Lucky Lott: Hell Driver

Matt Hartman is a freelance editor and cataloguer, running Hartman Cataloguing, Editing and Indexing Services.

Douglas Neal (Lucky) Lott’s thrill driving spanned a period of nearly 20 years, from 1935 to his retirement stunt in 1953. Many of his best stunts were performed in Canada; he put together a group of stuntmen (Lucky Lott’s Hell Drivers) in Stratford, Ontario, that travelled the circuits in Ontario and Quebec, picking up whatever purses they could find. Robinson’s book is notable for its photographs, in black and white, of Lott in action, car or motorcycle airborne, driving into and through cement walls.

There is great interest in some circles in automobile thrill driving. Evel Knieval and his followers regularly pack crowds of many thousands into dirt or macadam arenas of small (and big) town America and Canada. Demolition derby driving is a highlight of fairs and rodeos. There is something about a man (or woman) challenging death that brings out the people. Lott worked for several automobile makers, tire companies, and other corporations, in what was essentially an iconoclastic pursuit, picking up whatever money he could.

On August 27, 1983, at the Delaware (Ontario) Speedway, Lucky Lott drove a 1939 Chevy into the air and hurtled over a double-decker bus, into a row of eight catch cars. He was 62 years old and had been in “retirement” for 30 years. What will you be doing when you are 62?

Interesting for its pictures and its slice of Canadiana.