Fay Alexander, 75, famous for deadly triple somersault

SARASOTA, Fla. - Fay Alexander, who soared to stardom as one of the few trapeze artists to execute a triple somersault and who performed aerial maneuvers in movies for Tony Curtis, Doris Day and other stars, has died of cancer. He was 75.

Mr. Alexander, born in Seattle, first performed the triple in 1952, while he was working for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He catapulted off a trapeze, spun three times and grasped the arms of an upside-down acrobat swinging on another trapeze.

According to circus legend, the triple has killed more performers than all other aerial feats combined.

The first attempt, in 1835, ended fatally, and for the next 63 years, only one man, Armor, successfully did the trick, in 1860. Armor is remembered only by his last name and was so horrified by his experience that he never tried again, according to the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wis.

The cause of Mr. Alexander's July 16 death was lung cancer, said his wife, Rose. He died at his home in Sarasota. At the time, the only report of his death was a brief obituary in The Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Born in 1924, Mr. Alexander, the son of a barber, grew up in Los Angeles, says "A Reckless Era of Aerial Performance: The Evolution of Trapeze" by Steve Goddard.

At 3, Mr. Alexander contracted a lung disease and was sent to dancing school as physical therapy. He learned ballet and acrobatics, then began performing in theaters and clubs along the Pacific Coast.

During World War II, in the Coast Guard, Mr. Alexander performed as an acrobat with Rudy Vallee's show and later appeared in the "Stars and Bars" show with Sid Caesar and Victor Mature. He served eight months of sea duty.

After leaving military service, Mr. Alexander began performing in 1947 with Ted Dewayne in a juggling act. They taught themselves aerial tricks, performing as the Dewayne Brothers.

Mr. Alexander toured South America and returned to work with a circus organized by Dewayne. He met Rose Lamont, a trick rider, in 1948, married her and trained her for the trapeze act.

In 1949, he went to work for Barnum. A fall in 1953 sidelined his career for several years.

He went to barber school and joined his father's shop in California, but soon returned to the circus, going from one to the next, and formed the Flying Alexanders.

His film career, which started in 1951 when he acted as a double for Cornel Wilde in Cecil B. DeMille's "Greatest Show on Earth," began to pick up. In that movie, he made a spectacular fall into a hidden net.

Mr. Alexander also performed for Tony Curtis in the 1955 film "Trapeze" and doubled for Martha Rae and Doris Day in "Jumbo" in 1962. In "The Big Circus" in 1959, he did stunts for Gilbert Roland.

For most of the past two decades, Mr. Alexander worked in a comedy act called Lemon-zene.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his sister, Dorothy Tubbs of Big Bear Lake, Calif.