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From the on-line Wall Street Journal:

Adieu to the Human Cannonball
Duina Zacchini Norman, who was born into a circus family and took over her brothers' human cannonball act when they were drafted to fight in World War II, died at the age of 82 in Nashville, Tenn. Anyone who chooses to fly out of the barrel of an enormous cannon on a regular basis might be expected to have a shorter lifespan than most people, but Ms. Norman was made out of tougher stuff. She started out in the family business as a trapeze artist, and was trained to be a human projectile by her father when her siblings went off to war. She kept the act up for 20 years, appearing on the cover of Life, in a few movies, and even on The Ed Sullivan Show. "She was the queen of the circus. She was probably one of the greatest women trapeze artists that's ever been,'' said ex-husband John Norman. After retiring from the circus, she settled into a quieter life running an antiques store.