![]() ![]() I learned something from every one of them. ![]() I was one of the fortunate ones to be rewarded for my stunt work with horses in films with a Golden Boot, and the memories of those horses haunt me to this day. The horses were seen ‘packing’ the actors willingly in spite of their bad hands, and those who bounced on their kidneys, day after day going totally unnoticed by the viewing fans who cheered wildly for more as they carried the actors up the hills as cowboys and down the hills as Indians. ![]() The long difficult days of work and the accomplishments of these horses went unseen by the average movie goer. Most of the well-known actors, not all, and stunt people who worked with these horses knew that they contributed mightily to their own success, often making them look better than they were. Sadly it was a time, however, that allowed both animal awards to go to horses whose celebrity and talents were also the most easily recognized. Unlike Patsy, it rewarded those that would normally have had no opportunity to appear in a starring role. Craven, the first director of the AHA in Hollywood. The Patsy (Picture Animal Top Star of the Year) Awards were originated by the Hollywood Office of the American Humane Association many years ago and designed to be presented yearly, like an Oscar, for animals who have done outstanding performances in television and the motion picture industry.Īlso, there was The Craven Award, named for Richard C. Many of filmdom’s deserving horses were overlooked for an award of any kind. We are honored to count Martha as a longtime Horse Nation reader and were excited to receive from her this essay about some of the most incredible four-legged stars she has ever worked with. The photo as featured on the cover of Martha’s autobiography. I told the photographer, ‘I hope you got that cause we are not going to do it again!'” I got the Motion Picture and TV’s Golden Boot Award and was inducted into the Stuntman’s Hall of Fame years later and that picture is one which is most requested from me. As it was, I was able to pull him away from the wheel. Had I not stepped off it would have snapped his leg off. You can see his hind leg behind the wagon wheel. “We got into the jump wrong and I am assuming it was my subconscious that told me of the coming catastrophe or perhaps from riding hundreds of horses, but I stepped off of him in mid-air over the wagon. Martha recalls that she and her horse, Jim, were attempting to jump a wagon - in a western saddle and without a groundline! - when disaster struck. (Martha was doubling for Jean Simmons and Carol Baker.) It was her natural instinct as an equestrian that got her through moments like the one pictured above, capturing a near disaster that occurred during a publicity shoot for The Big Country, produced by and starring Gregory Peck. ![]() She was an outstanding hunter-jumper rider and developed an extensive thoroughbred racing history website containing photos and rebroadcasts of famous races. In addition to her work on the big screen, Martha was - and remains today - a dedicated and passionate horsewoman through and through. It was rather like a young jockey winning his first two races at a new track and finding that from there on, the owners came looking for him.”Ī video tribute to Martha’s illustrious career: After my work on Interrupted Melody, news traveled pretty fast about the quality of my horsemanship, and a lot of the subsequent work calls I received were a result of that. In her autobiography, Fall Girl: My Life as a Western Stunt Double, she explains how she got into the business. You can see a full list of her credits on IMDB here. She stood in for many star actresses - Eleanor Parker, Anne Baxter, Shirley MacLaine, Rhonda Fleming, Jean Simmons, Carol Baker, Claudette Colbert - and was one of the most sought-after stunt doubles in Hollywood. The daughter of a professional polo player, Martha’s equestrian skills landed her stunt-double roles in nearly 20 films and television episodes throughout the 1950s. Top photo: Copyrighted image from Martha’s personal collection.īut first, a proper introduction to Martha. Martha Crawford Cantarini, a Hall of Fame stunt double from Hollywood’s golden era of real-action movies, explains that some of the most deserving actors of the era went unrewarded. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |