Craig R. Baxley

Last updated
Craig R. Baxley
Born
Craig Redding Baxley

(1949-10-20) October 20, 1949 (age 74)
Occupations
  • Director
  • author
  • stunt coordinator
  • stunt performer
  • actor
Years active1971–present

Craig Redding Baxley (born October 20, 1949) is an American director, Author. Stunt coordinator, stunt performer and occasional actor. He is best known for his work in the action and thriller genres.

Beginning his career as a stunt performer, he was hired to perform stunts in number of notable television series namely Police Story , Harry O , Rich Man, Poor Man Book II , Gemini Man , Roots and M*A*S*H . He worked as stunt coordinator and second unit director on The Dukes of Hazzard and The A-Team (on which he later made his directorial debut), along with the pilot of Hunter as second unit director. He was stunt coordinator on the feature films The Warriors (1979) and The Long Riders (1980), as well as second unit director on Reds (1981) and Predator (1987). [1]

Baxley also appeared in eight episodes of Kolchak: The Night Stalker , as well having small roles in Chase , Mannix , Bearcats! , Marcus Welby, M.D. and S.W.A.T. [1]

In 1988, he made his feature film directorial debut with Action Jackson . His other feature film credits are I Come in Peace (1990), Stone Cold (1991) and Sniper 2 (2002).

Baxley's other television directing credits include miniseries based on Stephen King works namely Storm of the Century (1999), Rose Red (2002), The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (2003), Kingdom Hospital (2004), as well as The Triangle (2005) and The Lost Room (2006). Some of his television film credits include A Family Torn Apart (1993), Twisted Desire (1996) and Silencing Mary (1998) both starring Melissa Joan Hart.

Author of the memoir Driven by Craig R. Baxley, the Novel Last Exit to Hell and the Novella Five Hours

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricou Browning</span> American stuntman and filmmaker (1930–2023)

Ricou Ren Browning was an American stunt performer, filmmaker and actor. A skilled swimmer, he was known for his innovative underwater stunt work, notably in the 1954 film Creature from the Black Lagoon, in which he portrayed the titular Gill-man during the film's underwater scenes, and in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, for which he was the underwater sequences director. He was also the co-creator of the Flipper media franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stunt</span> Unusual and difficult physical feat

A stunt is an unusual, difficult, dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience, as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer-generated imagery special effects, these depictions were limited to the use of models, false perspective and other in-camera effects, unless the creator could find someone willing to carry them out, even such dangerous acts as jumping from car to car in motion or hanging from the edge of a skyscraper: the stunt performer or stunt double.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stunt performer</span> Person who performs stunts

A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed to a daredevil, who performs for a live audience. When they take the place of another actor, they are known as stunt doubles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakima Canutt</span> American rodeo rider, actor and stuntman (1895–1986)

Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen in performing them.

<i>Action Jackson</i> (1988 film) 1988 film by Craig R. Baxley

Action Jackson is a 1988 American action film directed by Craig R. Baxley, starring Carl Weathers, Vanity, Sharon Stone and Craig T. Nelson. Weathers stars as Jericho "Action" Jackson, a Detroit Police detective investigating a corrupt auto magnate (Nelson). The film was released in the United States by Lorimar Film Entertainment on February 12, 1988. It received mostly negative reviews, but was a minor box office success.

Victor Monroe Armstrong is a British film director, stunt coordinator, second unit director, and stunt double—the world's most prolific, according to the Guinness Book of Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David R. Ellis</span> American film director (1952–2013)

David Richard Ellis was an American film director and stunt performer born in Santa Monica, California in 1952. His credits included dozens of films and television series including National Lampoon's Vacation, Baywatch, Lethal Weapon, and Patriot Games.

Raymond Austin was a British television and film director, television writer and producer, and stunt performer and actor who worked in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Norton (actor)</span> Australian martial artist, actor, stuntman (b. 1950)

Richard Norton is an Australian martial artist, actor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, security consultant, and fight choreographer. He holds a 5th dan black belt in Gōjū-ryū karate, a 6th dan black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, an 8th dan black belt in Chun Kuk Do, and a level 6 ranking in American kickboxing. After high school, Norton worked as a bodyguard in the entertainment business before pursuing an acting career.

Buddy Joe Hooker is an American actor, second unit director, stunt man, and stunt coordinator. He is known for his expertise in designing and performing vehicle stunts for movies and television.

Aaron Dee Norris is an American stunt performer, director, occasional actor, and film and television producer. He is the younger brother of action film star Chuck Norris.

The Taurus World Stunt Awards is a yearly award ceremony held midyear that honors stunt performers in movies. It is held each year in Los Angeles. The first awards were given out in 2001. The deciding committee has been around since the year 2000. The awards were created by Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of Red Bull. The awards statue was sculpted by Austrian artist Jos Pirkner, and is a figure in the form of a winged bull.

Dan Bradley is an American stunt coordinator and second unit film director. He has worked on Independence Day, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Superman Returns, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Where The Wild Things Are, Quantum of Solace, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Leva</span>

Scott Leva is a Academy Award-winning stuntman and stunt coordinator who entered stuntwork in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Leitch</span> American filmmaker (born 1975)

David Leitch is an American filmmaker, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and actor. He made his directorial debut on the 2014 action film John Wick with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. Leitch then directed the 2017 thriller film Atomic Blonde, starring Charlize Theron, and 2018's Deadpool 2. In 2019, he directed Hobbs & Shaw, a spin-off of the Fast & Furious franchise, and in 2022 directed Bullet Train, starring Brad Pitt. Recently, he directed the 2024 film The Fall Guy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nash Edgerton</span> Australian film director and stuntman (born 1979)

Nash Edgerton is an Australian film director, stuntman and actor, and a principal member of the movie-making collective Blue-Tongue Films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David L. Boushey</span> American stuntman (born 1942)

David L. Boushey, is an American stuntman, stunt coordinator, stage fight director and stunt trainer. He is the founder of the United Stuntmen's Association, the International Stunt School, the Society of American Fight Directors, and is a member of The Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall of Fame.

Paul Reginald Baxley Jr. was an American actor and stunt coordinator best known for his work as a stunt coordinator on Star Trek: The Original Series. He was a stunt double of William Shatner.

Lin Oeding is an American film director and stunt coordinator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mic Rodgers</span>

Michael G. “Mic” Rodgers is an American film and commercial director, second unit director, stunt coordinator, and stunt performer. As a stunt performer, he is known for serving as a stunt double for actors such as Mel Gibson. He has also served as a second unit action director and/or stunt coordinator for films such as Braveheart,Hacksaw Ridge,The Fast and The Furious, and Twister. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, he won an Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 2002 for his invention of the “Mic Rig,” a stunt vehicle. He has also won a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work on Hacksaw Ridge and two Taurus World Stunt awards.

References