Buddy Van Horn, Veteran Stuntman and Clint Eastwood’s Stunt Double, dies at age 92

Veteran Stuntman Dies At 92

Wayne “Buddy” Van Horn, veteran stuntman who worked with Clint Eastwood on over 30 films and directed Any Which Way You Can and The Dead Pool, died May 11, according to an obituary notice in the LA Times. He was 92.

Sometimes credited as Wayne Van Horn, he started working with Eastwood as a stunt double in 1967, and continued working as a stunt coordinator on his films up until J. Edgar in 2011.  He also directed three movies starring Eastwood: Any Which Way You Can, The Dead Pool and 1989’s Pink Cadillac. 1980’s Any Which Way You Can was the sequel to James Fargo’s Every Which Way but Loose (in which Eastwood stars as a truck driver who has a pet orangutan named Clyde) and 1988’s The Dead Pool is the fifth and final film in the Dirty Harry series, also starring Patricia Clarkson, Liam Neeson and Jim Carrey in his first dramatic film role as a punk.

The longtime stuntman was “born on the back lot of Universal Studios,” according to his obit notice. His father had worked at the studio as a veterinarian for the studio’s horses. He rode his pony around the open San Fernando Valley hills and became a skilled horseman, breaking into the business as an extra riding horses.

He was handed his draft notice while sitting on a horse, and served in the army for two years before returning to showbiz. One of his early gigs was as Guy Williams’ stunt double in Walt Disney’s Zorro TV series, which starred Williams as the Mexican vigilante. In the 1960s, Van Horn stunt doubled for actors including Gregory Peck, Lee Marvin and Jeremy Stewart. This eventually led to Van Horn’s work as Eastwood’s stunt double, and eventually with Malpaso Productions as a stunt coordinator and director. Van Horn’s other stunt credits include the original Dirty Harry (1971), The Rookie (1990), Space Cowboys (2000), Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Gran Torino (2008).

He is survived by his wife Konne, two daughters and five grandchildren.

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