American stunt performer
A.J. Bakunas |
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| Born | Albert John Bakunas
(1950-10-23)October 23, 1950
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| Died | September 22, 1978(1978-09-22) (aged 27)
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| Cause of death | Falling |
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| Occupation | Stunt performer |
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Albert John Bakunas, Jr, a.k.a. A.J. Bakunas (October 23, 1950 – September 22, 1978) was a stunt performer who died doubling for George Kennedy in a fall from the Kincaid Towers in Lexington, Kentucky, for the film Steel (1979).
Born in Fort Lee, New Jersey, Bakunas quit his job as a gym teacher at Tenafly (N.J.) High School in 1974 and set out to break into the film industry.[citation needed] He did his first stuntwork for the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon. Bakunas became known for expertly performing falls from great heights.[1]
In 1978, Bakunas set a world record with a 70.1 metres (230 ft) fall from a helicopter for the film Hooper,[2] which was broken that same year by Dar Robinson's 87.2 metres (286 ft) fall for a non-movie-related publicity stunt.[3]
Bakunas, determined to retake the record, returned to Lexington to perform a 96 metres (315 ft) jump from the 22nd floor of a construction site, where he had previously successfully fallen nine stories. On September 21, 1978, as his father and a crowd of about 1,000 watched, Bakunas performed the fall, reaching an estimated speed of 115 miles per hour (185 km/h). However, the airbag split on impact, and Bakunas died of his injuries the next day.[4]
Filmography
References
- Lexington Leader, September 21, 1978
External links
