Stuntmen or gladiators ?

[All Darc]

I would like to raise this theme.

3 dead pilots during shooting of Hells Angels.
5 drowned stuntmen during shooting of flood scene in Noah's Ark
2 dead stuntmen during shooting of Napoleon
One dead stuntman during shooting of Ben Hur

Stuntman was more a gladiator than a profession, in old days of movie history.
Few care, few security measure, few adapted sets to stunt performance or few consideration for their lifes.

In a couple of films about the old hollywood, I remamber about stuntman be a crazy guy who accepted to be trown from something, or fall from somewhere. There were very few safety measures.

Does anybody have more information about stuntman, famous stuntmen, silent stars with particular stuntman, or how was the process of stuntman became a profession with more safety?

[T0m M]

Brownlow has chapters on stuntmen in two of his books, Hollywood: The Pioneers and The Parade's Gone By. He also includes a section in his documentary, Hollywood. All deserve to be in any silent fan's collection, irrespective of the stunt content. Two silent era stuntmen, Yakima Canutt and Dick Grace, both wrote autobiographies, but I can't comment on them, not having read them.

Almost every profession in those days was more dangerous than to-day. Accident and death rates in both the agricultural and industrial sectors were far higher than to-day.

[FrankFay]

It wasn't just stuntmen. The featured actors got their share of falls and injuries, though not often fatal. One major tragedy was Martha Mansfield who died from injuries when her costume caught fire.

Some actors were sickened or poisoned by makeup containing heavy metal oxides

[Richard M Roberts]

The other irony being that stuntmen like Yakima Canutt, Bob Rose, Harvey Perry,(who was still working in the 1980's), Joe Bonomo, Richard Talmadge, actully far outlived most of the people they doubled.

And Canutt was also responsible for inventing a good number of the safety devices that made things a lot safer for stuntmen and animals alike when working in the Industry.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

[FrankFay]

The other irony being that stuntmen like Yakima Canutt, Bob Rose, Harvey Perry,(who was still working in the 1980's), Joe Bonomo, Richard Talmadge, actully far outlived most of the people they doubled.

I suspect they had to keep working because of low wages- it could be a quick slide into poverty.

[Richard M Roberts]

The other irony being that stuntmen like Yakima Canutt, Bob Rose, Harvey Perry,(who was still working in the 1980's), Joe Bonomo, Richard Talmadge, actully far outlived most of the people they doubled.

I suspect they had to keep working because of low wages- it could be a quick slide into poverty.

Not if they were still working past the 1940's, and most of them had retired from stunting long before they died. Talmadge and Canutt were stunt coordinators and second unit directors. Perry wasn't rich, but seemed to be living the way he liked to live and reasonably comfortable. It is amazing to see him doing stunts in things like JOHNNY DANGEROUSLY in the 1980's when he was getting a bit long in the tooth.

The point was, these guys kept themselves in better shape than the hard-drinking, chain-smoking stars they doubled, and if they didn't get killed doing stunts, they had a decent longevity. Actually, considering the dangers involved, the number of actual stuntmen who have been killed over the years is pretty small compared to any average industry.


RICHARD M ROBERTS

[greta de groat]

Does anybody have more information about stuntman, famous stuntmen, silent stars with particular stuntman, or how was the process of stuntman became a profession with more safety?

While probably not exactly what you had in mind, Diana Serra Cary's book The Hollywood Posse is about her father and his associates who were extras and bit players who rode and handled horses and did occasional stunt work. It's a really fascinating read. It also has some interesting information on the hazards of non-riding extra work, which she and her mother and sister did in the late 30s. There's a harrowing account of her mother's experience as an extra in the burning of Atlanta sequence in Gone with the Wind.

greta

[barafan]

The featured actors got their share of falls and injuries. . .

I thought of Martha Mansfield, too (one of the advantages of having Rodney's calendar on the wall), but my first thought was Florence Lawrence, getting burned and having a serious fall during the Pawns of Destiny shoot, which more or less put an end to her career as a top-rank star.
And then poor Florence LaBadie and her auto accident, though that wasn't on-set. . .maybe it was healthier to be one of Frank Bushman's stunt men than riding in Messala's chariot!

[Frederica]

The point was, these guys kept themselves in better shape than the hard-drinking, chain-smoking stars they doubled, and if they didn't get killed doing stunts, they had a decent longevity. Actually, considering the dangers involved, the number of actual stuntmen who have been killed over the years is pretty small compared to any average industry.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

They do everything they can to minimize risk, too, even though it's a high-risk occupation. I'll bet the injury/fatality rate among stuntpeople pales in comparison to that of jockeys.

[All Darc]

Curious how even in recent days fire accidents on stage, during fire simulation or pyrotecnic effects, and not always there fireman with a fire extinguish ready on hand to quick act. We just need to see Michael Jackson fire accident during recording of for a comercial in the 80's.

I supose in the 20's the treatment for burning victims was pretty poor, and even not extensive burns could easily be fatal.

Days before nomex or fire retardant gel.

By the way, I remamber of no stunt like human tourch in very old films, like 30's or 20's. I presume they have no special fabric to protect stuntman for such fire.

[Turpinutz]

Hi All Drac, you might want to check out this link to an interesting site...
Some mighty interesting radio stories about the old stuntmen (and gladiators).

http://otrarchive.blogspot.com/2009/06/ ... ified.html

SteveR