Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Gary McLarty

Stunt man, actor, and stunt coordinator -- via deadline.com. AKA "Whiz Kid." Killed in a car accident with his old friend and fellow stunt man Bob Orrison. He was in just about everything -- he rode the motorcycle up the stairs in "Animal House," he doubled for Fonzie on "Happy Days."

McLarty figured prominently in two Hollywood tragedies. First, he was Vic Morrow's stunt double in "Twilight Zone: The Movie," and was in the helicopter when it crashed during filming on June 23, 1982, killing Morrow and two child actors. McCarty asserted he warned director John Landis that the stunt was too dangerous to perform.

Second, he testified during the trial of actor Robert Blake for the 2001 murder of his wife, claiming that Blake offered him $10,000 to do the job.