Paula Dell, A Stuntwoman Who Flew

Paula Dell, whose acrobatic feats made her a Muscle Beach star in Santa Monica, Calif., and a pioneering and fearless Hollywood stuntwoman — for one film, she was shot out of a cannon — died on Jan. 9 at her home in Santa Monica. She was 90.

Her cannon feat came as Carol Channing’s stunt double in the 1967 film musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”

In the scene, Ms. Dell is shown emerging from the cannon (no gun powder was used) just before the camera cuts quickly to Ms. Channing, playing the nightclub singer Muzzy Van Hossmere, “flying” onto a stage full of acrobats.

From Ms. Dell’s obituary by Richard Sandomir in the New York Times, 2016; Photo from the Santa Monica Public Library

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