Russell M. Saunders: Difference between revisions

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Russell Maurice Saunders (May 21, 1919 – May 29, 2001) was a stunt man and acrobat.

Saunders did Alan Ladd's fight scene in Shane. He also doubled for Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain and An American in Paris.^[1] He was in many other famous movies from as early as Hitchcock's Saboteur in 1942 to as late as Mississippi Burning in 1988.

Saunders was lauded by other famous stuntmen, such as Brayton Yerkes and Gary Morgan. Fay Alexander called him, "without a doubt the best all-around acrobat I've ever known."^[1]

Saunders was the model for Salvador Dalí's painting Christ of Saint John of the Cross. The painting shows Jesus from the viewpoint of God the Father (from above); Saunders was suspended from the ceiling to allow Dalí to visualize the human body under the stress of crucifixion.^[1]

Saunders was famous for performing at Muscle Beach and for giving free lessons to children. "This has to be the only place in the world where someone can just walk up and receive free gymnastic instruction from pros", Saunders told a reporter in 1986. Saunders was not a weightlifter, though. Instead he 'preferred to lift girls'.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Martin, Douglas (17 June 2001). "Russell M. Saunders, Stuntman in Movies, is Dead at 82". The New York Times.

External links

Russell M. Saunders at IMDb
Saunders collection of slides, photos and movies from Muscle Beach, curated by University of Southern California

This biographical article related to Canadian artistic gymnastics is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[NYT_obit-1] Martin, Douglas (17 June 2001). "Russell M. Saunders, Stuntman in Movies, is Dead at 82". The New York Times.

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+{{Short description|Stunt man, 1919 – 2001}}
-'''Russell Maurice Saunders''' (May 21, 1919--29 May 2001) was a stunt man and acrobat.  He did [[Alan Ladd]]'s fight scene in ''[[Shane]]''.  He also doubled for [[Gene Kelly]] in ''[[Singin' in the Rain]]'' and ''[[An American in Paris]]''.<ref name = "NYT obit"/>  He was in many other famous movies from as early as 1933's ''[[King Kong]]'' to 1988's ''[[Mississippi Burning]]''.
+'''Russell Maurice Saunders''' (May 21, 1919 – May 29, 2001) was a stunt man and acrobat.
+Saunders did [[Alan Ladd]]'s fight scene in ''[[Shane (film)|Shane]]''. He also doubled for [[Gene Kelly]] in ''[[Singin' in the Rain]]'' and ''[[An American in Paris]]''.<ref name = "NYT obit"/> He was in many other famous movies from as early as Hitchcock's ''[[Saboteur (film)|Saboteur]]'' in 1942 to as late as ''[[Mississippi Burning]]'' in 1988.
-Saunders was the model for [[Salvador Dali]]'s painting ''[[Christ of Saint John of the Cross]]''.  The painting shows Jesus from the viewpoint of God the Father (from above); Saunders was suspended from the ceiling to allow Dali to visualize the human body under the stress of crucifixion.<ref name = "NYT obit">http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/17/nyregion/russell-m-saunders-stuntman-in-movies-is-dead-at-82.html</ref>
+Saunders was lauded by other famous stuntmen, such as [[Brayton Yerkes]] and [[Gary Morgan (actor)|Gary Morgan]]. [[Fay Alexander]] called him, "without a doubt the best all-around acrobat I've ever known."<ref name = "NYT obit"/>
-Saunders was famous for performing at [[Muscle Beach]] and for giving free lessons to children.  "This has to be the only place in the world where someone can just walk up and receive free gymnastic instruction from pros", Saunders told a reporter in 1986. Saunders was not a weightlifter, though.  Instead he said, "I prefer to lift girls".<ref name = "NYT obit"/>
+Saunders was the model for [[Salvador Dalí]]'s painting ''[[Christ of Saint John of the Cross]]''. The painting shows Jesus from the viewpoint of God the Father (from above); Saunders was suspended from the ceiling to allow Dalí to visualize the human body under the stress of crucifixion.<ref name = "NYT obit">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/17/nyregion/russell-m-saunders-stuntman-in-movies-is-dead-at-82.html|title = Russell M. Saunders, Stuntman in Movies, is Dead at 82|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 17 June 2001|last1 = Martin|first1 = Douglas}}</ref>
+Saunders was famous for performing at [[Muscle Beach]] and for giving free lessons to children. "This has to be the only place in the world where someone can just walk up and receive free gymnastic instruction from pros", Saunders told a reporter in 1986. Saunders was not a weightlifter, though. Instead he 'preferred to lift girls'.<ref name = "NYT obit"/>
 ==References==
-{{reflist}}
+{{Reflist}}
 ==External links==
+*{{IMDb name|0996183}}
+*[http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt7g503873/ Saunders collection of slides, photos and movies from Muscle Beach], curated by University of Southern California
+{{Authority control}}
-*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0996183/ IMDB], user-generated listing of movies performed in
-*[http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt7g503873/ Saunders collection of slides, photos and movies from Muscle Beach], curated by University of Southern California
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Russell}}
+[[Category:Canadian gymnasts]]
-[[Category:California]]
+[[Category:Canadian male artistic gymnasts]]
-[[Category:American people of Canadian descent]]
+[[Category:1919 births]]
-[[Category:Stunt actors]]
+[[Category:2001 deaths]]
-[[Category:Gymnasts]]
-{{stub}}
+{{Canada-artistic-gymnastics-bio-stub}}

Authority control databases
International	VIAF WorldCat
National	United States