Recommended Reading - Magazine articles/interviews

Magazine reviews are sorted alphabetically by title. Many should be available through second hand shops or major libraries.
 

Action Films
December 1982
"Swashbuckling Heroes: Fencers and Frauds" by Jessica Amanda Salmonson.
Interview with I, The Jury stunt coordinator Don Pike.

January 1983
"TV Stunts: Behind the Scenes" on Knightrider and The Fall Guy by Linda Cauthen.

February 1983
"TV Stunts: Behind the Scenes" on Tales of the Gold Monkey and Hill Street Blues by Linda Cauthen.
"I Took Falls For Inspector Clouseau" by Lou Salome. An interview with Joe Dunne.
"48 Hours: High-tension stunts in Nick Nolte's crime thriller" by Peter Gast.

March 1983
"TV Stunts: Behind the Scenes" on CHIPs by Linda Cauthen.
"Tough Enough: How a pro makes amateurs fight" by David J. Hogan. Jimmy Nickerson's  boxing choreography for Tough Enough).
 

American Film
February 1977
"What's In It For Us?" by Julian Smith. An anti car chase films article that voices strong concerns about public safety and damage to public property while car chase scenes are filmed.
 

Bizarre (British magazine)
September 2000
"I'm A Fall Guy" by Mark Blacklock. The writer attends a London stunt school.
 

Cinefantastique
January 1990
"Back to the Future" by Frederick S. Clarke. A general article on Back to the Future 2 with some information about stuntwoman Cheryl Wheeler-Dixon's injuries during an accident filming the hoverboard sequence.

June 1991
"Turtles II - The Actors in the Suits" by Gary L. Wood.
 

Cinema Papers (Australian)
March 1986
"Drive-In Breakout" by Nick Roddick. About a big car jump by Guy Norris for the film Dead End Drive-In.
 

Fangoria
May 1982 (No. 19)
"On Location With The Thing" by Bob Martin. Has a page about the big fire stunt Tony Cecere did for this film.

March 1984 (No. 34)
"On the set of Firestarter" by R. H. Martin. Tony Cecere doing fire stunts, again.
 

Fighting Stars
December 1982
"A Soldier of Fiction" by Jason Randal. Stunt coordination and fight choreography for An Officer and a Gentleman.

Undated (both articles from the same issue)
"Don Pike: Race car driver who takes pleasure in cracking up cars" by Evan Israel.
"So You Want to be a Stuntperson" by Nancy Frizzelle. About Kim Kahana's stunt school.
 

Filmfax
" 'Jocko' Mahoney" by Jan Alan Henderson and Herb Harris. An interview with a famous character actor and stuntman (he was the basis for the Jocko, the Brian Keith character, in Hooper: The World's Greatest Stuntman). Unfortunately I have not dated the copy so don't know which issue it appeared in.
 

Films Illustrated
April 1975
"Why Redford risks his neck as Waldo Pepper". Apparently the stars did get a bit involved in the biplane stunts for The Great Waldo Pepper.
 

Focus (British)
January 1994
"Lights! Camera! Action! Stunts!" by L. A. Turner.
 

Impact (British)
August/September/October 1993
"Stunt Master - Vic Armstrong" by Bey Logan. This is an extensive 3 part interview. I only have parts 2 and 3 (September and October), so if anybody can spare a photocopy of part 1 in the August 1993 issue, I'd greatly appreciate it.

April 1994
"So You Want to be a Stuntman?" by Michael Elliot

February 1999
"Desperado!: Stuntman Peter Pedrero" by Jude Poyer.
"You Come Right Out of a Comic Book!" by Jude Poyer. Working as a stuntman on a Hong Kong action flick. This is Part I. I don't have the next part(s).
 

Inside Stunts
This is the best magazine ever! Six issues have come out so far, but I only have the first four. Everybody who is interested in stunts should buy all the back issues and subscribe to it. Click here for the site.

Vol. 1 No. 1 (Summer 2004)
Highlights include "True Wonder Women" by Anne Hefley (a profile of Sophia Crawford, Jane Austin, Caryn Mower, and Jeannie Epper), Art of the Hustle, articles on Terry Leonard and Robert Herron (80 years old and still working!), and 6 pages about high fall techniques and tips from experts.

Vol. 1 No. 2 (Fall 2004)
Articles on Bob Anderson and Hal Needham, performance nutrition, balance training, and Basic Fighting For Film (unarmed).

Vol. 1 No. 3 (Winter 2005)
Casey Peretti (an amputee stuntman), Yakima Canutt Part I, stability training with a Swiss ball, Basic Sword Fighting.

Vol. 1 No. 4 (Spring 2005)
Yakima Canutt Part II, Dick Ziker, Greg Barnett, Jeff Habberstad, Steve Griffin, power training, etc.
 

Martial Arts Movies
(Ran an excellent series on stunts and fight choreography in the early 1980's. I'd greatly appreciate photocopies of incomplete or missing articles for my collection)

July 1981
"Creating Fight Scenes Which Show Competence and Characterization" (I only have the first page and it does not list the author).

August 1981
"Stuntmen: The Hollywood Professionals" by David E. Steele.

September 1981
"Industry Tips From Hollywood's Sensei" by John Soet. Emil Farkas and Kim Kahana explaining angles, distances, etc. for film fights.

October 1981
"How to Ruin a Fight Scene" by Sandra Segal. Cinematic fight scene tips from Emil Farkas.

November 1981
"Cinematic Swordplay - Take One" by L. A. Salome. Movie swordplay choreography by Mike Stone.

December 1981
"Dan Inosanto's secrets of Stunt Choreography" by John Soet. Cinematic kali choreography.

March 1982
"Gene Le Bell: Undercover Martial Artist" by Lou Salome (I am missing the end of this article - the last page I have is p. 56).

April 1982
"An American Martial Actor Goes East" by Lou Salome. Information on James Lew.

May 1982
"Jimmy Nickerson: Hollywood's Fight Film Genius" by John Corcoran.

October 1982
"Dance the Fight Away: Dance Choreography for Fight Scenes" by Robert Dreeben. The importance of design, phrasing, dynamics, rhythm, motivation, and form to both dance and fights.

September 1992
"25 All-Time Great Movie Fights" by Scott Rhodes. (not part of the above series)
 

Motor
13 April 1977
"Cars as Stars" by Tony Crawley.
 

Movie Maker (British)
February 1985
"Action Men" An article about 'amateur' British stunt team Action Incorporated.
 

National Enquirer
31 January 1984
"Stuntgirl - At 66" by Carol Boyer. Feature on stuntwoman Barrie Bailey.
 

New Idea
2 October 1982
"Hollywood's Danger Man" by Sue Russell. about Vic Armstrong.
 

Penthouse (US edition)
July 1981
"Good Ol' Boy Makes Good" by James Delson. Hal Needham profile.
 

Penthouse (Australian edition)
September 1988
"Dangerous Driving" by John Baxter.
 
 

Playboy (US edition)
September 1978
"Stunt Girl: Playboy catches a falling star". Simon Boisseree training at Kim Kahana's stunt school. I only have the first page (p. 106).
 

Playboy (Australian edition)
March 1980
"Interview: Grant Page". Australia's greatest stuntman, and also one of the best in the world. His documentary TV series Danger Freaks inspired me to become a stuntman. See Recommended Viewing.
 

Premiere
October 1990
"Playing With Fire" by Frank Sennett. half a page about fire stunts.

July 1994
"Shot by Shot". Bus jump for Speed.

November 1995
"Shot by Shot". Johnny Depp's 95 ft. wire assisted fall for Nick of Time.

January 1996
"After the Fall" by Holly Millea. Sonja Davis was killed doing a backward high fall for the film Vampire In Brooklyn. An accident that should never have happened, and some reasons why it did happen. This print version has colour photos not included in the online version of this article.
"Last Chance To See: The Stuntman" by Thomas Hudson. A one page article on page 90 that somewhat prematurely predicts the demise of stuntwork due to digital effects.
 

Ralph (Australian)
November 1998
"Best Shots" by karl Potter. The 20 best film fights.
"Hitting the big screen" by Mark Abernethy. How to break into martial arts movies.
 

Sight and Sound
July 1995
"Duels With A Camera" by Philip Strick. The cinematography of sword fights.
 

Stock Car Racing
September 1992
"Dress for Success and Survival: an instant of flames can bring a lifetime of misery" by Dick Berggren & Robin Hartford. Detailed information about what fire suits best protect race car drivers in fiery crashes.
 

Top Gear (British)
July 1999
"$4M Through A Traffic Jam" by Zac Asseminis. (A pseudonymous pun, surely?) The making of The Italian Job and its classic Minis car chase.
 

Total Film
July 1997
"So, You Wanna Be a Stuntman?" by Cam Winstanley.
 

Vanity Fair
May 1993
"The Heidi Chronicles". On 25 June, 1980, stuntwoman Heidi von Beltz, 25, was paralysed after a car stunt accident on The Cannonball Run.
 

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