Mickey Gilbert Explained

Mickey Gilbert
Birth Name:Roderick Michael Gilbert
Birth Date:17 April 1936
Birth Place:Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Death Place:Camarillo, California, U.S.
Occupation:Actor, stuntman, rodeo performer
Children:3

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 .[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

YearTitleStuntsSecond unit directorDirector
1969The Wild BunchSam Peckinpah
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance KidGeorge Roy Hill
1970Beneath the Planet of the ApesTed Post
1971Sometimes a Great NotionPaul Newman
1972Joe KiddJohn Sturges
1974Blazing SaddlesMel Brooks
1976The Return of a Man Called HorseIrvin Kershner
1978Every Which Way But LooseJames Fargo
1979The Frisco KidRobert Aldrich
1980The Blues BrothersJohn Landis
1981Honky Tonk FreewayJohn Schlesinger
1983Fast Times at Ridgemont HighAmy Heckerling
1986Eye of the TigerRichard C. Sarafian
The Golden ChildMichael Ritchie
1987Big ShotsRobert Mandel
1988Above the LawAndrew Davis
1989RenegadesJack Sholder
1990Problem ChildDennis Dugan
Young Guns IIGeoff Murphy
1991City SlickersRon Underwood
1992The Last of the MohicansMichael Mann
FreejackGeoff Murphy
1993Ghost in the MachineRachel Talalay
1994Monkey TroubleFranco Amurri
When a Man Loves a WomanLuis Mandoki
Paul Weiland
Wes Craven's New NightmareWes Craven
1995Forget ParisBilly Crystal
Apollo 13Ron Howard
WaterworldKevin Reynolds
The Amazing Panda AdventureChristopher Cain
1996Spy HardRick Friedberg
A Time to KillJoel Schumacher
The Nutty ProfessorTom Shadyac
1997Liar Liar
MetroThomas Carter
Gone Fishin'Christopher Cain
1998Simon BirchMark Steven Johnson
The Horse WhispererRobert Redford
Meet the DeedlesSteve Boyum
1999Mystery MenKinka Usher
2000Peter Segal
2001Rat RaceJerry Zucker
2002DragonflyTom Shadyac
2003National SecurityDennis Dugan
Bruce AlmightyTom Shadyac
ElfJon Favreau
2007Evan AlmightyTom Shadyac
2008Various; television series
2014Need for SpeedScott Waugh

As stunt double

YearTitleActor
1969Butch Cassidy and the Sundance KidRobert Redford
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
1974Blazing SaddlesGene Wilder
1976Silver Streak
1979The Electric HorsemanRobert Redford
2018The Old Man & the Gun

Notes and References

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