Mickey Gilbert

Mickey Gilbert
Born
Roderick Michael Gilbert

(1936-04-17)April 17, 1936
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedFebruary 5, 2024(2024-02-05) (aged 87)
Camarillo, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actor, stuntman, rodeo performer
Spouse
Yvonne Yrigoyen
​
(m. 1962)​
Children3

Roderick Michael Gilbert (April 17, 1936 – February 5, 2024) was an American actor, stuntman and rodeo performer.

Early life and career

Roderick Michael Gilbert was born in Los Angeles, California on April 17, 1936.[1]

Gilbert was Robert Redford's stuntman in films, from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) through The Old Man & the Gun (2018).[2] In the trailer for The Old Man & the Gun, Redford says that he and Gilbert "were in the same class in the same high school in the San Fernando Valley, and then many, many years later, he showed up in my life again as the stunt double in Butch Cassidy, so from that point on he's been in all my films since."[3]

Some of Gilbert's best known stunt roles are the leap off a cliff into water as Redford's Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid;[4] jumping from a moving train to a signal for Gene Wilder in Silver Streak; rolling down a hill while mounted on a horse in The Return of a Man Called Horse; and leaping on horseback off a cliff into water in The Frisco Kid.[5] Gilbert also appeared as a horse rider stunt performer in the 1980 TV movie Stunts Unlimited.

Later in his career he worked as a stunt coordinator and second unit director.[6]

Gilbert portrayed the Ripper in the first episode of Kolchak: The Night Stalker.[7]

Personal life and death

Gilbert married Yvonne Yrigoyen, whose father was also a stunt performer,[1] in 1962. They had three sons, all of whom are also stunt performers, as are their five grandsons. He died at his home in Camarillo, California, on February 5, 2024, at the age of 87.[1]

Filmography

Second unit director/stunts

Year Title Stunts Second unit director Director
1969 The Wild Bunch Yes No Sam Peckinpah
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Yes No George Roy Hill
1970 Beneath the Planet of the Apes Yes No Ted Post
1971 Sometimes a Great Notion Yes No Paul Newman
1972 Joe Kidd Yes No John Sturges
1974 Blazing Saddles Yes No Mel Brooks
1976 The Return of a Man Called Horse Yes No Irvin Kershner
1978 Every Which Way But Loose Yes No James Fargo
1979 The Frisco Kid Yes No Robert Aldrich
1980 The Blues Brothers Yes No John Landis
1981 Honky Tonk Freeway Yes No John Schlesinger
1983 Fast Times at Ridgemont High Yes No Amy Heckerling
1986 Eye of the Tiger Yes No Richard C. Sarafian
The Golden Child Yes No Michael Ritchie
1987 Big Shots Yes No Robert Mandel
1988 Above the Law Yes Yes Andrew Davis
1989 Renegades Yes Yes Jack Sholder
1990 Problem Child Yes Yes Dennis Dugan
Young Guns II Yes Yes Geoff Murphy
1991 City Slickers Yes Yes Ron Underwood
1992 The Last of the Mohicans Yes Yes Michael Mann
Freejack Yes Yes Geoff Murphy
1993 Ghost in the Machine Yes Yes Rachel Talalay
1994 Monkey Trouble Yes No Franco Amurri
When a Man Loves a Woman Yes Yes Luis Mandoki
City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold Yes Yes Paul Weiland
Wes Craven's New Nightmare Yes Yes Wes Craven
1995 Forget Paris Yes Yes Billy Crystal
Apollo 13 Yes No Ron Howard
Waterworld No Yes Kevin Reynolds
The Amazing Panda Adventure Yes Yes Christopher Cain
1996 Spy Hard Yes No Rick Friedberg
A Time to Kill Yes No Joel Schumacher
The Nutty Professor Yes No Tom Shadyac
1997 Liar Liar Yes Yes
Metro Yes Yes Thomas Carter
Gone Fishin' Yes Yes Christopher Cain
1998 Simon Birch No Yes Mark Steven Johnson
The Horse Whisperer Yes Yes Robert Redford
Meet the Deedles No Yes Steve Boyum
1999 Mystery Men Yes No Kinka Usher
2000 Nutty Professor II: The Klumps Yes Yes Peter Segal
2001 Rat Race No Yes Jerry Zucker
2002 Dragonfly Yes Yes Tom Shadyac
2003 National Security Yes Yes Dennis Dugan
Bruce Almighty Yes Yes Tom Shadyac
Elf No Yes Jon Favreau
2007 Evan Almighty No Yes Tom Shadyac
2008 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Yes Yes Various; television series
2014 Need for Speed Yes No Scott Waugh

As stunt double

Year Title Actor
1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Robert Redford
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
1974 Blazing Saddles Gene Wilder
1976 Silver Streak
1979 The Electric Horseman Robert Redford
2018 The Old Man & the Gun

References

  1. ^ a b c "Mickey Gilbert, Stunt Double for Robert Redford and Gene Wilder, Dies at 87". The Hollywood Reporter. February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  2. ^ Udel, James C. (29 August 2019). "Meet Mickey Gilbert, Hollywood's Veteran Western Stuntman". Variety.
  3. ^ Sundance Kids Reunited. FOX Searchlight. Retrieved November 28, 2018 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ Mackay, Mairi (25 August 2008). "The Screening Room's top 10 movie stunts". CNN. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  5. ^ Freese, Gene Scott (2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary (2nd ed.). McFarland. p. 106. ISBN 9780786476435. Retrieved November 28, 2018 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Crystal, Billy (2013). Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys?. Henry Holt and Company. p. 149. ISBN 9780805098235. Retrieved November 28, 2018 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Phillips, Mark; Garcia, Frank (May 12, 2014). Science Fiction Television Series: Episode Guides, Histories, and Casts and Credits for 62 Prime-Time Shows, 1959 Through 1989. McFarland. p. 319. ISBN 9781476610306 – via Google Books.