B.H. De Lay

Biography

Beverly Homer DeLay, known as B.H. DeLay, was an innovator and a aviator actor of French descent. He was born on August 12, 1892 in the Oakland bay area of California. DeLay was also an engineer educated at the University of California as well as the prestigious, centuries old University of Heidelberg in Germany. B.H. DeLay's company performed at least half a dozen stunt firsts for the movies, including the first change from plane to train and train to plane. Another DeLay first was from saddle to plane, as well as auto to plane. "Daredevil" DeLay was the first to knock down a building with a plane on screen too. B.H. DeLay managed Ince Airfield (of the director and producer, Thomas Ince, well known for inventing the motion picture studio system) before owning it himself. DeLay was involved with over 50 motion pictures, including westerns, comedies and dramas. He acted and performed aerials with Ruth Roland, Oliver Hardy, Larry Semon, Al St. John, Helen Holmes, Viola Dana, Warner Oland, Thomas Ince, Al Wilson, Frank Clarke, Ormer Locklear and many other notables. He conducted a movie stunt pilot training school at his airfield in Venice. DeLay worked with over 25 motion picture companies including the original Warner Bros, Pathé, Vitagraph, Astra, Universal, and Fox. DeLay was only 30 when he died in a sabotaged plane crash performing in front of crowds of thousands at Ocean Park on the 4th of July in 1923. He was in the middle of a loop-the-loop in his plane, the "Wasp", when the wings folded back; barreling him nose first into the earth. The plane burst into flames shortly after he was pulled from the wreckage. Pins in his wings were found to be a substandard size of only 3/8 of an inch, rather than 1/2 or 3/4, indicating wing tampering. Several headlines from Venice and other Los Angeles newspapers state that DeLay was murdered through sabotage while performing on 4th of July, 1923. It remains an unsolved murder mystery. Not only was B.H. DeLay an innovator, he was a humanitarian who frequently organized and performed in aviation or actor benefits for individuals and organizations in need.