A Special Note of Tribute
excerpts from
http://lw4.warnerbros.com/cmp/lw1/lw1prod2.html
Actor/stuntman Dar
Robinson died in a tragic accident on the set [of Million
Dollar Mystery] in Page, Arizona.
Robinson was an innovator, known for his meticulous
planning and precise mathematical projections. He held many world
records and invented new techniques and new equipment, including life
saving equipment for the fire department. He was an early tester of the
air bag system and designed a three-stage air bag for use in [Lethal
Weapon].
A gymnastics enthusiast, Robinson was born in 1947
in Van Nuys, California. He landed his first job at the age of twenty,
doing acrobatics in a giant milk bottle for a commercial. He later did
stunt work on Paint Your Wagon and doubled for
Steve McQueen in a cliff jump for Papillon.
Holder of 21 stunt records, Robinson is listed in
the 1986 Guinness Book of World Records as the
highest paid stuntman ($100,000 for a jump from the 1,000-foot-high CN
Tower in Toronto in November, 1979) for the movie High Point.
He opened a parachute 300 feet from the ground.
Among his "World's First" records, Robinson was the
first to sky dive out of a cargo plane at 12,000 feet while "driving" a
small sports car.
Miraculously, Robinson never broke a single bone in
his 19 years of television and movie work.
Among his admirers was Burt Reynolds, who used him
extensively in Sharkey's Machine and Stick.
"In terms of sheer courage, said Reynolds, "Dar had no peer."
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