Buck Jones died, tragically, from burns received during the 1942 Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire in Boston, which took hundreds of lives. The club was overcrowded and exit doors were locked. The fire was accelerated by methyl chloride, which was used as a refrigerant, venting from the air conditioning. Highly flammable decorations added to the combustion. The story goes that a busboy struck a match in the dimly lit Melody Lounge to see while he screwed in a lightbulb that had been removed by a soldier wanting more privacy with his date. The busboy blew out the match, but moments later flames started appearing just below the ceiling and quickly spread to the artificial palm trees. The fire spread quickly and patrons overwhelmed the main entrance’s lone revolving door. Other possible exits were either locked or had doors that swung inward, causing deadly pileups. “Following the fire, many new laws were enacted for public establishments, including the banning of flammable decorations, a provision that emergency exits must be kept unlocked (from the inside), and that revolving doors cannot be the only exit.” (Wikipedia)
In the movie, A Christmas Story, the Daisy Red Ryder carbine-action rifle that Ralphie Parker is hoping to get as a Christmas present is actually shown to be the Buck Jones version, with a sundial and compass in the stock. Daisy discontinued the model after Buck Jones’ death.
