where I was born. I lived a while in Nebraska, but home is Palm Bay, Florida.
“I was once closing act at the closing show for the Rolling Stones in Buffalo, New York. The last time I did the Jay Leno Show was on 3/3/04 along with Carmen Electra. I’ll never tell what she whispered in my ear…
“While on tour at the Canadian National Expose in Toronto, my agent called me to go pick up another of his clients at the airport. It was Red Skelton. I had heard something about a recent big loss in his life and we talked local stuff on our way to the show. After Red performed he took off in a limo and I stood on the stage. I still remember that little kid, no more than seven who darted out on the field. That kid chased the limo until Red stopped it and rolled down his window. Red stopped to give that kid an autograph…
“In the early years I would blow myself up in coffins I constructed from two by six feet long insulation boards that I would buy by the bundle and carry in my van. I learned that if I placed the charges in a certain manner, the explosions would go over my head and outwards. Most of that time, that is. I have been burned, broken bones, had my chest blown open, but it’s better than any nine to five job I can imagine.
“One day while in Las Vegas, a guy proposed to me that I should blow myself up in a car instead of a box or coffin. I thought that he was crazy but I was also intrigued. After contemplating the suggestion, I decided that it was a stunt I wanted to attempt.
“The very first day that I was going to blow myself up, just as I was getting into the car, someone suggested we should test the trick first. It was a good thing, because it was a heck of an explosion. Somebody was certainly looking out for me that day because if I had gotten into that car, I wouldn’t be talking with you now.”
Benny maintains that it is his calm, systematic approach that has allowed him to perform for so long.
“I get the feeling that I am in the eye of a hurricane; there is stuff going on all around me but I remain calm because I only have 15 seconds to make my escape before my suit can no longer take the heat and my body becomes disoriented from the fumes.”
“If the crowd is too close to the track, they will feel the heat of the explosion because the car goes up in a big ball of fire before I escape. The fire and noise are spectacular. The hood, trunk deck, and doors all go flying off. People love seeing things blow things up so, I am confident that I will find a young lady to learn my Russian Mystery Trick.
“She must know about motorcycles and cars, but no biker chicks, and no tattoos allowed. I am looking for a woman like the one in that Miller commercial who walks into a bar after a race and pulls off her helmet. Her hair tumbles out and she is drop dead gorgeous. That’s what I am looking for, someone like that to learn the Russian Mystery Trick of Boom Boom Benny.”
TOUR DATES:
May 24, 2008: THUNDER JAM, Green Bay, Wisconsin
May 30-31, 2008: Bristol, Tenn.
June 7, 2008: Cedar Falls, Iowa
June 24, 2008: Epping, New Hampshire