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Cowboy Stuntman: From Olympic Gold to the Silver Screen by Dean Smith, Mike Cox, James Garner
felinity's review against another edition
5.0
Dean's life covers the golden age of Westerns, but it's much more than that. It's also the story of a small-town boy growing up watching the singing cowboys in movies and serials during the Depression and discovering his natural athletic talent, becoming an Olympic sprinter, playing NFL football, and finally getting his dream: playing cowboys and Indians for a living.
It was fascinating reading, seeing how each unintentional step led him closer to his role as stuntman and stunt double: working as a rodeo cowboy, learning how to pick and train a horse, how to rope (and milk a wild cow), having a good appearance and, most importantly, that most of the time your path is determined by who you know.
More fascinating was the ability to walk behind the scenes of movies like The Alamo, getting a glimpse of the real process before the age of digital filming and CGI and all the elements we love in Westerns, from jumping onto a moving train, stopping a runaway stagecoach to being shot out of the saddle. I was shocked to realize how dangerous some of the most common stunts actually were.
The book isn't all about achievements; there are failed marriage, accidents (including the ominous phrase "it seemed like a good idea at the time"), bad experiences and lost opportunities, but he doesn't dwell on the negative nor does he engage in mud-slinging, a pleasant change and completely reflective of the attitude which made him a success. And it wasn't just about Westerns either, but the evolution of stunts and how stuntmen (and stuntwomen) evolved from freelancers to a guild developed to protect its members from injury and exploitation.
Dean's background reads almost like a mini history of the West, and his working life covers so many names from Roy Rogers, John Wayne and John Ford to Elvis Presley and Steven Spielberg. Dean's voice is so very clear, the language so descriptive, and there were so many little details, stories about being on set and about everyone and everything that I felt as if I could see it unfold before me. I loved this!
But the main theme, Dean's love for Westerns and the time they portrayed, always comes through strongly, and is best summarized in three sentences: ""Westerns taught strong values to several generations... Westerns taught us to use our imagination and dream big. Those movies gave us a sense of fair play, even though real life is not fair."
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
It was fascinating reading, seeing how each unintentional step led him closer to his role as stuntman and stunt double: working as a rodeo cowboy, learning how to pick and train a horse, how to rope (and milk a wild cow), having a good appearance and, most importantly, that most of the time your path is determined by who you know.
More fascinating was the ability to walk behind the scenes of movies like The Alamo, getting a glimpse of the real process before the age of digital filming and CGI and all the elements we love in Westerns, from jumping onto a moving train, stopping a runaway stagecoach to being shot out of the saddle. I was shocked to realize how dangerous some of the most common stunts actually were.
The book isn't all about achievements; there are failed marriage, accidents (including the ominous phrase "it seemed like a good idea at the time"), bad experiences and lost opportunities, but he doesn't dwell on the negative nor does he engage in mud-slinging, a pleasant change and completely reflective of the attitude which made him a success. And it wasn't just about Westerns either, but the evolution of stunts and how stuntmen (and stuntwomen) evolved from freelancers to a guild developed to protect its members from injury and exploitation.
Dean's background reads almost like a mini history of the West, and his working life covers so many names from Roy Rogers, John Wayne and John Ford to Elvis Presley and Steven Spielberg. Dean's voice is so very clear, the language so descriptive, and there were so many little details, stories about being on set and about everyone and everything that I felt as if I could see it unfold before me. I loved this!
But the main theme, Dean's love for Westerns and the time they portrayed, always comes through strongly, and is best summarized in three sentences: ""Westerns taught strong values to several generations... Westerns taught us to use our imagination and dream big. Those movies gave us a sense of fair play, even though real life is not fair."
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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