Name: Karel Soucek on Letterman, September 20, 1984
Uploaded: 2019-05-21T00:39:44.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Karel Soucek on Letterman, September 20, 1984' from Don Giller on Comedy Buff. Published 2019-05-21. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Karel Soucek on Letterman, September 20, 1984' from Don Giller on Comedy Buff. Published 2019-05-21. Transcript available.

I can remember one time when we were in 6A and we, I don't even know where
these ideas
came from, but we had a drum, like a big oil drum, and in 6A the audience is at
a rake
like that and there was two rows of stair steps down, I don't know how many
steps there
were 50, 60, 100, I don't know, but the rake was, you know, like you're going
up to find
your, like at a ballpark of the steps, and I don't know how we explained it,
but I went
up to the top of the steps and there were guys and this oil drum, this barrel
made of
steel, and I got in it and then they had a top that they, with a power drill or
power
wrench bolted me into the, to the barrel, and then they tipped it on its side
and just
shoved me down the steps.
And I was in there thinking, you know, I could, I could, this could, I could
really, I could
hurt myself here.
Absolutely.
But it was interesting, because it was dark in there, there was absolutely no
sense of disequilibrium.
Oh, that's interesting.
Yeah.
And they unbolted the thing and I climbed out and it was, yeah, we'll be right
back.
And I, what, even I didn't know what we were doing.
Maybe it was better that way.
Probably.
Just do it.
Yeah.
Okay.
My next guest, we have hay stacked here in front of the desk and that's, that's
of course
to break the barrel or to break the, you know, stop.
There it is.
That looks pretty nice, doesn't it?
My next guest calls himself the last of the Niagara Daredevils on July 2nd.
Now, take a look at this videotape.
This is pretty unbelievable.
There he goes, folks.
Kiss it goodbye.
Adios.
That's him going over the falls.
He became the eighth person to go over the falls in a barrel.
Please welcome stuntman, Carol Sochek.
Hi, Carol.
Nice to see you.
Come on over here and sit down, Carol.
That's very frightening footage.
What kind of a drop is it?
Well, it's a 180-foot drop.
180 feet.
Yes, 180 feet and it would take about three and a half seconds.
And what kind of velocity do you build up there?
Well, it's at the end, when you hit the bottom, it's 75 miles per hour.
Oh!
Now, how far up the river did you start?
I started about, I would say, 300 or 400 feet above the bring.
You want to get a real running start at this.
No, it was for other reasons.
You see, I couldn't do it from any other place, eh?
The way the river changed about the falls since all the daredevils went over
the falls,
you know, it changed dramatically.
They built up there some break walls and I would get catched there.
I see.
Now, speaking of other daredevils, eight people have tried this, right?
Well, I'm the eighth one, yes.
You're the eighth one.
And how many, including yourself, have survived?
Well, I'm the fifth one.
You're the fifth one.
Fifth to survive, yes.
Now, it seems to me that the principle, essentially, is pretty obvious.
You just pad yourself as much as you can, right?
That's right.
Now, what happened to the guys who didn't make it?
What kind of vehicles did they go over in?
Well, you see, that's what I, I went through the research.
I done a lot of research.
I was working on it for 80 years and to find out why they died.
Uh-huh.
And why did, why exactly did they die?
Okay.
So, let's say one of the men, he went over 1930 in Wooden Barrel.
Wooden Barrel.
Right away.
You don't need to go any farther.
We know why he went.
Well, the lady, Annie Taylor, went over the falls 1901 in Wooden Barrel as well,
and she survived.
Oh, she survived.
So, what's the difference there?
Now, what was wrong with this guy, he figured out that he needed a ballast.
Of course, you need a ballast to go down feet first, and everybody, everybody
else, including me, I had ballast.
Had some ballast.
Now, what he did, he took a blacksmith anvil.
Oh, okay.
And he took that anvil with him inside of that barrel, and he tied it to his
foot.
Yeah, okay.
And he tied his hands to the top of the barrel.
Yeah.
Now, of course, when he hit on the bottom, that anvil, which was 100 pounds
heavy, it broke through the bottom.
Sure.
And took him down to the bottom of the river.
Yeah.
Only the arm was left in the barrel.
Oh, okay.
That's enough.
That's enough.
Okay.
Now, have all of the attempts been made in barrels?
Well, there were two attempts in rubber balls.
Rubber balls.
But, you see, I didn't want to go in a rubber ball, because a rubber ball may
be a recognizable thing with the people around Niagara Falls.
Who knows about it?
But let's say you come to Europe, and you say you went over the falls in a ball.
So, people don't know.
If you say you went over the falls in a barrel, then right away you can
visualize it.
Nobody's really going to be impressed if you say, I went over in a ball.
Right.
But you tell them you went over in a barrel, they'll buy you a drink.
Right.
They do.
What are we going to do?
Oh, we have to go up there.
Okay.
Now, we got our own barrel.
Mm-hmm.
And we're going to go, one of us is going to come down the steps in the barrel.
Right.
Now, we go up there now?
Yes.
All right.
Now, was there enough air in your barrel?
Did you carry your own air?
I carry my own air, and also I could draw the air from outside through the
system I had
there built in the barrel.
Do we have that system in our barrel?
I pump it up in oxygen and all that stuff.
I've been assured that we have a similar system in our barrel.
All right.
And will we need this kind of padding?
Well, I think you need it.
Now, what happened when you hit the water?
Did you sink, or did you just bounce on the water?
No, the water below the falls is so soft because of all the air bubbles in it
that it
actually served for execution and time.
I want to introduce you to the Levines.
There they are right there.
They're from Miami.
Nice to see you, folks.
How are you doing?
Thank you.
All right.
Thank you very much.
All right.
Is this the deal here?
Now, what do we do here?
Do we get into it now or not?
Talk a little.
Okay.
Let's show them the barrel.
What is this made of, Carol?
That looks to me like polyethylene.
Same thing that I use.
You use the same material.
Same material.
But yours was much bigger, wasn't it?
Mine was bigger than this thing here.
And also it has polyurethane foam around it in case I would hit a rock.
Now, you did hit a rock, didn't you?
I hit a rock, yes.
And you were sort of injured, but it was just a silly little injury, right?
Just a little injury that really didn't count for nothing.
That's something that happens to me most of the time.
Most of the time, yeah.
But, I mean, it was not a major injury.
It's just, you know, it's not a major injury.
It's just, you know, what you would call, you know, just a little incident.
Your watch kind of banged into your head a little bit and that was it.
But, I mean, really, after going 180 feet, 75 miles an hour, you can live with
that, right?
Of course.
Better than the old engine truck.
More people get, you know, some people get more by bouncing into the door.
We get into it now or not?
Start now.
We start getting into it now.
All right.
Is it in position where it ought to be?
Do we have highly trained technicians or do we have these guys?
Okay.
So, I'll just get in.
I'll just get in and we'll go to a commercial.
Should I get in and we go to a commercial?
As I go to a commercial, we get in or words to that effect.
Now, how do I get in?
Do you mind if I loosen my tie here?
All right.
Oh, I will.
I plan on.
I can't even loosen my tie.
How do I know we have the oxygen system?
Well, now I've screwed up my microphone.
All right.
Well, there's the tie there.
I'd like you to have that in case anything happens.
Okay.
Now, now I just...
That's what I said to my friends.
I left everything with them before I went home.
Oh, did you really?
Oh, yeah.
You were arrested, right?
Or the...
No, I was not arrested.
I was just sort of detained and, you know, they hand over to me.
They find you, right?
Yes, they find me.
Just like a parking ticket.
I've got the microphone on backwards here.
I'm sorry.
If they can't hear me, they can't hear me.
I can hear you fine, Dave.
We can dub the sound in much later.
Oh.
All right.
Now, it's pretty much just like this, right?
We're doing a commercial?
We'll be back, Dave.
All right.
And by the time we get back, more than likely, I'll have all of my appendages
in here.
Carol, can you give me a...
Thank you very much.
Oh, geez.
Yeah, well, this will be great.
Okay.
All right.
Fine.
Well, it's awfully roomy.
It's like a Winnebago in here.
Right.
We did, didn't we?
Did we go?
Oh, no.
Well, let's go.
Let's just go, and we'll be right back.
Okay.
Okay.
All right.
Welcome back.
We're...
The final preparations before I go down the...
And I can't...
I keep hearing this voice in my mind saying,
Gee, this is stupid.
So, with that in mind, are we ready to seal this sucker up?
Let's do it.
Okay.
Now, should I put this on?
Oh, yes.
Carol, did you wear a helmet?
No, I left my helmet behind me, but you should wear a helmet.
Not tonight.
I know, I know not tonight.
I meant when you went over the falls.
No, I wasn't wearing a helmet.
You didn't wear one then either.
Well, you should have worn one.
That's why you got the ticket.
All right.
Well, Godspeed, and I'll just get in here.
Oh, yeah.
There's plenty of room here.
What the hell was that?
How are we doing?
Oh, it's like being at the dentist.
I'll get out of this thing, and everyone will have left.
There's some parts of my body are going to sleep
that have never gone to sleep before.
All right.
How many more of these do we have?
Well, if you feel like you need to stop for, like, coffee or something, go
ahead.
Yeah.
Yeah, we'll get us a little programming retreat.
Take the staff up to the woods.
All right, we're ready.
Conferences all day.
Entertainment at night.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Are we all right?
Are you all right?
Later, that same night.
Oh, here we are.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
And I'm told that the vision in my left eye will be returning shortly.
Well, that was, that's quite an experience, isn't it?
It's something different, yes.
Yeah, and so Mattel is coming out with a home version of this.
Carol, nice meeting you.
Thank you for your technical expertise.
You're a foolhardy fellow.
Well, it's my pleasure to be here.
Oh, good.
Maybe one day you go over the houses.
Oh, yeah, probably in a couple of weeks.
Perfect.
We'll be right back, folks.
We'll be right back, folks.
We'll be right back.