The things we wish when we were children. It is a good thing there wasn’t some Genie around to grant all those wishes. Where would we be today?
For instance.
When I was a kid, I used to think I wanted to be a stunt double in the movies. I’m not sure when I even heard of the concept. I mean, for the longest time in my youth, I thought those stories on the screen were real and the people had actually lived them. The Wizard of Oz, fantastic.
Anyway, for a brief stint there, I would pretend I was a stunt actor and attempt all sorts of tricks when I was just a wee little kid. There was a three-foot-high cement block wall at the back of our backyard area. Knecht Avenue has a 3-foot higher elevation than Bruce Avenue, you see.
It was the perfect place for a mini-stunt double like me. I would jump off, dive off, run off, and roll on the ground, always popping up and striking a pose, or a karate chop, or some grand gesture.
Instead, I grew up not being a stunt double. When people ask me from now on what my profession was, I shall say, “Not a stunt double.” It seems impressive.
And. In case you didn’t know.
There isn’t much information about the exact number of stunt doubles in the United States.
However. More than 7,700 stunt performers are members of the Screen Actors Guild.
And all those stunt people in the United States? They make an average hourly pay of $33.39.
Mind you, it is hard work. So hard that sometimes these people die on the job. These are some of the many deaths of stunt performers over the years:
Reid Rondell:Died in 1985 while working on the TV series Airwolf
Art Scholl:Died in 1985 while working on Top Gun
Dar Robinson:Died in 1986 while working on Million Dollar Mystery
Vic Magnotta:Died in 1987 while working on Skip Tracer
A.J. Bakunas:Died in 1978 while working on Steel
Tony McFarr:Died in 2024 at the age of 47. He was the stunt double for Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 and two Jurassic World movies.
These days, it is a trick for me to do some normal things. Normal things when I was 50, 40, 30 years younger. Like running anywhere. Nope. Or lifting heavy things. Nope again.
You see. The stunts have changed. The will has not.
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“Adventure is worthwhile.” — Aesop
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“Not all who wander are lost.” — J.R.R. Tolkien
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“Adventure awaits.” — Lawrence Bron
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Me. The Stunt Double.
