Jane Dornacker was born performing. As a precocious elementary school student, she wrote a six-act play. At 8, she performed all the parts of an opera she had written in a secret language that only she understood. In high school, Jane was featured in productions in her native Albuquerque’s theater scene, including The Bad Seed.
At 18, she headed to San Francisco, where she formed the group Leila and the Snakes, which was described as “part rock group, part performance art.” One of their shows was attended by Bill Spooner, founding member of the avant-garde band The Tubes. Spooner asked Jane to join his group, adding that she’d be perfect for their outrageous live show. Jane toured with The Tubes for two years. In that time, she co-wrote the song “Don’t Touch Me There” and later wrote “Cathy’s Clone” for the band’s third album.
Later, she tried her hand at stand-up comedy, forming an all-female troupe with Nora Dunn and Paula Poundstone. At the same time, she worked as a traffic reporter for KFRC, a San Francisco Top 40 radio station. While giving traffic reports live on the air, she would often remind her daughter to wake up for school.
Jane took her traffic reporting to New York City, where she was the popular “trafficologist” on WNBC. In April 1986, she survived a crash of the traffic helicopter. Six months later, while delivering an afternoon drive-time report, the helicopter Jane was aboard clipped the top of a chain link fence and plunged into the Hudson River, sinking 20 feet. Jane was retrieved from the river, but died on her way to the hospital. The pilot survived. A later investigation revealed that the craft had been fitted with a military-grade replacement part that was not suited for civilian aircraft. Jane’s family sued Spectrum Helicopters and Jane’s daughter received a settlement of $325,000.
Jane was 39 years old. Wayne, New Jersey — her place of residence at the time of her death — erected a memorial in her honor.