Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 25, 1994                   TAG: 9401250036
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME, FOLKS

"Right at 6:30, I'm gonna be lit up."

On fire, that is.

Parks - a stunt man from Mississippi who calls himself the "Death Cheater" - was covered with gasoline-fueled flames Monday evening as he made a stumbling arc around the parking lot at Mr. Car Man on Williamson Road.

In a few seconds, it was over. He fell to the pavement and rolled around until Roanoke firefighters doused the flames.

The stunt man was pulling off a quick publicity stunt for the used-car dealership.

The whole thing started Thursday morning when Parks called and offered to tape a television commercial for the business, which already runs a wacky TV spot in which dealer-operator Frank Akers wears clown shoes.

By Thursday afternoon, the deal was struck. Monday night, a small crowd gathered to watch the show.

Co-owner Jeff Akers said the idea was to show customers, "You don't get burned here."

Parks, who claims to have broken more than 100 bones in better than 25 years of stunt work, performed without a fire-protection suit.

Instead, he dressed in three layers of sweat suits underneath his blue coveralls. He also put on a scarf, a ski mask and a hockey mask. He and his clothing were generously soaked with water by firefighters.

Then he put on a large cape soaked in gasoline. Jeni Kirk, a local promoter Parks calls his "bodyguard," used a torch to ignite him.

Afterward, he gave the obligatory warning that "this is not something anybody else should try. I've been severely burned and severely hurt."

Parks said his son, 18, also is a stunt man. He goes by the name "Death Seeker." Parks' dad was known as the "Death Dodger."