Yakima Canutt

Starting out as a rodeo cowboy and then becoming a stuntman in silent westerns, 'Yakima Canutt' (qv) later doubled for such stars as 'Clark Gable' (qv) and 'John Wayne' (qv), among others, in such dangerous activities as jumping off the top of a cliff on horseback, leaping from a stagecoach onto its runaway team, being "shot" off a horse at full gallop and other such potentially life-threatening activities. He became expert at staging massive events involving livestock, such as cattle stampedes and covered-wagon races, as well as Indians-vs.-cavalry battles on a grand scale. Canutt's most noteworthy achievement as a second-unit director came in his staging and direction of the chariot-race sequence in 'William Wyler' (qv) 's _Ben-Hur (1959)_ (qv)--which, from initial planning to final execution, took two years.::Bill Takacs <kinephile@aol.com>