127:, the daughter of John L. Dornacker. Her family lived at 1701 Las Lomas Road, NE Albuquerque, in a house built in 1928 by her grandfather, Dr Edward C. Matthews, a physician. She had two sisters, Ann and Mary. She was a performer from a young age, and wrote a six-act play while she was in Monte Vista Elementary School; at 8, she sang all the parts in an opera of her own composition "in a language no one could understand".
165:'s Homecoming Queen. Her campaign saw her riding a bicycle enclosed in a cage; she described herself as an 'Earth Mother' and declared that she was magic. Although she won election to the position, she withdrew stating that she 'didn't want the responsibility'. She did not pursue her college degree beyond this first year.
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when he came to see Leila and the Snakes, and he asked her to be a part of the group's live show. "For a better part of two years," she later recalled, "I was out on the road with them." She toured with The Tubes as backing singer and dancer. She co-wrote the song "Don't Touch Me There" for the group
411:
Shortly after the incident, several on-air interviews with WNBC Radio staff described the incident and their feelings in detail, including how other news organizations "pumped news" into the WNBC Radio newsroom as they were all in shock. Joey
Reynolds broke down on-air when talking about Dornacker's
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Dornacker's 16-year-old daughter, Naomi, was orphaned, having lost her father, Bob
Knickerbocker, three months earlier. Naomi received $ 325,000 in a settlement with owner Spectrum Helicopters of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, and the maker of the helicopter.
185:". Dornacker described the group as closer to musical theatre than rock music: "I worked with a couple of girls I knew from dance classes, and we did nutty dance routines and songs, and I did these long, rambling monologues.' Gates and the band became
380:
at a river pier, crashed into the Hudson River very near to the
Manhattan shore and sank in 15 to 20 feet (5 to 6 m) of water. Both occupants were trapped for nearly 10–15 minutes before help arrived. Dornacker died on her way to
280:
Dornacker's music and acting had long had a comedic element. She developed a career as a stand-up comic in San
Francisco. In 1979, she told journalist Leslie Goldberg: "To me, the funniest things are visual things. Like
412:
daughter. WNBC played other interviews with friends and recordings of
Dornacker talking about the first helicopter crash earlier that same year. Her music was also played during these tribute shows, including
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She married Bob
Knickerbocker, whom she had met at university, and their daughter Naomi was born in 1969. They divorced after eight years of marriage; Knickerbocker would die of a heart attack in July, 1986.
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at the time. She was noted for her exceptionally fast speech, so fast it required concentration to understand her. As she did traffic, she would tell her daughter Naomi to get up and get to school.
833:"THE HIDDEN THREAT TO AIR SAFETY A pernicious problem with aircraft maintenance is coming to light. No one wants to talk about it, but substandard and bogus spare parts may be causing crashes"
400:, was a military surplus part which was not designed for use in a civilian aircraft, and that the part had not been adequately lubricated. It directly led to a mid-air seizure of the main
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181:. Pearl E. Gates and Pamela Wood provided supporting vocals. Their repertoire included "Rock and Roll Weirdos," "Pyramid Power" and a spoof version of Peggy Lee's "
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In her late high school years, Dornacker was a featured performer in a number of local
Albuquerque dramatic productions. In March 1964 she played Sophie in
745:
Leslie
Goldberg 'They Laughed When Leila t. Snake Sat Down to Play Piano', SF Sunday Examiner & Chronicle Datebook section 26 August 1979 p. 36.
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Leslie
Goldberg 'They Laughed When Leila t. Snake Sat Down to Play Piano', SF Sunday Examiner & Chronicle Datebook section 26 August 1979 p. 36.
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Leslie
Goldberg 'They Laughed When Leila t. Snake Sat Down to Play Piano', SF Sunday Examiner & Chronicle Datebook section 26 August 1979 p. 36
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Dornacker's work as a traffic reporter in the early 1980s emerged from her media work with Nisker. She was initially employed in this role by
919:
251:, which was staged in October 1980 alongside work by two men who were important to her career: Shepard, creator of a "percussion event", and
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on Wednesday and Saturday nights in 1979. Dornacker and Nisker were the MCs for the Bay Area Theater Critics' Circle Awards in May, 1983.
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207:(1976), and was released as a 7" single. "Cathy's Clone", written entirely by Dornacker, appears on the third Tubes album,
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She gained some success in stand-up and was a notable comedian in San Francisco in the early 1980s. In 1982, along with
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Dornacker was the lead singer (Leila), keyboardist, and songwriter of the 1970s/1980s San Francisco "tack" rock group
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350:, approximately six months apart. She survived the first crash, on April 18, 1986, but was killed in the second.
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were, "Hit the water, hit the water, hit the water!" The F-28 helicopter nose-dived, struck the top of a
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On October 22, 1986, Dornacker was giving one of the station's N-Copter traffic reports during the
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that was installed in the helicopter, which was on lease to WNBC Radio by Spectrum Helicopters of
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Dornacker built on her early experience as an actress throughout her career, notably in works by
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Other groups Dornacker formed included Jane Door and the Door Knockers and The Final Solution.
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without Dornacker. Guitarist Miles Corbin formed the surf instrumental band the Aqua Velvets.
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473:"Jane Dornacker remembered for hilarious traffic reports and chilling last words: Roadshow"
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Leslie Goldberg 'They Laughed When Leila t. Snake Sat Down to Play Piano', San Francisco
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Allan Ulrich, "Theater Critics Circle Pays Tribute to Social Commentary" San Francisco
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and the improv group Femprov, she participated in a benefit for Big Sisters Friday at
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Toby Smith 'The Entertainer: the Short, Zappy Life of Jane Dornacker' Albuquerque
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Toby Smith 'The Entertainer: the Short, Zappy Life of Jane Dornacker' Albuquerque
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Toby Smith 'The Entertainer: the Short, Zappy Life of Jane Dornacker' Albuquerque
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Toby Smith 'The Entertainer: the Short, Zappy Life of Jane Dornacker' Albuquerque
778:
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Norman, Michael (1986). "Traffic Copter Crash in Hudson River Kills Reporter,"
201:. The song was sung by Re Styles and appeared on The Tubes' second studio album,
103:(October 1, 1947 – October 22, 1986) was an American rock musician, comedian and
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Dornacker also provided lead vocals on "Christopher Columbus" (1978), a song by
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385:. Pilot Bill Pate, the only other occupant, was severely injured but survived.
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Dornacker was aboard during two unrelated crashes of the helicopters leased to
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in San Francisco. She also cohosted a television show with Wes "Scoop" Nisker,
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In 1965 Dornacker moved to San Francisco and in the same year vied to become
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Steven Winn, "New Theatre Season is Getting into Full Swing" San Francisco
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Clark Peterson 'Women Doing Standup – No Laughing Matter' San Francisco
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Robert Gearty 'Lady was Always Up' NY Daily News 23 October 1986 p.
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285:. I mean it doesn't matter, even if it's a bad script or if it's a
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Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents in the United States
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Unofficial transcript of the traffic report by Jason Elliot Benda
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A memorial concert in celebration of Dornacker took place at
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594:'Highland Senior Class Presents Play Tonight' Albuquerque
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on Saturday, November 22, 1986, with performers including
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Gearty, Robert (23 October 1986). "Lady was Always Up".
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to become a much-loved, raspy-voiced "trafficologist”.
607:'College Queen Contest Back to Normal' San Francisco
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Group, Gary Richards | Bay Area News (May 16, 2021).
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from an altitude of roughly 75 feet (23 m). Her
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Aircheck of the Jane Dornacker tragedy from ohms.com
831:Isgro, Anna Cifelli; Coll, Arieh (April 13, 1987).
192:Dornacker came to the attention of Bill Spooner of
980:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1986
323:, a popular Top 40 radio station. She worked with
454:, where she was living at the time of her death.
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663:Burr Snider, 'AKA Jane Dornacker' San Francisco
858:"Trust fund established for Dornacker daughter"
289:commercial, he's always funny. He just is."
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16:American musician, entertainer, and reporter
368:helicopter she was aboard plunged into the
416:, which she had co-written for The Tubes.
29:
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218:R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders
150:and in October, she played Christina in
383:Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center
249:Jane Door and the Five or Four Children
975:Radio personalities from New York City
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628:supplement, 6 January 1987, pp. 4-14.
559:supplement, 6 January 1987, pp. 4-14.
542:supplement, 6 January 1987, pp. 4-14.
450:A memorial to Dornacker is located in
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272:, which also had Shepard in the cast.
965:Accidental deaths in New York (state)
864:from the original on January 25, 2022
684:supplement, 6 January 1987, pp. 4-14
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388:In the subsequent investigation, the
94:Musician, comedian, traffic reporter
807:"NTSB's report on helicopter crash"
568:'Leading Cast Members' Albuquerque
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327:, who was that station's morning
197:with the ceramicist and musician
1015:American women punk rock singers
896:from the original on 2021-12-12.
860:. Desert Sun. October 24, 1986.
439:, Jeremy Kramer, Sluts a Go Go,
1000:20th-century American comedians
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704:Sunday Examiner and Chronicle
654:section, 26 August 1979 p. 36
521:'Come to Church' Albuquerque
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111:; she also led her own band,
1010:Comedians from New York City
781:Retrieved December 13, 2020.
736:section, 28 March 1982 p. 50
140:; in August she appeared in
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930:Audio of the live broadcast
398:Ridgefield Park, New Jersey
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364:. At 4:44 p.m., the
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955:American women comedians
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581:'Bad seed' Albuquerque
259:. She also appeared in
125:Albuquerque, New Mexico
52:Albuquerque, New Mexico
777:April 6, 2019, at the
598:, 14 October 1964 p. 5
414:"Don't Touch Me There"
123:Dornacker was born in
101:Jane Carroll Dornacker
23:Jane Carroll Dornacker
572:, 20 March 1964 p. 50
183:Is That All There Is?
892:. October 23, 1986.
758:10 May 1983, p. B13.
611:6 November 1965 p. 6
525:8 November 1953 p. 1
421:The Warfield Theatre
179:Leila and the Snakes
113:Leila and the Snakes
793:New York Daily News
772:, October 23, 1986.
585:2 August 1964 p. 16
483:on October 21, 2022
342:Death and aftermath
83:Cause of death
770:The New York Times
667:18 July 1983 p. 19
507:has generic name (
257:The Last News Show
253:Wes "Scoop" Nisker
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452:Wayne, New Jersey
437:Bobcat Goldthwait
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479:. Archived from
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429:Jerry Garcia
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65:(1986-10-22)
950:1986 deaths
945:1947 births
837:fortune.com
505:|last=
360:on WNBC in
329:disc jockey
264:Anita Sperm
233:Sam Shepard
132:Jerome Kern
939:Categories
817:2017-07-12
458:References
441:Carol Doda
374:last words
348:WNBC Radio
310:Video West
44:1947-10-01
730:Chronicle
433:The Tubes
298:Nora Dunn
199:Ron Nagle
194:The Tubes
109:The Tubes
71:Manhattan
894:Archived
868:April 6,
862:Archived
811:Archived
775:Archived
756:Examiner
734:Datebook
708:Datebook
665:Examiner
652:Datebook
609:Examiner
497:cite web
487:April 4,
325:Don Rose
154:'s play
889:YouTube
842:23 July
678:Journal
622:Journal
596:Journal
583:Journal
570:Journal
553:Journal
536:Journal
523:Journal
287:Cheetos
237:Inacoma
137:Roberta
682:Impact
626:Impact
557:Impact
540:Impact
227:Acting
119:Career
77:, U.S.
54:, U.S.
312:, on
173:Music
915:IMDb
870:2019
844:2022
509:help
489:2024
443:and
390:NTSB
358:Show
321:KFRC
60:Died
38:Born
913:at
423:in
255:'s
243:'s
239:at
210:Now
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