Bud Elkins, Steve McQueen's stunt double in The Great Escape and Bullett passes RIP

Joeaksa · 10-13-2007, 04:13 PM

Another legend passes...

~~~~~~~~

Great Escape stuntman dies

October 10, 2007 - 1:13PM

Hollywood stuntman Bud Elkins, who doubled for the late Steve McQueen in
memorable action scenes in The Great Escape and Bullit, has died of
natural causes.

He was at 77.

McQueen, who died at 50 in 1980, did most of the riding in the motorcycle
chase sequence of the 1962 movie The Great Escape - where, as a prisoner
of war, he tries to outride his Nazi pursuers to freedom over the Swiss
border.

However it was Elkins who actually made the famous jump that ended with
McQueen and his bike tangled up in the barbed-wire fence lining the
border.

Elkin's jump, said his press agent Paul Bloch, "was perhaps the most
famous motorcycle stunt ever performed in a movie".

Six years later, Elkins took the wheel of McQueen's Ford Mustang during
the thrilling car chase through San Francisco's hilly streets in Bullit,
setting a benchmark for Hollywood action movies.

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.obituaries/browse_thread/thread/c01eefd7c58e8cce

http://www.bigpond.com/news/entertainment/content/20071010/2055840.asp

tchanson · 10-13-2007, 06:12 PM

Not to be pedantic, but in the interest of accuracy at the man's passing, his last name was Ekins.

RIP, Bud.

Tim

Sonic dB · Sonic dB's Garage

McQueen and Ekins were great friends too, and both had vintage motorcycle collections. When
McQueen was dying, he reportedly told Ekins to pick out his favorite bike to keep and auction off the rest. RIP Mr. Ekins.

JCF · 10-13-2007, 07:04 PM

Also one of the founders of motocross racing .

LakeCleElum · 10-14-2007, 04:44 AM

Bud was a true legend for anyone that follows motorcycling. Not just motocross, but desert racing, Catalina and all types of off road riding in Southern Ca....

Hugh R · 10-14-2007, 02:05 PM

I had the honor of meeting Bud a few times. A very interesting guy. The first time, I was walking along a street in North Hollywood and saw this garage door open and saw a bunch of old bikes and cars. I thought it was a repair shop. It turns out it was Bud's private garage, and he was inside. I talked with him for about an hour.

CRH911S · 10-14-2007, 09:48 PM

District 37, Four Aces? Bud brings back old memories. I didn't know him personally but he was fun to watch. Anyone ever catch him at Corganville?

tabs · 10-15-2007, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRH911S

District 37, Four Aces? Bud brings back old memories. I didn't know him personally but he was fun to watch. Anyone ever catch him at Corganville?

Boy U have to be a real old timer from CA to understand what Corganville was...that brings back memories....whew...

hytem · 10-15-2007, 07:37 PM

Always liked Steve McQueen--a vastly underrated actor. I understand Sinatra "discovered" him, and cast him as his jeep driver in Kings Go Forth, in the late 50s. His greatest performance was probably as Papillon--the French Guiana prisoner movie.

The Great Escape was a great movie, but not very authentic. The escape was strictly British--carried out in the British part of the camp. The Americans were segregated in another part of the camp. The senior officer in the American part of the camp was Col. Paul Travis Burton, a B24 command pilot shot down over Germany. Burton is a descendant of Col. William Travis of the Alamo. He wrote a book about his prison experience, "Escape from Terror", which I have, along with a nice note from him. He is a real American hero.