Lillian LaFrance: The Girl Who Flirts with Death

SHE RIPPED AND SHE ROARED

She wore aviator goggles, riding boots, jodhpurs and a shirt with a skull & crossbones on it and called herself “The Girl Who Flirts With Death.” Lillian LaFrance (1894-1979) was one of the first and most popular female wall of death riders of the 1920s and ’30s.

Circa 1920s– Lillian La France in her early Motordrome riding days.  This must be 1924, or close to it.  She looks a little green, and that signature smile and exuberant confidence is not quite present.

“It was the thrill of risking my life that made me to take to drome riding.  I was the girl who flirts with death.  From childhood I was inspired by wanderlust.  I was always alone, dreaming of adventures– how to ride a pony out West, to follow my calling to fame.  This was my secret.   I shared it with no one.”

In 1894, Agnes was the second of nine girls born into honest-livin’, hard-workin’ Catholic family standards. She christened herself  Lillian LaFrance and quickly shook the dust of her Kansas hometown from her boots sometime around 1916, and roared off to create the life she had always dreamt of, carving it raw as she went along.  She began Motordrome riding in 1924, and left a blurry, yet brilliant legacy behind that still haunts many who are taken by the images of her incredible spirit staring back through squinty eyes in a copy of a copy of old grainy photos.  Incredible.

What will I do today?  Nothin’ much, in comparison anyway.

Great shots of La France– I’m a sucker any day for the aviator goggles, jodphurs and riding boots.

Lillian La France started riding the Motor Drome in 1924, at the age of 30 yrs old, and was equally adept on a motorcycle or on four wheels.

Lillian La France sporting a jersey with a skull and crossbones motif– which was quite popular among the stunt rider set of the day.  A symbol of rebellion and perhaps a manifestation of an inner, romanticized death-wish.

Charming, candid shots of stunt rider Lillian La France.

Lillian La france — The World’s Foremost Lady Stunt Rider — left, with a broken arm.

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Honolulu, Hawaii, Circa 1930– Lillian La France photographed with the Side Show performers she traveled with.  Including seven-footer, Johan Aasen, who also enjoyed some stardom in his day.

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Lillian La France showing off with no hands on the treadmill at full rev.  She was one of the first, and also one of the most popular, female Wall of Death riders of the 1920s & ’30s.

“I was never meant to have children, or to be a plain housewife.  I saw how my mother lived, so you know married life never appealed to me– to endure what she went through…”

–Lillian LaFrance

Lillian LaFrance, female daredevil and stunt riderBorn Agnes Micek in 1894, she was was the second of nine girls growing up in a strict Catholic family in Kansas. She always dreamed of adventures and searching out her call for fame. Around the age of 22, she renamed herself Lillian LaFrance and literally ran off with a traveling carnival. In the next eight years her travels eventually led her to begin riding the motordrome at the age of 30.

Lillian LaFrance, stunt rider

Lilian LaFrance balancing on her bike at high speed on a treadmill-a popular tactic to entice people to spend the money to see the show.

The Girl Who Flirts with Death

She went on to become a premier motorcycle dare devil rider performing inside the “Wall of Death” attraction at carnivals across the country and around the world. She performed stunts that amazed the audience, who would pay ten or fifteen cents to watch from around the rim of the wall.

 

 

In 1998, a documentary about Lillian was done by writer, filmmaker Kim Wood called “Advice for Adventurous Girls.” Her novel, based on the life of a Kansas farm girl turned world-famous motorcycle daredevil, will be published in 2012.