Two Hollywood Hall of Fame Stuntmen Killed in Traffic Accident

Retired stuntmen Gary McLarty and Bob Orrison worked together in films like “The Wild Bunch” and “Days of Thunder”

Gary McLarty
Gary McLarty/YouTube

Gary McLarty and Bob Orrison, who were longtime friends and retired stuntment, died Saturday as the result of a traffic accident in Rancho Cordova, California. McLarty was 73, and Orrison was 86.

The pair were traveling together in a pickup truck when they were hit broadside by a Jeep Cherokee, according to the Merced Sun-Star. “It was a direct hit,” Sacramento Sheriff’s spokesman Lisa Bowman told the paper. The men were pronounced dead at the scene.

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“These are people who spent their adult life doing dangerous things in a calculated way,” McLarty’s wife Hillorie told the paper. “It defies my imagination.” She had dropped McLarty off at Orrison’s home an hour before the crash.

McLarty retired a few years ago after a 40 year career in Hollywood that saw him tackle iconic film moments like driving a motorcycle up the frat house steps in “Animal House.” He also worked as the stunt double for Henry Winkler during motorcycle scenes on “Happy Days.”

Bob Orrison
Bob Orrison

He did stunts on films like “The Longest Yard,” “The Terminator,” “Waterworld” and even “Showgirls.” He was also a stunt coordinator, working on films like “The Blues Brothers,” and the first two “Beverly Hills Cop” movies, earning the nickname “Whiz Kid” for his stunt abilities.

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Orrison continued working as a stuntman into his 70s, working on a wide array of projects including driving the General Lee on “The Dukes of Hazzard,” and jumping the unfinished freeway in “Speed.” He could also be seen in the original “Star Trek” series and films like “Smokey and the Bandit,” “Tango & Cash,” “Die Hard 2,” Rambo III” and “Stargate.”

The friends even worked together a few times on films such as “The Wild Bunch” and “Days of Thunder.”

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