Henry Kingi | |
---|---|
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | December 2, 1943
Other names | Masao Henry Kingi |
Occupation(s) | Stuntman, actor |
Years active | 1969–present |
Spouses | |
Children | 4 |
Henry Kingi (born December 2, 1943) is an American stuntman and actor. As a stuntman he has worked in films like Fast Five (2011). His acting roles include Goody in Car Wash (1976), Shell in Earth Star Voyager (1988), the mean Indian in Far Out Man (1990), Kungai Demon in Parting Gifts, an episode of Angel (1999), and George in From Mexico with Love (2009). As a miscrew he worked in films like The Assault , From Paris with Love , Patriots Day and Colt 45 .
Henry Kingi was born in Los Angeles on December 2, 1943. He is of Native American, African American, European, and Japanese descent. [1] [2]
He has a son, Henry Kingi Jr. who was born in 1970 and also a stuntman.[ citation needed ]
He married actress Lindsay Wagner in May 1981, divorcing in 1984. [3] [4] Together they have sons Dorian (born 1982) and Alexander (born 1986). Both sons are also stuntmen.[ citation needed ]
In her book, Art of Men (I Prefer Mine Al Dente), Kirstie Alley referred to him as the most gloriously cool-looking stuntman in the history of stuntmen. [5]
He is a co-founder of the BSA (Black Stuntmen's Association). [6] [7] He is also a member of Stunts Unlimited, and a Stuntmen's Hall of Fame inductee. [1]
One of his very early film appearances was in the Alfred Hitchcock 1969 film Topaz . [8] In 1970, he had a credited role in the "Run for the Money" episode of Daniel Boone , playing the part of Straight Arrow. [9] In 1974, he was the Candy Man in the Isaac Hayes film Truck Turner . He played Carrot's man in the 1975 film The Ultimate Warrior , which starred Yul Brynner. He had a role as Goody in the 1976 film Car Wash which was directed by Michael Schultz. [10] He also appeared in Batman Returns as a mugger who was attacked by Catwoman. He played the part of Anthony in John Carpenter's Vampires , which starred James Woods, Maximilian Schell and Gregory Sierra. [11] In Lawrence Kasdan's film Grand Canyon , he plays a violent terrorist in a movie-within-the movie produced by Steve Martin.
As a stuntman and a member of the BSA, Kingi recalled training with other members of the association on the weekends and being watched by police in unmarked cars. In an article published in the 13 March 2016 issue of The Daily Telegraph , he said that he and his fellow BSA stuntmen figured the police were thinking they were a Black Panther group. [12]
Kingi has done stunt driving for the first Lethal Weapon film, following through 2 and 3 , right through to Lethal Weapon 4 . [13] On the set of Lethal Weapon 4, Kingi assisted stunt coordinator Conrad E. Palmisano with putting together the action. It was Kingi who drove the car in the scene where it goes through the office and out the window. [14]
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.
Dar Allen Robinson was an American stunt performer and actor. Robinson broke 19 world records and set 21 "world's firsts." He invented the decelerator which allowed a cameraman to film a top-down view of the stuntman as he fell without accidentally showing the airbag on the ground. This was displayed in his fall from the hotel in the movie Stick. The original decelerator can still be seen on display in Moab, Utah.
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.
Lindsay Jean Wagner is an American actress. Wagner is best known for her leading role in the American science fiction television series The Bionic Woman (1976–1978), in which she portrayed character Jaime Sommers. She first played the role on the series The Six Million Dollar Man. The character became a pop culture icon of the 1970s. For this role, Wagner won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Dramatic Role in 1977 – the first for an actor or actress in a science fiction series. Wagner began acting professionally in 1971 and has maintained a lengthy acting career in a variety of film and television productions to the present day.
Hal Brett Needham was an American stuntman, film director, actor, writer, and NASCAR team owner. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Burt Reynolds, usually in films involving fast cars, such as Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Hooper (1978), The Cannonball Run (1981) and Stroker Ace (1983).
Car Wash is a 1976 American comedy film directed by Michael Schultz from a screenplay by Joel Schumacher, and starring an ensemble cast. Originally conceived as a musical, the film is an episodic comedy about a day in the lives of a close-knit group of employees at a Los Angeles car wash. It features Franklyn Ajaye, George Carlin, Irwin Corey, Ivan Dixon, Bill Duke, Antonio Fargas, Jack Kehoe, Clarence Muse, Lorraine Gary, The Pointer Sisters, Richard Pryor, and Garrett Morris.
William Carey Loftin was an American professional stuntman, stunt coordinator and actor in the U.S. film industry. He is considered to be one of the film industry's most accomplished stunt drivers. In a lengthy career spanning 61 years, his body of work included classic films such as Thunder Road, Bullitt, Vanishing Point, Duel, and The French Connection. He was posthumously inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.
Željko Božić was a Serbian stuntman and actor.
Robert Gene "Red" West was an American actor, film stuntman and songwriter. He was known for being a close confidant and bodyguard for rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. Upon his firing, West co-wrote the controversial Elvis: What Happened?, a tell all book about Elvis co written with a Rupert Murdoch journalist; the book was published in May 1977 in UK and later in USA.
Alex Bayouth, known professionally as Ted White, was an American stuntman and actor who was best known for playing Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. He was also notable for having doubled for John Wayne, Fess Parker, Clark Gable, and Richard Boone.
James Sherwin "Bud" Ekins was an American professional stuntman in the U.S. film industry. He is considered to be one of the film industry's most accomplished stuntmen with a body of work that includes classic films such as The Great Escape and Bullitt. Ekins, acting as stunt double for Steve McQueen while filming The Great Escape, was the rider who performed what is considered to be one of the most famous motorcycle stunts ever performed in a movie. He was recognized for his stunt work by being inducted into the Stuntmen's Hall of Fame.
Tom Steele was a stunt man and actor, best remembered for appearing in serials, especially those produced by Republic Pictures, in both capacities.
Jean Luann Epper was an American stuntwoman and actress. She performed stunts in over 100 feature films and television series and is perhaps best known as Lynda Carter's stunt double on the 1970s television series Wonder Woman. She was featured in Amanda Micheli's 2004 documentary Double Dare, along with New Zealand stuntwoman and actress Zoë Bell. Entertainment Weekly noted that many consider her "the greatest stuntwoman who's ever lived."
Stuart Fell is a professional actor and stuntman. Prior to this career, Fell served in the Parachute Regiment. He has appeared on British television many times, with his earliest role being in the LWT comedy series Hark at Barker, in which he plays the driver of a car that crashes when he's distracted by Ronnie Barker carrying a mannequin. In 1971, he appeared as an uncredited extra in the Doctor Who serial Terror of the Autons, and his last role came in 1998, as a stuntman in Duck Patrol.
James Nelson "J. N." Roberts, is an American former professional off-road and enduro motorcycle racer and a film industry stuntman. In the 1960s and early 1970s, he was a dominant motorcycle competitor in American desert racing centered in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. At one point in his desert racing career, Roberts won 27 consecutive desert races, earning him the unofficial nickname of King of the Desert. Roberts was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and, into the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009. He is also a member of the Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall Of Fame.
Jophery Clifford Brown was a Major League Baseball pitcher who made one relief appearance for the Chicago Cubs. He became an award-winning stunt man and actor.
Gary McLarty was an American stunt performer and stunt coordinator for film and television. His abilities earned him the nickname "Whiz Kid" in Hollywood.
Ganwari Teddy Vidyalankara is a Sri Lankan actor, and stunt director. Vidyalankara contributed more than 500 films across all languages including Sinhala, Tamil, English, Telugu and Hindi. He is the first stuntman to bring group stunts to Sri Lankan cinema.
The Black Stuntmen's Association is an organization that was formed as a result of policies that kept black stuntmen and stuntwomen from getting studio work. Founded in 1967, members of the association include co-founder Eddie Smith, Ernie Robinson, Alex Brown, Willie Harris, Henry Kingi, Joe Tilque, and William Upton.
Gary Kent was an American film director, actor, and stuntman notable for his appearances in various independent and exploitation films. A native of Washington, Kent studied at the University of Washington before later embarking on a film career. He made his feature film debut in Battle Flame (1959) and had roles in several additional low-budget films in the 1960s, including The Black Klansman (1966) and the biker film The Savage Seven (1968). He also served as a stunt double for Bruce Dern in Psych-Out (1969).