In the end, Crash Moreau lived his life the way he always wanted.
Whether it was on fire, or surviving a horrific car crash, he performed stunts and thrills for decades, at county fairs and stunt shows throughout the Northeast.
Example. Here’s a video of him from 2011, at the Orange County Fair.
And if you’ve ever heard of Crash Moreau, it might have been from his appearance as a contestant on the show America’s Got Talent, where in 2013 he performed as “Captain Explosion.”
Who we called Crash Moreau was born James William Moreau in 1948. He began his entertainment career as a member of Joie Chitwood’s stunt car team in 1967, then after a short racing career, he transitioned into a stunt and thrill performer.
He performed stunts and thrills for over 40 years. Even after the passing of his longtime love and partner, Shirley, Crash continued to entertain crowds as much as he possibly could.
But, unfortunately, there is one stunt that no one can survive.
That stunt is living forever.
Somewhere between August 25 and September 15, a welfare check at his Maine residence revealed that Crash had passed away peacefully in his sleep. He was 73 years old.
My memories of Crash Moreau are from a single event – his appearance with the Thrillmasters in 2012 at the Orange County Fairgrounds. I blogged about it here. Wow, that was a fun day. Even if the heavens opened up and about 4 zillion gallons of water came down on our heads.
But it was still fun.
Those were fun memories.
I think about memories like those now and again. And Crash Moreau made people smile. He entertained crowds. So what if he used explosives and fire to do that? It was his choice and he loved it.
In this world, we get one shot, one chance, one moment to ride from Point A to Point B. All those explosions and death-defying stunts Crash went through never stopped him on his travels. He still made it through a full life.
I hope that in his respite, he and his love Shirley are reunited in the next world.
Godspeed, man.
Chuck The Writer 