![]() He traveled with his dad to Hollywood, and was at his side when Tyrone Power Sr. The younger Power followed in the old man's footsteps - tragically, you might say. His grandfather was a well-known Irish comedian his father, a respected performer of both stage and screen. Victor Blackman/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images ![]() He was taken to the hospital where he died a few days later of peritonitis, an inflammation of the abdominal wall. Unfortunately, the sword landed with the blade facing upward. When his horse spooked and reared, perhaps startled by an explosive, Budlong had the presence of mind to toss the saber away before the horse threw him. For Budlong, that proved a bad omen.įor some reason – an amateur's enthusiasm? - Budlong decided to brandish a real saber, rather than a wooden prop other professional stuntmen used, while riding into the battle scene. The filming's scheduled start, June 25, 1941, marked the 65th anniversary of the real event popularly known as Custer's Last Stand. Budlong would appear in the climactic scene recreating the Battle of Little Bighorn. Out of friendship, Flynn got Budlong a role as an extra in his latest film, a fictionalized biopic of George Custer called "They Died With Their Boots On". Budlong was a skilled horseman and polo-playing buddy of the screen star Errol Flynn. The story of Jack Budlong stands as a cautionary tale for anyone who watches a professional at work and thinks, "That doesn't look so hard - bet I could do that." In this case, the pro to be emulated was an actor the "that" was riding a horse at breakneck speed for a movie. Extra Jack Budlong died when his horse threw him on top of a saber, impaling him. This poster from "They Died With Their Boots On" shows lots of people on horseback. Although initial reports said the match was struck by a fellow passenger in the car, later reports said it was unclear where the match came from, whether it was tossed in the car from outside or even came from Mansfield herself. ![]() As small consolation, the men's actions had saved her face and neck from being burned. Her injuries were too severe, however, and she succumbed the next morning: Nov. Her co-star managed to contain the flames using his overcoat, and the chauffeur tore the dress from Mansfield's body, burning himself in the process. She sat in a car with fellow actors, having just finished the day's shooting for her latest movie, a Civil War love story called "The Warrens of Virginia." Mansfield was still in costume, the ruffled finery befitting a Southern belle, when a smoker's match caused Mansfield's clothing to immediately set ablaze. From appearing in a series of comedic shorts six years before, she had performed in the Ziegfeld Follies, an elite ensemble of beautiful and talented ingenues, and then was cast opposite the legendary John Barrymore in 1920's "Dr. The 24-year-old actress was a rising star in the Hollywood scene. It was Thanksgiving Day 1923 on location in San Antonio, Texas, and Martha Mansfield (born Martha Erlich, also known as Martha Early) had a lot to be thankful for. The movie studio rushed the film into release, including footage of the fatal crash.Īctors Bela Lugosi and Martha Mansfield star in the 1923 film "Silent Command." Archive Images/Getty Images Either blinded by the lights or losing his bearings, Locklear crashed and was killed on impact. Searchlights, needed for filming in the dark, were to have been turned off so that Locklear would be able to see and safely pull out of the dive. 2, in the last stunt planned for that film's shooting schedule, Locklear performed a tailspin aptly named a "suicide dive". He headlined "The Great Air Robbery" in 1919 and began work on "The Skywayman" in 1920. Locklear's celebrity quickly led to stardom in another burgeoning entertainment field: motion pictures. He's also credited with inventing the mid-air transfer - hopping from his own plane to another - and may have originated the feat of boarding a moving plane from a racing automobile. ![]() According to legend, Locklear pioneered the act of wing walking when he needed to screw the cap on his plane's radiator while in flight. Performing death-defying aerial feats netted him up to $3,000 a show. Trained in the United States Army Air Service (the forerunner of today's Air Force) during World War I, he later toured the country as a newly popular type of entertainer: a barnstormer. His name may conjure images of a nerdy librarian, but Ormer Locklear was a true daredevil, a stunt-flying pioneer. Ormer Locklear walks on the wings of an airplane in a still from the 1920 silent film "The Skywayman." Locklear later died while performing an aerial maneuver during nighttime shooting for the movie.
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