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Stunt performer

Pyrotechnics stunt exhibition by "Giant Auto Rodéo", Ciney, Belgium
Occupation
Names	Stuntman, stunt performer
Activity sectors	Entertainment
Description
Competencies	Physical fitness, daring, acting skills

A stunt performer, often referred to as a stuntman, or daredevil, is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.

A stuntman typically performs stunts intended for use in a motion pictures or dramatized television. Stunts are sometimes rigged so that, while they look dangerous, safety mechanisms are built into the performance, however, often stunts are as dangerous as they appear to be. Stunts often seen in films and television include car crashes, falls from great height, drags (for example, behind a horse) and explosions. Film and television stunt performers are often trained in martial arts and stage combat. There is an inherent risk in the performance of all stunt work in film, television and stage work; the most risk exists when performing stunts in front of a live audience. In filmed performances, visible safety mechanisms can be removed by editing. In live performances the audience can better see if the performer is genuinely doing what they claim to be doing.

Daredevils are distinct from stunt performers and stunt doubles; their performance is of the stunt itself, without the context of a film or television show. Daredevils often perform for an audience.Live stunt performers include escape artists, sword swallowers, glass walkers, fire eaters, trapeze artists, and many other sideshow and circus arts. They also include motorcycle display teams and the once popular Wall of Death.

Some individuals, such as Harry Houdini, Jackie Chan, Tony Jaa, and Jayan, act as both stunt performers and daredevils at various parts of their career.

Modern live stunt performers include escape artist and stuntman Roslyn Walker and sideshow veteran Kondini.

Notable stunt performers[link]

• Yuen Biao
• Yakima Canutt
• Jackie Chan
• Jacquie de Creed
• Dorothy Dietrich
• Ryan Dunn
• Helen Gibson
• Steven Ho
• Harry Houdini
• Sammo Hung
• Jim Ford
• Tony Jaa
• Jayan
• Evel Knievel
• Eddie Kidd
• Robbie Knievel
• Chris Pontius
• Johnny Knoxville
• Akshay Kumar
• Bam Margera
• Frank McGrath
• Steve-O
• Kitty O'Neil
• Travis Pastrana
• Dave England
• Wee Man
• Ken Block
• Tanner Foust
• Sam Patch
• Clem Sohn
• Steve Truglia
• Iko Uwais
• Roslyn Walker
• Terry Wilson
• Donnie Yen
• Zoe Bell
• Curtis Lovell II
• Joel Common

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stunt performers

• Stunt actor
• Pyrotechnician
• Second unit
• Special effect
• Taurus World Stunt Awards

References[link]

Damien Gareth Walters (born 6 April 1982) is a British former gymnast from Derbyshire who specialises in tumbling.

Career[link]

Walters participated in four Trampoline World Championships. In 2003 he was one of four members of the British team winning the World Title in the team competition.^[1][2] In the years 2001 and 2007 he ranked 4th with the team. He also finished 5th in singles competition in 2003 and 2005. In addition he won the European Title with the British team in 2006, just after he was placed 2nd in team and 8th in the singles competition two years earlier.^[3]

Since 2007 Walters has not participated in further tournaments and has focused on his other projects, mainly his career as a stuntman. He also appeared, however, in a number of television commercials and has performed in acrobatic shows.^[4]

Walters has had the role of stunt double or stunt performer in the films: Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Ninja Assassin, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Eagle, I Am Number Four, Blitz, Colombiana, and Captain America: The First Avenger. In Kick-Ass, he was credited as both a stunt double and assistant fight coordinator. He will also appear in the films Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and 47 Ronin.^[5]

In 2010 he won the Taurus World Stunt Awards for "Best Fight" in the film Ninja Assassin.^[6]

Walters also has a passion for Parkour and Freerunning where he incorporates his gymnastic skills as well as his stuntman abilities. On YouTube he is one of the most watched Freerunners, with his videos having a total of over 60 million views.^[7]

Currently Walters is running his own gym Derby City Gymnastics Club, Derby and shooting films.^[5]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

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Jeb Corliss (born March 25, 1976 near Santa Fe, New Mexico^[1]) is a professional skydiver and BASE jumper. He has jumped from sites including Paris' Eiffel Tower, Seattle's Space Needle, and the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.^[2]

Jeb Corliss is co-founder of 3 Triple 7, a clothing label.

He was also the original host of the Discovery Channel series Stunt Junkies, appearing in 13 episodes, but was fired by Discovery as a result of his arrest (below).

On September 25, 2011 Corliss jumped out of a helicopter at 6,000 feet and glided through a 100-ft wide archway in Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China, landing with a parachute on a nearby bridge.^[3][4]

Arrest[link]

In April 2006, Jeb Corliss attempted to BASE jump off the observation deck of the Empire State Building, while wearing a camera, but was restrained by building security and arrested by the NYPD. As a result, Corliss received three years probation and 100 hours community service,^[2] which was at one point overturned by a Manhattan state judge on the basis that Corliss "was experienced and careful enough to jump off a building without endangering his own life or anyone else’s".^[5] This sentence was affirmed in January 2009.^[6] Corliss was later permanently banned from setting foot in the Empire State Building.^[7]

B.A.S.E. Jumping Related Accidents[link]

1999[link]

In 1999, Jeb Corliss had a near-fatal BASE jump into the Howick Falls, a waterfall in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The waterfall is approximately 95 meters in height (310 feet) and lies on the Umgeni River. The Zulu people called the falls KwaNogqaza, which means "Place of the Tall One". His chute opening was asymmetric and he could not avoid flying into the downpouring water.

2012[link]

On 16 January 2012 in an accident while proximity flying off Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa Jeb broke both ankles, three toes, his fibula bone, tore his left ACL, and sustained a gash in his shin that required skin grafts to close. He struck his legs approximately halfway between the hip and knee on a rock ledge he was attempting to skim over while aiming at a target balloon. The impact caused him to tumble forward one revolution before he regained control in order to clear some additional ledges. He then deployed his chute. He was airlifted out by the Red Cross Air Mercy Service Agusta 119. He has recovered, is up and walking and plans to return to life as usual. A video of the accident has been released. ^[8][9]

References[link]

• Corliss is featured in the last chapter of Birdmen, Batmen, and Skyflyers: Wingsuits and the Pioneers Who Flew in Them, Fell in Them, and Perfected Them, by Michael Abrams. ISBN 1-4000-5491-5.
• Hutchinson, Bill (April 28, 2006). "Been there, leaped off that". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/412843p-349081c.html. Retrieved 2007-01-18. 
• Parachuteless Parachuting
• Flying Humans, Hoping to Land With No Chute - New York Times.

External links[link]

• Jeb Corliss wing-suit demo flights video
• Weekend America - Interview with Jeb Corliss
• Outlawing Creative Subversions
• The Ground is the Limit at the Internet Movie Database
• MySpace
• Daredevils: The Human Bird - Channel 4 (UK) television documentary, 2009
• Grinding the Crack

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Lee Majors
Lee Majors, 2008
Born	Harvey Lee Yeary (1939-04-23) April 23, 1939 (age 73) Wyandotte, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1964–present
Spouse	Kathy Robinson (1961-1964) Farrah Fawcett (1973-1982) Karen Velez (1988-1994) Faith Noelle Cross (2002-present)
Children	3 sons, 1 daughter

Lee Majors (born Harvey Lee Yeary on April 23, 1939) is an American television, film and voice actor, best known for his roles as Heath Barkley in the TV series The Big Valley (1965 - 1969), as Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man (1973–1978) and as Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy (1981–1986).

He is also known as Owen Marshall's law partner/friend, Jess Brandon, in the 1971–1974 series Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law. In the late 1980s and 1990s he reprised the role of Steve Austin in a number of TV movies, and appeared in a number of supporting, recurring and cameo roles in feature films and TV series, and lent his voice to a number of animated TV series and video games.

Early life[link]

Majors was born in the Detroit suburb of Wyandotte, Michigan. Parents Carl & Alice Yeary were both killed in separate car accidents (prior to his birth and when he was one year old respectively) and at age two, Majors was adopted by an uncle and aunt, Harvey and Mildred Yeary, and moved with them, and their biological son, Bill, to Middlesboro, Kentucky.^{[citation needed]}

Since his adoptive older brother had been a football star in school, Majors tirelessly committed himself to the sport. While a student at Middlesboro High School, he participated in many sports from track to football. He graduated in 1957, and earned a scholarship to Indiana University, where he again competed in sports. Majors transferred to Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky, in 1959. He played in his first game the following year, but suffered a severe back injury which left him paralyzed for two weeks, and ended his college football career. Following his injury, he turned his attention to acting and performed in plays at the Pioneer Playhouse in Danville, Kentucky. Majors graduated from Eastern in 1962 with a degree in History and Physical Education.^{[citation needed]}

After college, he received an offer to try out for the St. Louis Cardinals football team. Instead, he moved to Los Angeles and found work at the Los Angeles Park and Recreation Department as the Recreation Director for North Hollywood Park. This was after a brief stint playing for the new football franchise Boston Patriots as a safety. In LA, Majors met many actors and industry professionals, including Dick Clayton, who had been James Dean's agent, and Clayton suggested he attend his acting school. After one year of acting school, Clayton felt that Majors was ready to start his career. At this time, he picked up the stage name Lee Majors as a tribute to childhood hero Johnny Majors who was a player and future coach for the University of Tennessee. Majors also studied at Estelle Harmon's acting school at MGM.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

Early roles[link]

At age 25, Majors landed his first, although uncredited, role in Strait-Jacket (1964), which starred Joan Crawford. After appearing in a 1965 episode of Gunsmoke, he starred as Howard White in an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, “The Monkey’s Paw - A Retelling,” based on the short story by W. W. Jacobs later the same year.

Majors got his big break when he beat out over 400 young actors, including Burt Reynolds, for the co-starring role of Heath Barkley in a new ABC western series, The Big Valley, which starred Barbara Stanwyck. Also starring on the show was another newcomer, Linda Evans, who played Heath's younger sister, Audra. Richard Long and Peter Breck played his brothers Jarrod and Nick, respectively. One of Heath's frequently used expressions during the series was "Boy howdy!" Big Valley was an immediate hit. During the series, Majors co-starred in the 1968 Charlton Heston film Will Penny, for which he received an "Introducing" credit, and landed the lead role in The Ballad of Andy Crocker (1969), a made-for-television film which was first broadcast by ABC. The film is notable as being one of the very first films to deal with the subject matter of Vietnam veterans "coming home". That same year, he was offered the chance to star in Midnight Cowboy (1969), but The Big Valley was renewed for another season and he was forced to decline the role (which later went to Jon Voight). When The Big Valley was cancelled in 1969, he signed a long-term contract with Universal Studios. In 1970, Majors joined the cast of The Virginian for its last season.

In 1971, he landed the role of Arthur Hill's partner, Jess Brandon, on Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, which garnered critical acclaim during its three seasons on ABC. In one episode, his then girlfriend, Farrah Fawcett, guest-starred.

[edit] The Six Million Dollar Man

Majors' co-starring role on Owen Marshall led him to a starring role as Colonel Steve Austin, an ex-astronaut with bionic implants in The Six Million Dollar Man, a 1973 television movie broadcast on ABC.

In 1974, the network decided to turn it into a weekly series. The series became a huge international success, being screened in over 70 countries, turning Majors into one of the leading pop icons of the 70's, and, along with his then wife Farrah Fawcett, who herself was soon to become a leading pop icon of the 70's, into one of Hollywood's high-profile power couples with both appearing on the cover of magazines everywhere.

Majors also made his directorial debut in 1975, on an episode called "One of Our Running Backs Is Missing" which co-starred professional football players such as Larry Csonka and Dick Butkus.

In 1977, with The Six Million Dollar Man still a hit series, Majors tried to renegotiate his contract with Universal Television. The studio in turn filed a lawsuit to force him to report to work due to stipulations within his existing contract that had not yet expired. When he did not report to work that June, studio executives relented and offered Majors a raise.^{[citation needed]} However, ratings began to decline and The Six Million Dollar Man was cancelled in March 1978 (as was The Bionic Woman). In November 2010, Time Life released a 40 DVD set featuring every episode and bonus features from the show.^[1]

[edit] The Fall Guy

In 1981, Majors returned in another long-running television series. Producer Glen A. Larson (who had first worked with Majors on Alias Smith and Jones, where Majors had a one-episode part, and later on The Six Million Dollar Man) asked him to star in the pilot of The Fall Guy. Majors played Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter. Majors was also a producer and a director on the show, and even sang its theme song, the self-effacing "Unknown Stuntman." Majors also invited several longtime friends, Linda Evans, Peter Breck, Lindsay Wagner and Richard Anderson, to guest-star in various episodes. The series ran for five seasons until it was cancelled in 1986.

1987 - present[link]

Between 1987 and 1994, Majors and Lindsay Wagner reunited in three The Six Million Dollar Man/The Bionic Woman TV movies. Majors also made a cameo appearance in the 1988 holiday comedy Scrooged.

In 1990, he had a recurring role in Tour of Duty, and a recurring role in the short-lived 1992 series, Raven. He also made cameo appearances in Out Cold (2001) Big Fat Liar (2002) and The Brothers Solomon (2007) The Story of Bonnie and Clyde (2010)

Majors voiced the character of "Big" Mitch Baker in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Majors played Jaret Reddick's disconnected father in Bowling For Soup's 2007 video, "When We Die." That same year, he played Grandpa Max in Ben 10: Race Against Time, and voiced a character on the APTN animated children's program Wapos Bay: The Series that was named "Steve from Austin". He also played a minor role in Stephen King's The Mist.

Majors played Coach Ross on the CW Network's television series The Game, which ran from October 1, 2006 to May 20, 2009.^[2]

Majors appeared in the role of God in "Jim Almighty" a 2007 episode of According to Jim. He would later return to the role in that show's 2009 series finale, "Heaven Opposed to Hell". Also in 2008, Majors played a member of the Minutemen (dedicated to preventing illegal border crossings) in Season Four of the Showtime series Weeds, where he recruits Kevin Nealon’s character.

Lee Majors appeared on ITVs The British Comedy Awards 2009 on December 12, 2009 alongside Claudia Winkleman.

In March 2010 Majors played the crusty sailing instructor in the Community episode "Beginner Pottery". The following month, he appeared as the mentor of the series lead in "Christopher Chance", the 12th episode of Human Target. Later that year, he provided the voice of General Abernathy in G.I. Joe: Renegades. He would later reprise the role in a 2011 episode. In 2011 he also made a brief appearance as Don Reger in the 2011 episode "Well Suitored" of the CBS series $#*! My Dad Says.

In March to April 2012, Majors will be in a film in Seattle called Matt's Chance alongside Edward Furlong, Margot Kidder and Gary Busey.

Personal life[link]

Majors has been married four times:

• Kathy Robinson (married 1961, divorced 1964). The couple had one child, Lee Majors II (born April 8, 1962) who would later appear in an episode of The Fall Guy and the three Six Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman reunion movies with his father.
• Farrah Fawcett, actress, (married July 28, 1973, separated 1979, divorced February 16, 1982). During the first six years of their marriage, she was billed as Farrah Fawcett-Majors. In 1976, the couple simultaneously starred in separate top-rated shows (The Six Million Dollar Man and Charlie's Angels). After they split, Fawcett famously said, "If he's the six-million-dollar man, I'm the ten-billion-dollar woman." When Fawcett died on June 25, 2009, after her three-year-long battle with anal cancer, Majors issued a statement which read, "She fought a tremendous battle against a terrible disease. She was an angel on earth and now an angel forever." Besides attending her funeral, several reports indicated that Majors reconnected with Fawcett before her death.^[3]
• Karen Velez, Playboy Playmate, (married 1988, divorced 1994); one daughter, Nikki Loren, and twin sons, Dane Luke and Trey Kulley.^[4]
• Faith Majors, actress and model, (married on November 1, 2002).

In the middle of 2003, Majors had heart bypass surgery.^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lee Majors

• Lee Majors at the Internet Movie Database