Stunt Man: The Autobiography of Yakima Canutt With Oliver Drake

Rating:
Summary: A personable memoir from a legend.
Review: Most who have heard of Yakima Canutt know him as the greatest Hollywood stuntman ever, but as this book shows, "Yak" was a whole lot more. He led an exciting life, first as a bronc-riding rodeo star, then to Hollywood to stunt and act in the silent westerns. As he says, he didn't have the voice to pull off dialogue when the "talkies" came in, so he moved to stunting. He describes in great detail all the innovations he came up with as a stuntman and 2nd unit director. He gives vivid background into the many epics he was part of, including "Stagecoach" "Ivanhoe" "Ben Hur" and "Where Eagles Dare." He pulls no punches in his descriptions of his relationships with the Hollywood crowd, especially on how difficult John Ford could be if you were perceived to have stood up to him. All in all this is a crackling good yarn, and best of all it is true.