March 5, 2025 • 35 mins
Guest: LAPD Chief of Police, Jim McDonnell discusses the aftermath of the LA fires and preparation for the Olympics // Tim wants to get into to some trouble and get away with it / Cannonball stunt gone wrong as the daredevil is recovering.// 'Human Cannonball' recovering after daredevil stunt goes wrong. //Rain worries in the Mountain Fire burn area in Camarillo / Rain returns to SoCal with Dallas Raine from ABC 7.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's k IF. I am six forty and you're listening
to The Conway Show on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
A man who needs no introduction, LAPD Chief of Police,
Chief of Police, Jim McDonald, Jim, how you sir?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hey, well Tim, thanks for having me back on. It's
good to be back.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
With you, buddy. I miss you. I miss going to
King games with you. The Kings are playing Boston on
the twenty third. I'll be there. Are you going, I'll
be there? Are you going?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Yeah, you know that Marshaan got hurt. You saw that.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I saw that.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah, you'd be great if we spent a half hour
just talking about the Kings and the Bruins and people like, hey,
what the hell's going on exactly?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
If anybody listen.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
That's right. But we got a lot going on. I
know that. Good Bye the way. Congratulations. I haven't talked
to you, I don't think since you got the big gig,
But I heard I heard a rumor about you, and
I want to ask you if it's true. But you
worked with LAPD, then you went on to be chief
of Long Beach Police Department. Then you were a LA
(01:04):
the sheriff in La county and now you're the chief
police in LAPD with all four pensions. They said you're
going to probably buy the Boston Bruins when you retire.
Is that true?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Only in my dreams?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
All right? But man, I think that's great that you
slid in there again and doing what you love doing.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah. No, it's great to be back. I feel like
I'm back home. There's a comfort level and knowing the tradition,
the history, the way the department works. I wouldn't trade
my experience with the other organizations for anything. I learned
a lot, met great people, and now have a working
relationship across the county that is very, very helpful.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
And one of my boddies, one of my good friends,
Alan Hamilton, is right there with you.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I don't think I've ever met a better cop in
my life.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yeah. Allen's so solid, man. He's our chief of detectives
and does a great job.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yeah. That's a sweet gig. Hey. So I drove around,
you know, not through the scar, but you know the
surrounding area. Man, you guys have that thing locked down.
I don't know how looters are getting in, but I
see cop cars everywhere around the burn Score area. Must
take a lot of time and next, you know, a
lot of ot out of your budget.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yeah, it does. Luckily, that's reimbursable long term by FEMA,
so it'll take a while to get it, but because
of the level of emergency it was, we will get
reimbursement for that. We have officers up there. The area
is still locked down to safeguard it for a number
of reasons, that potential theft being one, but also it's
just a hazardous area with contractors coming and going, with
(02:35):
the type of environment that's there, it still needs remediation
before people can freely go back in. We're bolstered there
by the California Highway Patrol has assets there, and we
still have the California National Guard. I can't say enough
good about the relationships we have with both of them,
but also the sacrifice that they've made to help the
(02:56):
City of Los Angeles, because they have a busy job
us on their own and to be able to sacrifice
and spend the amount of time they have with us,
we're indebted to them.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
You know, Jim McDonald's whethers he's the chief of Los
Angeles Police Department. When you were a sheriff, you're kind
enough to invite me to give to MC the awards
banquet where you give out certificates of you know, of
bravery to some of the young men and women in
the deputies in La County Sheriff's Department. And then I
remember where I was sitting when I was going to
(03:28):
go up to speak, and you tap me on the
shoulder and you said safe speaking Conway. Remember then? Yeah,
I mean I first heard that when I was in
third grade and now I'm still hearing it with my fifties.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yeah, that was risk management.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
That is great. Your wife must be thrilled though that
you're not around to sit around the house all day,
you know, just you know, wanting to do chores and
run errands with her. She's probably relieve your.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Con Yeah, I think that's an added benefit.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
And don't you have you have a big family too,
don't you. I don't know if you have grandkids, but
you got a lot of daughters, is that correct? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
I have two daughters, one local, one back east, and
one granddaughter and one grandson on the way. So I'm
very Yeah, it's a it's a it's a different way
of looking at life through their eyes.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Did did they? Because they grew up in LA. Did
they grow up in La? The kids?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Okay, lobby are they Kings fans?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
They're not really hockey fans? What come into it?
Speaker 1 (04:36):
What happened? Household?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
They were looking for tamer pursuits?
Speaker 1 (04:39):
I think so. All right, So LAPD, you have about
eighty eight hundred officers right now, but you're authorized to
go up another what seven hundred.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Yeah, we can go to ninety five by budget, but
we are at our highest. We were authorized for over
ten thousand. I would love to get back there as
soon as we can with good qualified candidates. And so
every chance I get to be able to do a
little recruiting pitch, I try and do that. No better
job out there pay benefits, long term pension and the
(05:09):
ability to be able to do things for people and
have the satisfaction that at the end of the day
that you made somebody's worth day just a little bit
more manageable. You can't put a price on that.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Yeah, I think you're right, and I think that that
recruitment is going to go up when they when they see,
you know, how the firefighter is and how the police
officers responded to the you know, to the natural disaster
that we had in Los Angeles. I think we're also
putting the cops out there and telling positive stories, which
(05:41):
you know, the news you know nowadays they're a little
better than they used to be. But man, they only
every time you heard a news story about a cop,
it was negative. I never did that on this show,
but I think that has to be you know, that
has to be wearing on you after a while. I'm
glad they're turning that around.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
No, thank you, Jim. It absolutely does wear on you.
You know, you have you want, you'd like to see
a little bit of balance sometimes, and I don't feel
like we've gotten enough of that historically. I do think
that's changing a little bit, and anything we can do
to be able to better mark what we're doing, the
good that is being done every day that goes off
and under the radar. Really though, cops are a Roman
worst enemy because they don't want to brag about what
(06:18):
they did. They just say, I'm doing so A lot
of things that should be caused the celebration, you know,
aren't recognized.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
You know, I got into a bit of trouble. I
should have you know, I should have had you sitting
next to me I was invited to do the Huntington
Beach Police Awards a couple of years ago, and I
accidentally said, well, if all the great cops are in
this room, then all the crappy ones are on the street.
And one of the guys said that went over the radio,
and now you have to get from here to the
(06:45):
four or five. Good luck barely. It's just barely. That
is a joke, But those guys didn't take it that way,
all right, So where do people go to if they
want to become a part of LAP what's the website?
What are the requirements? So is there an age or
weight or any kind of requirement that at least the minimums?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yeah, you know what. There you have to be a
good physical condition. They give you a medical, they give
you a physical agility test. You've got to be able
to pass that. It's a pretty rigorous process to be
able to get into the organization. When I look back
at twenty nineteen, the last time I looked at these numbers,
for every hundred people who applied, four made it to
(07:30):
the academy. Three made it through the academy. So there
aren't many professions that have that kind of a washout rate.
But for those are who are focused on this as
an opportunity and a career possibility, I would strongly encourage
them to try and give it their best shot, because
once you get in, it's a great career and an
opportunity to be able. As I said, to help others.
(07:53):
So if you go to our website lapd dot com,
there's a link to it or what is it hiring? Yeah,
join la pd dot com is the direct right into
the recruitment center.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
All right, join lapd dot com. I'm I'm a police officer.
Told me this, he said, with almost every single time
that they open up the academy, every new class, at
least one or two guys goes to sign up with
a radical felony record.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
You know, there's we get all types that apply to
the organization and we screen them, and as I said,
the rate is very high. Some of that is self selection.
People cut themselves out because they don't think they can
make it, and others for whatever is in their background
or other issues, wash them out. But again, you know,
(08:43):
I wouldn't let that deter people from applying because we
do look very closely at someone's background and we want
to give everybody a fair shot as well.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
That's right, but I really appreciate coming on. I know
that that you're always a stand up guy. I'll see
at the King game on March twenty third. I'll text
you where I'm sitting, and when the King smoked the
Bruins seven to nothing, I'll come down and you know,
enjoy that with you.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Perfect. I'll enjoy it with you myself.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
I like, all right, thanks for coming on, be safe,
Thanks for coming on, Chief McDonald, Thanks.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Man, thanks a million tim.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
All right, there he goes Jim McDonald, LAPD chief. Awesome.
That guy's great man. That guy's you can hear his voice,
really old fashioned Irish cop, you know, almost like a
character from Boston. You're like, Hi, didly d, dilly die
didly d me mother and me father. But a great guy.
And how about those pensions, though I know he sort
of blew by him. Lapd for nine years, long beach
(09:41):
chief for five years, LA County sheriff for four years
or six years, whatever that is, and then Lapd chief.
God almighty if he gets a check from every one
of those talking about three four maybe a blow off
that Topica conversation. I know, I know guy's going to
(10:02):
get the best best motor home all those chests. Yeah,
I got into real quick. I know, we gotta take
a break. But I who is the Chief Beck? When
when he was retiring, they'd asked me to mc an
event a couple of weeks before he retired, and and
and so he was there. There's probably about one hundred
cops there. It was at a golf tournament. And I said, hey, uh,
(10:27):
Chief Beck asked me before the golf tournament if I
edny connections at Mike Thompson r V because we used
to do the commercials for Mike Thompson r V. And
I said, uh, yeah, you want to get an RV? Goes, Yeah,
he goes, I want to get an r V and
with my wife on to see the entire nation. I said, oh,
I said, is your first stop going to be the valley?
(10:48):
And he didn't like that at all. He didn't he
didn't smile, he didn't find it funny at all. Yeah,
just like f U F all of you people.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
You're listening to Tim Conway Junior on demand from KFI
AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Nice to have the chief on the chief of police
for LAPD. And then I mentioned during the interview. One
of my buddies, Alan Hamilton, is now the head of
all detectives, and that position used to be held by
a guy named Chris Pitcher. And Chris Pitcher is a
childhood friend of mine. So I was asking Bellio during
(11:28):
the break, all right, hold on, okay, either what to do?
Speaker 4 (11:35):
Hit your knee again?
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Is back?
Speaker 4 (11:40):
What's going down my knee? You do that like once
a month.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
I throw it right. There's a box to put the
headphones right under the desk, And if you hit it right,
and I've hit it about ten times last year, and
it's already sore and bruised anyway, So you hit it
and it's like a billion times away the exact same spot. Yeah,
you just want to kill somebody, just wipe somebody out.
He can't do that, you know, No, Yeah, I guess
(12:07):
you can't.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Maybe he could. But I was wondering what I could
get away with. I was telling Belli O this, you know,
I was wondering if I give you know, because I
know a bunch of these cops. I wonder not a
speeding ticket, but I wonder if I can get await
with like I don't know, money, laundering you think, I don't.
I don't think larsening larsening. I don't know. I don't
(12:30):
what I could get away with, But I got a
I got to, you know, use my chip somewhere. You
know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (12:37):
Why don't you use them for good? Why does it
have to be something illegal?
Speaker 2 (12:43):
You know?
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Well? All right, all right, belly, you're like a goodie
two shoes though you know you grew up behaving except
for when you, you know, use the phone to try
to rip off business.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
You love putting me on shout. He did this like
right before the show. He just like somebody.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
Walks by and he's like, tell you about what's going
on with her.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
It's like, excuse me.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
But that's what I want out of you, that excuse me?
Speaker 4 (13:12):
Are you trying to get this?
Speaker 1 (13:14):
That's exactly right? All right? Maybe you can be the
missus human cannon balls. Here about this guy.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
I saw the video Thank you.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Guys out in the desert with the high winds and
he's going to do the human cannon ball, and they
didn't calculate the winds in it and missed the net
or it just barely hit the net, probably saved him.
And then did a couple of cartwheels into the pavement.
And he's six generation circus clown or I'm sorry, I
(13:43):
guess that's not appropriate, really hurt. He's six generation circus
entertainer is what he calls himself, Okay, and he's the
human cannon ball. I don't know if there's enough there
for me to look at a guy I obviously launching
out of a tube with a spring on it. It's
(14:04):
not a real cannon, you know, because that would blast
him into Big Bear. But he's just going like nineteen
feet into a net. Well, they didn't calculate the wind speed,
and he goes up in the air, wind catches him
and bang, cartwheel, hospital, broken ribs, it's done. It's over.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
It's pretty incredible that he's even able to talk to
us at this stage. I mean, this could have ended
very differently had he not hit the net first, had
he just blown past it.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
He's not, and he almost did. He almost missed the net, completely.
Speaker 7 (14:37):
Blown past it.
Speaker 6 (14:38):
He's now got a broken wrist, he's got a lacerated liver,
several cracked ribs. He spoke to us from a family
member's home in San Diego. One a dear Devil's stunt
gone horribly wrong.
Speaker 8 (14:53):
Right before the shot, I think the wind moved and
it started cross wind and that's what happened. The wind
caught me and threw me off to one side.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Yeah, why didn't he Why didn't he just say, I'm look,
it's two windy, I'm not doing it.
Speaker 7 (15:06):
Chochi the rocket Man valenc Yes.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Oh, what a name. I'm back into this dude, Chatzi
the rocket Man. That's his name.
Speaker 7 (15:14):
Chochi the rocket Man, Valencia says.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
After he was Chatzi the rocket Man Valencia, What a name.
Speaker 9 (15:21):
Chachi the rocket Man, Valencia says, after he was catapulted
out of the safety net at the Riverside County Fair
over the weekend.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
Yeah, he knew it was over as soon as he
left the tube.
Speaker 7 (15:29):
Everything went black.
Speaker 8 (15:31):
I don't remember anything until I was in the in
the ambulance on my way to the hospital.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Okay, look, the human cannon ball. I consider that like
a nineteen twenties attraction. Maybe nineteen thirties, maybe forties, definitely
not fifties. But stephansh you're you're a man of the people.
You're I get a good gauge of where America is
through you if you found out there was a human
cannon ball going to be performing around you, how far
(15:59):
is too far for you to drive to see it?
Beyond Vegas? So you would drive like two hundred miles
to see it?
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Really? Like if you found out it was in like
Baker or Baker's field, would you go to see it? Boom? Really? Oh, man,
I gotta, I gotta withdraw my affection for your analysis
being he said he was in Arizona. That's a little
too far. Yeah, but you wouldn't go to like Florida
to see it, right, you wouldn't fly to Florida's Yeah,
you're on You're out. You're on my side now, Crozer,
(16:31):
Hou's too far? If if you know you're at home
in Claremont or Montclair and there was a human cannonball
going off, how far is too far for you to
go to see.
Speaker 10 (16:42):
It more than thirty miles?
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Thirty miles? You would drive thirty miles to see it? Okay,
all right, bellio bellio? What's too far for you to
go see your nerve? Ne yes at the with your
your husband John's waxing his skis right? Sure you can
planning that you know that you don't like skiing anymore,
and he was sort of deaf to that. Yeah, and
(17:06):
then you realize, Wow, there's laundry you gotta fold, and
then you know you got to do the dishes. And
then you asked John asked you, Hey, there's a human
cannonball going off. You want to go see it? And
you say how far is it?
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Where is it?
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Right?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
And he said the Great Park. He said it's ten
miles from here. Would you go? Can't go five miles? Nope,
it's in the backyard.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
I'm busy. I don't want to see that.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
You wouldn't open up the blinds and look at it
in the backyard? All right, Well, you're not the audience
for it, then clearly I'm afraid.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
I would be afraid they got hurt, and I wouldn't
want to witness it like this guy did.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Angel you ever seen the human cannonball? No? Would you
go to see it?
Speaker 5 (17:53):
If I couldn't see it on my laptop, I'm not
going to see it.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Okay? Well, if he found out the guy I was
wealthy and single.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
And high, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
And then you're standing at the on.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
The net, I'll book a flight.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Waiting for him. You know, with your arms open. Hey, yeah,
come blast over here.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
That was a really great shot.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Gosh, that was your best cannonball shot ever. I mean, well,
now that's your worst cannonball shot ever. Well you know
what I mean. The people came to the casino and
enjoyed that.
Speaker 9 (18:26):
The sixth generation circus performer doesn't have held insurance.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
God a mighty, what that whole sentence is just ugly
as hell.
Speaker 7 (18:33):
The sixth generation circus performers.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Sixth generation circus performer.
Speaker 7 (18:38):
Doesn't have health insurance, doesn't.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Have Wait a minute, the human cannon ball doesn't have insurance?
What the hell? And who in the circus has insurance?
The guy cleaning up the dog doodo or the horse dooodoos?
I don't know, God Almighty, is that an oversight? Who
the circus? The human cannon ball is uninsured? Wow? Man,
(19:05):
oh man? Is I would think that's the only thing
he'd spend money on insurance health insurance.
Speaker 7 (19:12):
Doesn't have health insurance, he.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Doesn't have You know, I have health insurance, and I
take the elevator, I even take the stairs when I
come up here.
Speaker 9 (19:20):
Voluntarily left the hospital after just a few hours, worried
about the medical bills.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Yeah, he cannon balled out of there as well. He
just does put on his helmet, took off.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
Yeah, maybe he wants insurance, but because of his line
of profession, he can't get it.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Yeah. I was thinking about that. But then that means
he's not good at lying, you know, because everybody lies
about their profession and what they do, you know, to
get insured, and then you go yeah, and they find
out your human cannonball.
Speaker 8 (19:47):
I'm really sorry. It's hard for me to move around.
It's mostly because of the cracked head, cracked what ribs
that I have ribs. I also have a broken wrist
that's not bothering me so bad.
Speaker 9 (20:02):
Chachi says he knew the wind was an issue on
Sunday and actually considered backing out.
Speaker 7 (20:06):
At the last minute.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
I should have done that.
Speaker 7 (20:08):
But then looked out at the crowd.
Speaker 8 (20:10):
You see all the people waiting for you.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
To to die, waiting for you to what, waiting for
you to cartwheel, waiting for you to.
Speaker 11 (20:19):
Do what, waiting for you to miss the net, waiting
for you to I don't know, to do you Wait
a minute.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
I hate to say this, but I bet there's a
significant portion of the people who would go to see
this hope that he missed the net. I'm I'm not
saying it's me or Crozier or Bellio, Angel or Stefush.
I think we're all net people. I think we're we
hope the guy hits the net. I'm telling you that
there are some people that go to that thinking got it,
(20:54):
like to see him blow twenty feet past that net.
Speaker 10 (20:56):
Hey, why did they say he used to go to
hockey games? Yeah, and car race. That's right to see that,
that's right, that's right. You want to see him miss
that net.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Look, I think those people are sick and disgusting, and
I'd never be friends with I wouldn't even talk to
him again if I found out that anybody was like
that on this crew. But they're out there.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
You're listening to Tim Conway Junior on demand from KFI
AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
I'm fascinated by the human cannon ball guy. I said
to Bellio, said, Hey, here's the guy's phone number. Can
you try to get him on today? And she said,
how'd you get his phone number? As I I just
went to his website. It was the first thing up
on his website. And she laughed and I'm not sure
(21:41):
why she laughed. I can't figure it out. Bellio.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
I just didn't think it would be so easy to
contact rocketman.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Oh okay, all right, okay.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
You're turning this into something negative and it's not. It's not.
It's just I didn't think we'd be able to to rocketman.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Really, I did you thought you have to go through
like agencies and you know, yeah, guy has no insurance,
don't you think people? Yeah, do you think he's also
got you know, he's lacking in other areas well.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
Would you ensure a man that's like being launched out
of a rocket?
Speaker 4 (22:20):
That's probably hard to get.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
I'm sure it is. You know, they said that according
to Wikipedia, what do you think the most dangerous part
of the rocket Man's life is? What do you think
of that? Of his act? What do you think it
is the most dangerous part of his act?
Speaker 4 (22:45):
The launching?
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Oh you missed it. There's only two parts of it.
There's the launch and the landing. Yeah, it's the landing.
It's the landing.
Speaker 5 (22:53):
What is it that pushes him out? What launches him?
I think it's a big spring, you know. Well, and
what what what is the plan of where he's landing.
Speaker 4 (23:04):
Is there a big cushy pillow.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
No, it's a net. It's a big net. Yeah, and
he needs a bigger net. He's got a fairly small net.
And if I would put all his you know, Orange
County Fair, Riverside County Fair where I think it's Riverside
County Fair, I would put it some of his Riverside
County Fair appearance fee into more netting. If I was
(23:28):
the human cannont that's right. But I didn't know this.
You know, there's a company the largest retailer of the
human cannon There's a there's in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. They make
eighty percent of human cannon catapults. Eighty percent of them
come out of Pennsylvania.
Speaker 10 (23:48):
Is that even hit double digits. I don't know the
need for canons.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
I don't know how often you have to replace them.
You know, I think you went I think it's a
one off. Once you buy one, you know, you just
go out in a cannonball yourself. But there's thirty people
who have died doing this, died doing the human cannonball.
And that's a lot. That seems like a lot. It
(24:13):
started back in eighteen seventy seven. I think I was
right with then eighteen seventy seven, at the Royal Aquarium
in London, seventeen year old Rosa Richter was going by
Sizel and Sazel was launched by a spring style cannon. Yeah,
I got that right. Invented by a Canadian? How about that?
(24:36):
For brag William Hunt the Great Farini. He later toured
with the Barnum and Bailey Circus p T. Barnum Circus.
So during World War One, the cannon Ball proposed using
spring loaded cannons to shoot Italian soldiers across the enemy lines.
(24:58):
That's classic. I wonder what idea they left on the
table where they're going to put the soldiers in the
human cannonball and launch them across the enemy lines? Would
they say no to? Yeah? Right? I mean, and where
are they gonna land? You know where it's gonna you know,
walk around with two busted legs and try to beat
the enemy In a circus performance. Gunpowder may be used
(25:20):
to provide a visual and auditory auditory effects, but unrelated
to the launching mechanism. Everybody. Fireworks and smoke may also
be used. But this guy doesn't go with fireworks or smoke.
He just three to two one, and he's gone, and
there's a lot of risk. More than thirty human cannonballs
(25:41):
have died during the performance of this stunt. Thirty among
the latest what occurred in Kent, United Kingdom on April
twenty fifth and twenty eleven.
Speaker 10 (25:50):
I guess it's like a They say it's a cylinder
inside the cannon that actually pushes them, so it's like
basically like a piston.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Okay, and he's off. That's in twenty eleven, the human
cannibal died as a result of failure of the safety net.
That's your big concern. Here's an obvious three D house
of obvious quotes coming up. So get your obvious quote
meter and set it to zero, and it's not going
to move. It's going to be at zero. Still here
(26:19):
it is quote landing is considered to be the most
dangerous aspect of the act. Close quote.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
Yeah, I got that question wrong, eat it.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Yeah, but Bellio, I respect that because if you got
it right, I thought, maybe you know, you don't you
know too much about the human cannonball, and you might
leave to go work with you know, Chachi, the human
stud Valencia, whatever his name is.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
I think it's Chaci the rocket Man.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
The rocket Man.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
Yeah, yeah, I might. I might because I think I
could help him, because clearly I'm not helping you any.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
No, no, no no, you're helping us a lot. But
I think Donald Trump refer him as little Rocketman launched
in the net and he's down. So there there are
a bunch of them still out there. Though. There's Frank
cannon Ball Richards. How about that? How about that your
(27:17):
nickname in the cannon Ball game, cannon Ball, God a Mighty.
There is not a lick of of of any kind
of uh you know, creativity or originality or anything in
that name. Frank cannon Ball Richards, God a Mighty. William
(27:40):
Leonard Hunt is another one. That's amazing. Man. Oh here's
another one. Jim and cannon Ball get ready with the
dump button. Stephoosh. I don't know if I can say
this on the air, but the human cannon Ball by
butthole Surfers. Can we do that?
Speaker 2 (27:59):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (27:59):
They're a band? Oh what they are?
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Okay, all right, so I can use that term on
the air. Yeah, nice a band.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
The breaking news, I have some breaking news.
Speaker 5 (28:08):
Whoa Chaci the Rocketman Valencia is gonna.
Speaker 10 (28:11):
Come on with.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
That's great, we'll promote his YouTube er. No, it is
gofund me. Yeah, yeah, he's he's looking for fifty five
thousand dollars, which I understand. You know, he's got to
get back on his in his cannon again and he's uh,
he's at five grand.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
He needs a better net.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
He needs a bigger net. His crozer said, bigger net.
I need a bigger net. All right, he's coming on
with us next.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
I'm trying to get him for five O five.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Five o five? Oh is he booked?
Speaker 4 (28:51):
Disrespect calendar?
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Is he on the Is he on the Human cannonballt station?
Let me flip it on?
Speaker 11 (29:00):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (29:00):
What channel is it? Oh? Three eighty five? Now I
don't see him on the got a four fifty appointment.
He must be so jealous. Everyone's looking at these two
stupid eagles and not him. The rocketman cam these eagles.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
That's what he needs. He needs a camera attached to
him when he's launched.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
He needs a bigger net, and he needs health insurance.
So let's try to get him one or the other.
All right, thing talk with this guy, all right, five
oh five, the Human Cannonball is coming out. I think
this is our first cannonball.
Speaker 4 (29:32):
It is.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
I think it's our first human cannonball I've ever had
on check the archives. This guy's great man. Hope he
has a great sense of humor. All right, I'm sure
he does. I'm sure he does. He has right and
this is this his first fall. I don't know.
Speaker 10 (29:45):
Human cannonball guy, very serious.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Six generations of circus uh performers. Six That goes back
what a one hundred years? Maybe six generations? That's a lot.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
You're listening to Tim conwaytoun your on Demyl from KFI
AM six forty, A Rocketman, a human cannonball.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
That's five oh five today on the Conway Show. A
KFI AM six forty has really turned that around quickly.
Got almighty. That was great, that's awesome. All right, we
got the rocketman coming on. He's the human cannonball five
oh five. But first weather, everybody's worried about rain. How
(30:27):
long take you to get to work today, BELLI fifty
two miles?
Speaker 5 (30:31):
Yeah, about fifty one an hour and a half.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Oh my god, it was long. I'm going to pull
your hair out. Huh yeah, I bet.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
But it washed the truck so that was nice.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Oh, that's it. That's how you get a car wash.
Speaker 4 (30:43):
Yeah. I enjoyed that cheap wash, right, nice.
Speaker 12 (30:45):
Yeah, Okay, the rain for the most part here in
Ventura County in cam Real has been very light. So
the rain no problems, no major problems at all.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Do you think the rain cancels the human cannonball? You
think he doesn't shoot in the rain? Yeah, yeah, yeah,
he can slide off the net. Well, look, he had
no rain, net, he had no rain, and he missed
the net. Yeah, all right, so once he got to
loves No, no, no, I don't know.
Speaker 12 (31:14):
The good news is that the rainfall hasn't caused any
problems here in the Mountain Fire burn area last November,
you'll recall hundreds of structures where damage are destroyed in
the fire. As cruise continue to remove the debris and
ash from the burnt out homes here, Ventura County Fire
continues to monitor the rainfall well.
Speaker 13 (31:33):
Because it's a long duration and low intensity rain, this
is the ideal conditions to prevent debris flows from happening,
So we don't expect the rain totals of the rain
accumulation to reach a debris thresholds.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Okay, all right, let's go Dallas rains here. Dallas is
the best. He's the king of all weather. Now that
Fritz has passed, resigned, it's Dallas rains man. That guy
put some more work, more time, and his broadcast is meteorology,
meteorological work than anybody. Nobody works harder than that. Dude.
Speaker 14 (32:06):
Hey, we've had today with the rain moving into so
calm at this moment. You can see it's coming out
of the west and southwest. Rainfall of the mouse today
have been about a third of an edge so far,
so we're going to zoom in a couple of areas
now behind the front. It's very light rain, but it's
going to get even colder tonight. There hasn't been a
great deal of snow, and that's because we're waiting on
the cold air which will arrive later tonight end tomorrow.
(32:29):
As we hit out the ten still went out there
for friends in West Covina.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Hey, hello, everybody in West Covina.
Speaker 14 (32:34):
And then the leading edge of that full to air
which will arrive later tonight end tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
You know he doesn't do that. You don't hear Dallas
do that a lot? You know, you hear other weathermen
with their crutches to say hi to the city. You know, hey, Lightancaster,
or you know hi Colton, Hey, Hey, hey Colton. But
Dallas doesn't play that game much. You really hear that
from from Dallas rains high sealed beach.
Speaker 14 (33:00):
We hit out the ten still wet out there for
friends in West Covina, and then the leading edge of.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
That got closed there as we hit.
Speaker 14 (33:07):
Out the ten. Still wet out there for friends in
West Covina.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
High friends in West Covina, and.
Speaker 14 (33:11):
The leading edge of that front has a couple of
little showers, little heavier showers from crestline extending right on
down the fifteen there. As the radar sweeps around, this
is moving in your direction. If you're viewing from out
there around the Highland area San Bernardino, you'll get some
brief rain, nothing super heavy, No flood watches out or
anything like that.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
What about you crows, you get any and Claremont out there?
Any rain?
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Do it?
Speaker 10 (33:35):
Light drizzle on my wing?
Speaker 1 (33:36):
Yeah, same thing.
Speaker 14 (33:38):
And then once you get into the mountain areas, it's
still raining below seven thousand feet. But later tonight some
very cold air will window. Winter storm warnings are in effect.
Unforecast do you hear that?
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Folks that live up in the mountains, the mountains, you
live in the mountains, you gotta be wearing. We have
a winter storm.
Speaker 7 (33:56):
Warning, winter storm warnings.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Winter storm warning. That's big, that's a big deal for
the mountains.
Speaker 14 (34:02):
Winter storm warnings are in effect. I'm forecasting five to
ten inches of snow wow, late tonight all day long tomorrow.
And that's above six thousand feet. So if you plan
to go into the mountain areas, there will be a
dramatic change from today where it's raining most of the area.
Tomorrow and later tonight it will be snow. And look
(34:23):
at the snow coming down in the Ventura County mountain
areas two to four.
Speaker 15 (34:27):
And we will see snow on the grape Vine.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
So we have a lot of wa No, do you
hear that?
Speaker 15 (34:35):
And we will see snow on the grape Vine.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
Oh, that's the five Freeway. You're gonna see snow between
Magic Mountain and Bakersfield.
Speaker 15 (34:45):
Oh, and a nightmare, and we will see snow on
the greape Vine.
Speaker 14 (34:50):
So we have a lot of weather to talk about.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
Yeah, the great Vine, great, great, great great who cares?
All right? The human cannonball is going to be on
with the that's kind of cool. I don't think we've
ever had a human cannonball on with us. He missed
the net in Riverside, so he may not be totally upbeat.
We get that there'll be some wiggle room for him,
but he's a sixth generation performer circus performer, six generations.
(35:16):
That's a commitment. It's a huge deal, and he could
have missed the net and you know it would have
been it a wrap on six generations. Hopefully there'll be
a seventh. All right, we'll talk to him. We're gonna
try and get his GoFundMe rolling two because so far
people aren't opening up their wallets. We're live on KFI
AM six forty Conway Show on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
(35:41):
Now you can always hear us live on KFI AM
six forty four to seven pm Monday through Friday, and
anytime on demand on the iHeart Radio app.
It's k IF. I am six forty and you're listening
to The Conway Show on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
A man who needs no introduction, LAPD Chief of Police,
Chief of Police, Jim McDonald, Jim, how you sir?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hey, well Tim, thanks for having me back on. It's
good to be back.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
With you, buddy. I miss you. I miss going to
King games with you. The Kings are playing Boston on
the twenty third. I'll be there. Are you going, I'll
be there? Are you going?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Yeah, you know that Marshaan got hurt. You saw that.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I saw that.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah, you'd be great if we spent a half hour
just talking about the Kings and the Bruins and people like, hey,
what the hell's going on exactly?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
If anybody listen.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
That's right. But we got a lot going on. I
know that. Good Bye the way. Congratulations. I haven't talked
to you, I don't think since you got the big gig,
But I heard I heard a rumor about you, and
I want to ask you if it's true. But you
worked with LAPD, then you went on to be chief
of Long Beach Police Department. Then you were a LA
(01:04):
the sheriff in La county and now you're the chief
police in LAPD with all four pensions. They said you're
going to probably buy the Boston Bruins when you retire.
Is that true?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Only in my dreams?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
All right? But man, I think that's great that you
slid in there again and doing what you love doing.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah. No, it's great to be back. I feel like
I'm back home. There's a comfort level and knowing the tradition,
the history, the way the department works. I wouldn't trade
my experience with the other organizations for anything. I learned
a lot, met great people, and now have a working
relationship across the county that is very, very helpful.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
And one of my boddies, one of my good friends,
Alan Hamilton, is right there with you.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Man.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
I don't think I've ever met a better cop in
my life.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yeah. Allen's so solid, man. He's our chief of detectives
and does a great job.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yeah. That's a sweet gig. Hey. So I drove around,
you know, not through the scar, but you know the
surrounding area. Man, you guys have that thing locked down.
I don't know how looters are getting in, but I
see cop cars everywhere around the burn Score area. Must
take a lot of time and next, you know, a
lot of ot out of your budget.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yeah, it does. Luckily, that's reimbursable long term by FEMA,
so it'll take a while to get it, but because
of the level of emergency it was, we will get
reimbursement for that. We have officers up there. The area
is still locked down to safeguard it for a number
of reasons, that potential theft being one, but also it's
just a hazardous area with contractors coming and going, with
(02:35):
the type of environment that's there, it still needs remediation
before people can freely go back in. We're bolstered there
by the California Highway Patrol has assets there, and we
still have the California National Guard. I can't say enough
good about the relationships we have with both of them,
but also the sacrifice that they've made to help the
(02:56):
City of Los Angeles, because they have a busy job
us on their own and to be able to sacrifice
and spend the amount of time they have with us,
we're indebted to them.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
You know, Jim McDonald's whethers he's the chief of Los
Angeles Police Department. When you were a sheriff, you're kind
enough to invite me to give to MC the awards
banquet where you give out certificates of you know, of
bravery to some of the young men and women in
the deputies in La County Sheriff's Department. And then I
remember where I was sitting when I was going to
(03:28):
go up to speak, and you tap me on the
shoulder and you said safe speaking Conway. Remember then? Yeah,
I mean I first heard that when I was in
third grade and now I'm still hearing it with my fifties.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yeah, that was risk management.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
That is great. Your wife must be thrilled though that
you're not around to sit around the house all day,
you know, just you know, wanting to do chores and
run errands with her. She's probably relieve your.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Con Yeah, I think that's an added benefit.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
And don't you have you have a big family too,
don't you. I don't know if you have grandkids, but
you got a lot of daughters, is that correct? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
I have two daughters, one local, one back east, and
one granddaughter and one grandson on the way. So I'm
very Yeah, it's a it's a it's a different way
of looking at life through their eyes.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Did did they? Because they grew up in LA. Did
they grow up in La? The kids?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Okay, lobby are they Kings fans?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
They're not really hockey fans? What come into it?
Speaker 1 (04:36):
What happened? Household?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
They were looking for tamer pursuits?
Speaker 1 (04:39):
I think so. All right, So LAPD, you have about
eighty eight hundred officers right now, but you're authorized to
go up another what seven hundred.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Yeah, we can go to ninety five by budget, but
we are at our highest. We were authorized for over
ten thousand. I would love to get back there as
soon as we can with good qualified candidates. And so
every chance I get to be able to do a
little recruiting pitch, I try and do that. No better
job out there pay benefits, long term pension and the
(05:09):
ability to be able to do things for people and
have the satisfaction that at the end of the day
that you made somebody's worth day just a little bit
more manageable. You can't put a price on that.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Yeah, I think you're right, and I think that that
recruitment is going to go up when they when they see,
you know, how the firefighter is and how the police
officers responded to the you know, to the natural disaster
that we had in Los Angeles. I think we're also
putting the cops out there and telling positive stories, which
(05:41):
you know, the news you know nowadays they're a little
better than they used to be. But man, they only
every time you heard a news story about a cop,
it was negative. I never did that on this show,
but I think that has to be you know, that
has to be wearing on you after a while. I'm
glad they're turning that around.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
No, thank you, Jim. It absolutely does wear on you.
You know, you have you want, you'd like to see
a little bit of balance sometimes, and I don't feel
like we've gotten enough of that historically. I do think
that's changing a little bit, and anything we can do
to be able to better mark what we're doing, the
good that is being done every day that goes off
and under the radar. Really though, cops are a Roman
worst enemy because they don't want to brag about what
(06:18):
they did. They just say, I'm doing so A lot
of things that should be caused the celebration, you know,
aren't recognized.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
You know, I got into a bit of trouble. I
should have you know, I should have had you sitting
next to me I was invited to do the Huntington
Beach Police Awards a couple of years ago, and I
accidentally said, well, if all the great cops are in
this room, then all the crappy ones are on the street.
And one of the guys said that went over the radio,
and now you have to get from here to the
(06:45):
four or five. Good luck barely. It's just barely. That
is a joke, But those guys didn't take it that way,
all right, So where do people go to if they
want to become a part of LAP what's the website?
What are the requirements? So is there an age or
weight or any kind of requirement that at least the minimums?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yeah, you know what. There you have to be a
good physical condition. They give you a medical, they give
you a physical agility test. You've got to be able
to pass that. It's a pretty rigorous process to be
able to get into the organization. When I look back
at twenty nineteen, the last time I looked at these numbers,
for every hundred people who applied, four made it to
(07:30):
the academy. Three made it through the academy. So there
aren't many professions that have that kind of a washout rate.
But for those are who are focused on this as
an opportunity and a career possibility, I would strongly encourage
them to try and give it their best shot, because
once you get in, it's a great career and an
opportunity to be able. As I said, to help others.
(07:53):
So if you go to our website lapd dot com,
there's a link to it or what is it hiring? Yeah,
join la pd dot com is the direct right into
the recruitment center.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
All right, join lapd dot com. I'm I'm a police officer.
Told me this, he said, with almost every single time
that they open up the academy, every new class, at
least one or two guys goes to sign up with
a radical felony record.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
You know, there's we get all types that apply to
the organization and we screen them, and as I said,
the rate is very high. Some of that is self selection.
People cut themselves out because they don't think they can
make it, and others for whatever is in their background
or other issues, wash them out. But again, you know,
(08:43):
I wouldn't let that deter people from applying because we
do look very closely at someone's background and we want
to give everybody a fair shot as well.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
That's right, but I really appreciate coming on. I know
that that you're always a stand up guy. I'll see
at the King game on March twenty third. I'll text
you where I'm sitting, and when the King smoked the
Bruins seven to nothing, I'll come down and you know,
enjoy that with you.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Perfect. I'll enjoy it with you myself.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
I like, all right, thanks for coming on, be safe,
Thanks for coming on, Chief McDonald, Thanks.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Man, thanks a million tim.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
All right, there he goes Jim McDonald, LAPD chief. Awesome.
That guy's great man. That guy's you can hear his voice,
really old fashioned Irish cop, you know, almost like a
character from Boston. You're like, Hi, didly d, dilly die
didly d me mother and me father. But a great guy.
And how about those pensions, though I know he sort
of blew by him. Lapd for nine years, long beach
(09:41):
chief for five years, LA County sheriff for four years
or six years, whatever that is, and then Lapd chief.
God almighty if he gets a check from every one
of those talking about three four maybe a blow off
that Topica conversation. I know, I know guy's going to
(10:02):
get the best best motor home all those chests. Yeah,
I got into real quick. I know, we gotta take
a break. But I who is the Chief Beck? When
when he was retiring, they'd asked me to mc an
event a couple of weeks before he retired, and and
and so he was there. There's probably about one hundred
cops there. It was at a golf tournament. And I said, hey, uh,
(10:27):
Chief Beck asked me before the golf tournament if I
edny connections at Mike Thompson r V because we used
to do the commercials for Mike Thompson r V. And
I said, uh, yeah, you want to get an RV? Goes, Yeah,
he goes, I want to get an r V and
with my wife on to see the entire nation. I said, oh,
I said, is your first stop going to be the valley?
(10:48):
And he didn't like that at all. He didn't he
didn't smile, he didn't find it funny at all. Yeah,
just like f U F all of you people.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
You're listening to Tim Conway Junior on demand from KFI
AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Nice to have the chief on the chief of police
for LAPD. And then I mentioned during the interview. One
of my buddies, Alan Hamilton, is now the head of
all detectives, and that position used to be held by
a guy named Chris Pitcher. And Chris Pitcher is a
childhood friend of mine. So I was asking Bellio during
(11:28):
the break, all right, hold on, okay, either what to do?
Speaker 4 (11:35):
Hit your knee again?
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Is back?
Speaker 4 (11:40):
What's going down my knee? You do that like once
a month.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
I throw it right. There's a box to put the
headphones right under the desk, And if you hit it right,
and I've hit it about ten times last year, and
it's already sore and bruised anyway, So you hit it
and it's like a billion times away the exact same spot. Yeah,
you just want to kill somebody, just wipe somebody out.
He can't do that, you know, No, Yeah, I guess
(12:07):
you can't.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Maybe he could. But I was wondering what I could
get away with. I was telling Belli O this, you know,
I was wondering if I give you know, because I
know a bunch of these cops. I wonder not a
speeding ticket, but I wonder if I can get await
with like I don't know, money, laundering you think, I don't.
I don't think larsening larsening. I don't know. I don't
(12:30):
what I could get away with, But I got a
I got to, you know, use my chip somewhere. You
know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (12:37):
Why don't you use them for good? Why does it
have to be something illegal?
Speaker 2 (12:43):
You know?
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Well? All right, all right, belly, you're like a goodie
two shoes though you know you grew up behaving except
for when you, you know, use the phone to try
to rip off business.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
You love putting me on shout. He did this like
right before the show. He just like somebody.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
Walks by and he's like, tell you about what's going
on with her.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
It's like, excuse me.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
But that's what I want out of you, that excuse me?
Speaker 4 (13:12):
Are you trying to get this?
Speaker 1 (13:14):
That's exactly right? All right? Maybe you can be the
missus human cannon balls. Here about this guy.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
I saw the video Thank you.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Guys out in the desert with the high winds and
he's going to do the human cannon ball, and they
didn't calculate the winds in it and missed the net
or it just barely hit the net, probably saved him.
And then did a couple of cartwheels into the pavement.
And he's six generation circus clown or I'm sorry, I
(13:43):
guess that's not appropriate, really hurt. He's six generation circus
entertainer is what he calls himself, Okay, and he's the
human cannon ball. I don't know if there's enough there
for me to look at a guy I obviously launching
out of a tube with a spring on it. It's
(14:04):
not a real cannon, you know, because that would blast
him into Big Bear. But he's just going like nineteen
feet into a net. Well, they didn't calculate the wind speed,
and he goes up in the air, wind catches him
and bang, cartwheel, hospital, broken ribs, it's done. It's over.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
It's pretty incredible that he's even able to talk to
us at this stage. I mean, this could have ended
very differently had he not hit the net first, had
he just blown past it.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
He's not, and he almost did. He almost missed the net, completely.
Speaker 7 (14:37):
Blown past it.
Speaker 6 (14:38):
He's now got a broken wrist, he's got a lacerated liver,
several cracked ribs. He spoke to us from a family
member's home in San Diego. One a dear Devil's stunt
gone horribly wrong.
Speaker 8 (14:53):
Right before the shot, I think the wind moved and
it started cross wind and that's what happened. The wind
caught me and threw me off to one side.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Yeah, why didn't he Why didn't he just say, I'm look,
it's two windy, I'm not doing it.
Speaker 7 (15:06):
Chochi the rocket Man valenc Yes.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Oh, what a name. I'm back into this dude, Chatzi
the rocket Man. That's his name.
Speaker 7 (15:14):
Chochi the rocket Man, Valencia says.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
After he was Chatzi the rocket Man Valencia, What a name.
Speaker 9 (15:21):
Chachi the rocket Man, Valencia says, after he was catapulted
out of the safety net at the Riverside County Fair
over the weekend.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
Yeah, he knew it was over as soon as he
left the tube.
Speaker 7 (15:29):
Everything went black.
Speaker 8 (15:31):
I don't remember anything until I was in the in
the ambulance on my way to the hospital.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Okay, look, the human cannon ball. I consider that like
a nineteen twenties attraction. Maybe nineteen thirties, maybe forties, definitely
not fifties. But stephansh you're you're a man of the people.
You're I get a good gauge of where America is
through you if you found out there was a human
cannon ball going to be performing around you, how far
(15:59):
is too far for you to drive to see it?
Beyond Vegas? So you would drive like two hundred miles
to see it?
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Really? Like if you found out it was in like
Baker or Baker's field, would you go to see it? Boom? Really? Oh, man,
I gotta, I gotta withdraw my affection for your analysis
being he said he was in Arizona. That's a little
too far. Yeah, but you wouldn't go to like Florida
to see it, right, you wouldn't fly to Florida's Yeah,
you're on You're out. You're on my side now, Crozer,
(16:31):
Hou's too far? If if you know you're at home
in Claremont or Montclair and there was a human cannonball
going off, how far is too far for you to
go to see.
Speaker 10 (16:42):
It more than thirty miles?
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Thirty miles? You would drive thirty miles to see it? Okay,
all right, bellio bellio? What's too far for you to
go see your nerve? Ne yes at the with your
your husband John's waxing his skis right? Sure you can
planning that you know that you don't like skiing anymore,
and he was sort of deaf to that. Yeah, and
(17:06):
then you realize, Wow, there's laundry you gotta fold, and
then you know you got to do the dishes. And
then you asked John asked you, Hey, there's a human
cannonball going off. You want to go see it? And
you say how far is it?
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Where is it?
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Right?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
And he said the Great Park. He said it's ten
miles from here. Would you go? Can't go five miles? Nope,
it's in the backyard.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
I'm busy. I don't want to see that.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
You wouldn't open up the blinds and look at it
in the backyard? All right, Well, you're not the audience
for it, then clearly I'm afraid.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
I would be afraid they got hurt, and I wouldn't
want to witness it like this guy did.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Angel you ever seen the human cannonball? No? Would you
go to see it?
Speaker 5 (17:53):
If I couldn't see it on my laptop, I'm not
going to see it.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Okay? Well, if he found out the guy I was
wealthy and single.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
And high, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
And then you're standing at the on.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
The net, I'll book a flight.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Waiting for him. You know, with your arms open. Hey, yeah,
come blast over here.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
That was a really great shot.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Gosh, that was your best cannonball shot ever. I mean, well,
now that's your worst cannonball shot ever. Well you know
what I mean. The people came to the casino and
enjoyed that.
Speaker 9 (18:26):
The sixth generation circus performer doesn't have held insurance.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
God a mighty, what that whole sentence is just ugly
as hell.
Speaker 7 (18:33):
The sixth generation circus performers.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Sixth generation circus performer.
Speaker 7 (18:38):
Doesn't have health insurance, doesn't.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Have Wait a minute, the human cannon ball doesn't have insurance?
What the hell? And who in the circus has insurance?
The guy cleaning up the dog doodo or the horse dooodoos?
I don't know, God Almighty, is that an oversight? Who
the circus? The human cannon ball is uninsured? Wow? Man,
(19:05):
oh man? Is I would think that's the only thing
he'd spend money on insurance health insurance.
Speaker 7 (19:12):
Doesn't have health insurance, he.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Doesn't have You know, I have health insurance, and I
take the elevator, I even take the stairs when I
come up here.
Speaker 9 (19:20):
Voluntarily left the hospital after just a few hours, worried
about the medical bills.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Yeah, he cannon balled out of there as well. He
just does put on his helmet, took off.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
Yeah, maybe he wants insurance, but because of his line
of profession, he can't get it.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Yeah. I was thinking about that. But then that means
he's not good at lying, you know, because everybody lies
about their profession and what they do, you know, to
get insured, and then you go yeah, and they find
out your human cannonball.
Speaker 8 (19:47):
I'm really sorry. It's hard for me to move around.
It's mostly because of the cracked head, cracked what ribs
that I have ribs. I also have a broken wrist
that's not bothering me so bad.
Speaker 9 (20:02):
Chachi says he knew the wind was an issue on
Sunday and actually considered backing out.
Speaker 7 (20:06):
At the last minute.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
I should have done that.
Speaker 7 (20:08):
But then looked out at the crowd.
Speaker 8 (20:10):
You see all the people waiting for you.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
To to die, waiting for you to what, waiting for
you to cartwheel, waiting for you to.
Speaker 11 (20:19):
Do what, waiting for you to miss the net, waiting
for you to I don't know, to do you Wait
a minute.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
I hate to say this, but I bet there's a
significant portion of the people who would go to see
this hope that he missed the net. I'm I'm not
saying it's me or Crozier or Bellio, Angel or Stefush.
I think we're all net people. I think we're we
hope the guy hits the net. I'm telling you that
there are some people that go to that thinking got it,
(20:54):
like to see him blow twenty feet past that net.
Speaker 10 (20:56):
Hey, why did they say he used to go to
hockey games? Yeah, and car race. That's right to see that,
that's right, that's right. You want to see him miss
that net.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Look, I think those people are sick and disgusting, and
I'd never be friends with I wouldn't even talk to
him again if I found out that anybody was like
that on this crew. But they're out there.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
You're listening to Tim Conway Junior on demand from KFI
AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
I'm fascinated by the human cannon ball guy. I said
to Bellio, said, Hey, here's the guy's phone number. Can
you try to get him on today? And she said,
how'd you get his phone number? As I I just
went to his website. It was the first thing up
on his website. And she laughed and I'm not sure
(21:41):
why she laughed. I can't figure it out. Bellio.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
I just didn't think it would be so easy to
contact rocketman.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Oh okay, all right, okay.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
You're turning this into something negative and it's not. It's not.
It's just I didn't think we'd be able to to rocketman.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Really, I did you thought you have to go through
like agencies and you know, yeah, guy has no insurance,
don't you think people? Yeah, do you think he's also
got you know, he's lacking in other areas well.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
Would you ensure a man that's like being launched out
of a rocket?
Speaker 4 (22:20):
That's probably hard to get.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
I'm sure it is. You know, they said that according
to Wikipedia, what do you think the most dangerous part
of the rocket Man's life is? What do you think
of that? Of his act? What do you think it
is the most dangerous part of his act?
Speaker 4 (22:45):
The launching?
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Oh you missed it. There's only two parts of it.
There's the launch and the landing. Yeah, it's the landing.
It's the landing.
Speaker 5 (22:53):
What is it that pushes him out? What launches him?
I think it's a big spring, you know. Well, and
what what what is the plan of where he's landing.
Speaker 4 (23:04):
Is there a big cushy pillow.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
No, it's a net. It's a big net. Yeah, and
he needs a bigger net. He's got a fairly small net.
And if I would put all his you know, Orange
County Fair, Riverside County Fair where I think it's Riverside
County Fair, I would put it some of his Riverside
County Fair appearance fee into more netting. If I was
(23:28):
the human cannont that's right. But I didn't know this.
You know, there's a company the largest retailer of the
human cannon There's a there's in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. They make
eighty percent of human cannon catapults. Eighty percent of them
come out of Pennsylvania.
Speaker 10 (23:48):
Is that even hit double digits. I don't know the
need for canons.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
I don't know how often you have to replace them.
You know, I think you went I think it's a
one off. Once you buy one, you know, you just
go out in a cannonball yourself. But there's thirty people
who have died doing this, died doing the human cannonball.
And that's a lot. That seems like a lot. It
(24:13):
started back in eighteen seventy seven. I think I was
right with then eighteen seventy seven, at the Royal Aquarium
in London, seventeen year old Rosa Richter was going by
Sizel and Sazel was launched by a spring style cannon. Yeah,
I got that right. Invented by a Canadian? How about that?
(24:36):
For brag William Hunt the Great Farini. He later toured
with the Barnum and Bailey Circus p T. Barnum Circus.
So during World War One, the cannon Ball proposed using
spring loaded cannons to shoot Italian soldiers across the enemy lines.
(24:58):
That's classic. I wonder what idea they left on the
table where they're going to put the soldiers in the
human cannonball and launch them across the enemy lines? Would
they say no to? Yeah? Right? I mean, and where
are they gonna land? You know where it's gonna you know,
walk around with two busted legs and try to beat
the enemy In a circus performance. Gunpowder may be used
(25:20):
to provide a visual and auditory auditory effects, but unrelated
to the launching mechanism. Everybody. Fireworks and smoke may also
be used. But this guy doesn't go with fireworks or smoke.
He just three to two one, and he's gone, and
there's a lot of risk. More than thirty human cannonballs
(25:41):
have died during the performance of this stunt. Thirty among
the latest what occurred in Kent, United Kingdom on April
twenty fifth and twenty eleven.
Speaker 10 (25:50):
I guess it's like a They say it's a cylinder
inside the cannon that actually pushes them, so it's like
basically like a piston.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Okay, and he's off. That's in twenty eleven, the human
cannibal died as a result of failure of the safety net.
That's your big concern. Here's an obvious three D house
of obvious quotes coming up. So get your obvious quote
meter and set it to zero, and it's not going
to move. It's going to be at zero. Still here
(26:19):
it is quote landing is considered to be the most
dangerous aspect of the act. Close quote.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
Yeah, I got that question wrong, eat it.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Yeah, but Bellio, I respect that because if you got
it right, I thought, maybe you know, you don't you
know too much about the human cannonball, and you might
leave to go work with you know, Chachi, the human
stud Valencia, whatever his name is.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
I think it's Chaci the rocket Man.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
The rocket Man.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
Yeah, yeah, I might. I might because I think I
could help him, because clearly I'm not helping you any.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
No, no, no no, you're helping us a lot. But
I think Donald Trump refer him as little Rocketman launched
in the net and he's down. So there there are
a bunch of them still out there. Though. There's Frank
cannon Ball Richards. How about that? How about that your
(27:17):
nickname in the cannon Ball game, cannon Ball, God a Mighty.
There is not a lick of of of any kind
of uh you know, creativity or originality or anything in
that name. Frank cannon Ball Richards, God a Mighty. William
(27:40):
Leonard Hunt is another one. That's amazing. Man. Oh here's
another one. Jim and cannon Ball get ready with the
dump button. Stephoosh. I don't know if I can say
this on the air, but the human cannon Ball by
butthole Surfers. Can we do that?
Speaker 2 (27:59):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (27:59):
They're a band? Oh what they are?
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Okay, all right, so I can use that term on
the air. Yeah, nice a band.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
The breaking news, I have some breaking news.
Speaker 5 (28:08):
Whoa Chaci the Rocketman Valencia is gonna.
Speaker 10 (28:11):
Come on with.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
That's great, we'll promote his YouTube er. No, it is
gofund me. Yeah, yeah, he's he's looking for fifty five
thousand dollars, which I understand. You know, he's got to
get back on his in his cannon again and he's uh,
he's at five grand.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
He needs a better net.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
He needs a bigger net. His crozer said, bigger net.
I need a bigger net. All right, he's coming on
with us next.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
I'm trying to get him for five O five.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Five o five? Oh is he booked?
Speaker 4 (28:51):
Disrespect calendar?
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Is he on the Is he on the Human cannonballt station?
Let me flip it on?
Speaker 11 (29:00):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (29:00):
What channel is it? Oh? Three eighty five? Now I
don't see him on the got a four fifty appointment.
He must be so jealous. Everyone's looking at these two
stupid eagles and not him. The rocketman cam these eagles.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
That's what he needs. He needs a camera attached to
him when he's launched.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
He needs a bigger net, and he needs health insurance.
So let's try to get him one or the other.
All right, thing talk with this guy, all right, five
oh five, the Human Cannonball is coming out. I think
this is our first cannonball.
Speaker 4 (29:32):
It is.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
I think it's our first human cannonball I've ever had
on check the archives. This guy's great man. Hope he
has a great sense of humor. All right, I'm sure
he does. I'm sure he does. He has right and
this is this his first fall. I don't know.
Speaker 10 (29:45):
Human cannonball guy, very serious.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Six generations of circus uh performers. Six That goes back
what a one hundred years? Maybe six generations? That's a lot.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
You're listening to Tim conwaytoun your on Demyl from KFI
AM six forty, A Rocketman, a human cannonball.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
That's five oh five today on the Conway Show. A
KFI AM six forty has really turned that around quickly.
Got almighty. That was great, that's awesome. All right, we
got the rocketman coming on. He's the human cannonball five
oh five. But first weather, everybody's worried about rain. How
(30:27):
long take you to get to work today, BELLI fifty
two miles?
Speaker 5 (30:31):
Yeah, about fifty one an hour and a half.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Oh my god, it was long. I'm going to pull
your hair out. Huh yeah, I bet.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
But it washed the truck so that was nice.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Oh, that's it. That's how you get a car wash.
Speaker 4 (30:43):
Yeah. I enjoyed that cheap wash, right, nice.
Speaker 12 (30:45):
Yeah, Okay, the rain for the most part here in
Ventura County in cam Real has been very light. So
the rain no problems, no major problems at all.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Do you think the rain cancels the human cannonball? You
think he doesn't shoot in the rain? Yeah, yeah, yeah,
he can slide off the net. Well, look, he had
no rain, net, he had no rain, and he missed
the net. Yeah, all right, so once he got to
loves No, no, no, I don't know.
Speaker 12 (31:14):
The good news is that the rainfall hasn't caused any
problems here in the Mountain Fire burn area last November,
you'll recall hundreds of structures where damage are destroyed in
the fire. As cruise continue to remove the debris and
ash from the burnt out homes here, Ventura County Fire
continues to monitor the rainfall well.
Speaker 13 (31:33):
Because it's a long duration and low intensity rain, this
is the ideal conditions to prevent debris flows from happening,
So we don't expect the rain totals of the rain
accumulation to reach a debris thresholds.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Okay, all right, let's go Dallas rains here. Dallas is
the best. He's the king of all weather. Now that
Fritz has passed, resigned, it's Dallas rains man. That guy
put some more work, more time, and his broadcast is meteorology,
meteorological work than anybody. Nobody works harder than that. Dude.
Speaker 14 (32:06):
Hey, we've had today with the rain moving into so
calm at this moment. You can see it's coming out
of the west and southwest. Rainfall of the mouse today
have been about a third of an edge so far,
so we're going to zoom in a couple of areas
now behind the front. It's very light rain, but it's
going to get even colder tonight. There hasn't been a
great deal of snow, and that's because we're waiting on
the cold air which will arrive later tonight end tomorrow.
(32:29):
As we hit out the ten still went out there
for friends in West Covina.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Hey, hello, everybody in West Covina.
Speaker 14 (32:34):
And then the leading edge of that full to air
which will arrive later tonight end tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
You know he doesn't do that. You don't hear Dallas
do that a lot? You know, you hear other weathermen
with their crutches to say hi to the city. You know, hey, Lightancaster,
or you know hi Colton, Hey, Hey, hey Colton. But
Dallas doesn't play that game much. You really hear that
from from Dallas rains high sealed beach.
Speaker 14 (33:00):
We hit out the ten still wet out there for
friends in West Covina, and then the leading edge of.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
That got closed there as we hit.
Speaker 14 (33:07):
Out the ten. Still wet out there for friends in
West Covina.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
High friends in West Covina, and.
Speaker 14 (33:11):
The leading edge of that front has a couple of
little showers, little heavier showers from crestline extending right on
down the fifteen there. As the radar sweeps around, this
is moving in your direction. If you're viewing from out
there around the Highland area San Bernardino, you'll get some
brief rain, nothing super heavy, No flood watches out or
anything like that.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
What about you crows, you get any and Claremont out there?
Any rain?
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Do it?
Speaker 10 (33:35):
Light drizzle on my wing?
Speaker 1 (33:36):
Yeah, same thing.
Speaker 14 (33:38):
And then once you get into the mountain areas, it's
still raining below seven thousand feet. But later tonight some
very cold air will window. Winter storm warnings are in effect.
Unforecast do you hear that?
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Folks that live up in the mountains, the mountains, you
live in the mountains, you gotta be wearing. We have
a winter storm.
Speaker 7 (33:56):
Warning, winter storm warnings.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Winter storm warning. That's big, that's a big deal for
the mountains.
Speaker 14 (34:02):
Winter storm warnings are in effect. I'm forecasting five to
ten inches of snow wow, late tonight all day long tomorrow.
And that's above six thousand feet. So if you plan
to go into the mountain areas, there will be a
dramatic change from today where it's raining most of the area.
Tomorrow and later tonight it will be snow. And look
(34:23):
at the snow coming down in the Ventura County mountain
areas two to four.
Speaker 15 (34:27):
And we will see snow on the grape Vine.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
So we have a lot of wa No, do you
hear that?
Speaker 15 (34:35):
And we will see snow on the grape Vine.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
Oh, that's the five Freeway. You're gonna see snow between
Magic Mountain and Bakersfield.
Speaker 15 (34:45):
Oh, and a nightmare, and we will see snow on
the greape Vine.
Speaker 14 (34:50):
So we have a lot of weather to talk about.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
Yeah, the great Vine, great, great, great great who cares?
All right? The human cannonball is going to be on
with the that's kind of cool. I don't think we've
ever had a human cannonball on with us. He missed
the net in Riverside, so he may not be totally upbeat.
We get that there'll be some wiggle room for him,
but he's a sixth generation performer circus performer, six generations.
(35:16):
That's a commitment. It's a huge deal, and he could
have missed the net and you know it would have
been it a wrap on six generations. Hopefully there'll be
a seventh. All right, we'll talk to him. We're gonna
try and get his GoFundMe rolling two because so far
people aren't opening up their wallets. We're live on KFI
AM six forty Conway Show on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
(35:41):
Now you can always hear us live on KFI AM
six forty four to seven pm Monday through Friday, and
anytime on demand on the iHeart Radio app.
Tim Conway Jr. on Demand News
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