Harry Simon Woolman was a race-circuit, film, and TV stuntman, specializing in motorcycle jumps, car crashes, and pyrotechnics, from the 1930s through the early 1960s. From the 1960s until his retirement in the mid-1980s, he designed mechanical special effects for films and television. He also acted in bit parts over this span.

Woolman was born and raised in rural Elkton, Maryland

Elkton, Maryland

The town of Elkton is the county seat of Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,893 as of the 2000 census and 14,842 according to current July 2008 census estimates. It is the county seat of Cecil County...

, the "Marriage Capital" of the East Coast, where elopers would run from neighboring States for a no-wait wedding. An aspiring motorcycle daredevil, he would ride his cycle backwards or standing on his head, at the outskirts of town attracting the matrimony-bound to stop and ask for directions, when he would offer to guide them to one of the 24-hour chapels for tips. One of these clients was a Hollywood producer down from New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 who invited Woolman look him up for a job if he was ever in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

Woolman was a long-time Hollywood stuntman and special effects innovator, doubling for such notables as Clark Gable

Clark Gable

William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...

, Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...

, William Bendix

William Bendix

William Bendix was an American film, radio, and television actor, best remembered in movies for the title role in the movie The Babe Ruth Story and for portraying clumsily earnest aircraft plant worker Chester A. Riley in radio and television's The Life of Riley...

, and John Carradine

John Carradine

John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...

. He also appeared in occasional roles such as the motorcycle police officer in the Abbott & Costello comedy, The Time of Their Lives.

Having gained practice handling cars running moonshine in rural Cecil County, Maryland

Cecil County, Maryland

Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is part of the Delaware Valley. It was named for Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore , who was the first Proprietary Governor of the colony of Maryland from 1632 until his death in 1675. The county seat is Elkton. The newspaper...

, Woolman headlined as a thrill-rider on the racetrack circuit with Ed "Lucky" Teter & his Champion Hell Drivers

Hell Drivers

This page is about the automobile sport. For the 1957 film starring Stanley Baker, see Hell Drivers Hell Drivers - The frequently used term to describe, and the very popular title of, numerous automobile thrill-based productions performing at fairs and racetracks by various squads of stunt drivers...

. Woolman survived over 3,000 head-on collisions and was featured numerous times on the television program You Asked for It

You Asked For It

You Asked for It is a popular human-interest show created and hosted by Art Baker. Initially titled The Art Baker Show, the program originally aired on American television between 1950 and 1959...

, doing everything from jumping a house with a car to being blown up in a paper coffin by 20 sticks of dynamite. In 1953, he was the point-leader in the International Stuntmen's Association and a gold star driver.

During the 60s, 70s & into the early 80s, Woolman turned to special effects, particularly gunfights and explosions.

Woolman considered his recreation of the John F. Kennedy assassination

John F. Kennedy assassination

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...

 in the film Executive Action (1973) his magnum opus.

Despite a long career rife with hair-raising danger, Woolman died peacefully in his sleep in Bellingham, Washington

Bellingham, Washington

Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...

on October 27, 1996 at the age of 87.