Today in SCV History May 24, 1986, the legendary stuntman died at the age of 89 in North Hollywood, but his impact on Hollywood and the Santa Clarita Valley is still felt today.
Born Enos Edward Canutt in Colfax, Washington state in 1895, was from Yakima, WA. Canutt got his start as a rodeo rider before becoming one of the most fearless men in the movie business. His nickname “Yakima” came almost by accident after a photographer mistakenly labeled him “Yakima Canutt” during a rodeo event in 1914. The name stuck — and eventually became famous across Hollywood.
Canutt earned his first film credit in 1919 and went on to work on nearly 300 movies, helping create some of the most iconic action scenes ever filmed. But before blockbuster stunt teams and safety rigs existed, Canutt was out there doing the dangerous work himself — often getting dragged by horses, thrown from wagons or narrowly avoiding serious injury.
And a lot of that western movie magic happened right here in the Santa Clarita Valley.
During the 1930s, Canutt appeared in westerns filmed in Placerita Canyon, often starring alongside John Wayne. In many cases, he doubled for Wayne in dangerous action scenes audiences thought the actor performed himself.
One of the most famous examples came in the classic 1939 western Stagecoach. In a jaw-dropping stunt sequence, Canutt leapt from a team of running horses, dropped underneath a moving stagecoach and grabbed the reins while being dragged beneath the wagon.
That stunt became one of the most famous in movie history — and inspired generations of stunt performers after him.
After suffering serious injuries in the 1940s, Canutt shifted from performing stunts to directing them. He became one of Hollywood’s top second-unit directors and helped choreograph the legendary chariot race in the 1959 film Ben-Hur starring Charlton Heston.
His family carried on the stunt legacy too. His son Joe Canutt doubled for Heston during the dangerous “Ben-Hur” scenes, while another son, Edward “Tap” Canutt, later lived in Agua Dulce and worked in stunt performances during the 1950s through the 1970s.
By the time Hollywood honored Canutt with a special Academy Award in 1966 for his contributions to stunt work, he had already helped completely reshape action filmmaking.
To read yesterday’s SCV History, click HERE.
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