Paul Stader
Encyclopedia
Paul B. Stader, sometimes known as Manny Stader (February 13, 1911–April 10, 1991), was an American
actor
best known for having performed stunts for Johnny Weismuller, Lex Barker
, Gregory Peck
, and John Wayne
. He was also the underwater director of the 1978 film
The Return of Captain Nemo
.
. He came to Los Angeles
, California
, to attempt to enter the 1932 Olympic Games
. Though he did not make the team, he struck up important friendships with Weismuller and Buster Crabbe
. They encouraged him to take the lifeguard
examination in Santa Monica
. He earned $5 per day as a guard. Thereafter, studio executives spotted him on a pier and determined that he would make an excellent double for the actor Jon Hall
in the 1937 film The Hurricane
. He was soon the personal trainer and stuntman for Weismuller, for whom he doubled in the 1942 film Tarzan Triumphs
and in the 1955 television series Jungle Jim
, based on a popular comic strip
about the hunter, guide, and explorer Jim Bradley.
In the Jungle Jim films, Stader doubled for Weismuller by diving, running, swinging, and fighting for him, and even substituting for him atop an elephant
. He also mastered the difficult task of wrestling with animals, including alligator
s.
Stader described Weismuller, accordingly:
He was a generous, really nice fellow. I was always his stuntman. We would exercise together because he'd have to weigh 192 pounds before each picture started. So he and I would begin working out about three or four months before, paddling a board, swimming every day, that sort of thing. I got paid by the studio, and I also got a check from Weissmuller, so it was pretty good money for those days.
Stader also doubled for Lex Barker
, when he replaced Weismuller in the Tarzan
films, and the two men became good friends. The weekend before Barker's death in 1972, he had visited Stader at the Stader home in Malibu, California, and complained of chest pains. Stader made Barker promise to consult a physician
. Barker saw a doctor in New York City
but shortly afterwards collapsed on a street and died.
In June 1954, two of Stader's friends vanished off the coast of Catalina Island
when their speed boat sank eleven miles from the island. Stader swam for nine hours to shore to summons help, but his companions, considered excellent swimmers too, were never found by the United States Coast Guard
.
Stader also did stunts for Ben Johnson
in the 1949 film Mighty Joe Young. He had to fall from the second floor of a burning building, landed improperly, and broke both heels. In 1950, Strader was cast as "Killer" Lawson in the Superman
serial in the film, Atom Man vs. Superman
. He did stunts for John Wayne in the 1963 film McLintock!
and for Gregory Peck, who portrayed Captain Ahab, in the 1956 picture Moby Dick, based on the Herman Melville
novel
.
television series State Trooper
, set in the American West of the 1950s
and starring Rod Cameron
. That same season, he guest starred five times in different roles on Lloyd Bridges
’s syndicated Sea Hunt
series. In 1960, he appeared once on Rod Cameron’s subsequent syndicated detective
series Coronado 9
. He appeared twice on Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater
, as Crane in the 1958 episode "Three Days to Death" and as a farmer in the 1960 segment "The Man from Yesterday".
He appeared twice in 1963 on ABC
's science fiction
series, The Outer Limits
in episodes entitled "Nightmare" and "Tourist Attraction". In 1964, he guest starred as Rankin in the "The Link Cheney Story" of ABC's Wagon Train
. His co-stars in the episode were Yvonne Craig
, Charles Drake
, Pippa Scott
, Tom Simcox
, and Harry von Zell
.In 1968, he was cast as an unnamed slave in the episode "Bread and Circuses" of the NBC
science fiction series, Star Trek
. In 1969, he appeared in a minor role in "A Pinch of Salt" episode of NBC's Daniel Boone
, starring Fess Parker
.
, Giant, Our Man Flint
, Tobruk
, Beneath the Planet of the Apes
, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
, Blazing Saddles
, The Great Waldo Pepper
, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure
, and a 1985 television movie
of Alice in Wonderland.
Stuntman Ted Batchelor (born 1959), originally from Chagrin Falls
, Ohio
, and a Guinness
record holder, visited Stader's Malibu home and set himself on fire. Such stunts were later declared illegal in many places. Batchelor said that Stader, from whom he sought advice regarding stunts, "was the nicest man I ever met in the industry."
Stader died in Malibu at the age of eighty. He was survived by his wife, Marilyn M. Stader (born 1929).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
best known for having performed stunts for Johnny Weismuller, Lex Barker
Lex Barker
Lex Barker was an American actor best known for playing Tarzan of the Apes and leading characters from Karl May's novels.-Early life:...
, Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, and John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
. He was also the underwater director of the 1978 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
The Return of Captain Nemo
The Return of Captain Nemo
The Return of Captain Nemo is a 1978 science fiction TV movie directed by Alex March and Paul Stader. It is loosely based on characters and settings from Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea...
.
Working with Weismuller and Barker
Stader was born and reared in MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. He came to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, 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...
, to attempt to enter the 1932 Olympic Games
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
. Though he did not make the team, he struck up important friendships with Weismuller and Buster Crabbe
Buster Crabbe
Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe was an American athlete and actor, who starred in a number of popular serials in the 1930s and 1940s.-Birth:...
. They encouraged him to take the lifeguard
Lifeguard
A lifeguard supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, or beach. Lifeguards are strong swimmers and trained in first aid, certified in water rescue using a variety of aids and equipment depending on...
examination in Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
. He earned $5 per day as a guard. Thereafter, studio executives spotted him on a pier and determined that he would make an excellent double for the actor Jon Hall
Jon Hall
Jon Hall was an American film actor.-Biography:Born Charles Felix Locher in Fresno, California, and raised in Tahiti by his father, the Swiss-born actor Felix Locher, he was a nephew of James Norman Hall, one of the authors of Mutiny on the Bounty...
in the 1937 film The Hurricane
The Hurricane (1937 film)
The Hurricane is a 1937 film set in the South Seas, directed by John Ford and produced by Samuel Goldwyn, about a Polynesian who is unjustly imprisoned. The climax features a special effects hurricane. It stars Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall, with Mary Astor, C. Aubrey Smith, Thomas Mitchell, Raymond...
. He was soon the personal trainer and stuntman for Weismuller, for whom he doubled in the 1942 film Tarzan Triumphs
Tarzan Triumphs
Tarzan Triumphs is a 1943 adventure film in which Tarzan fights the Nazis. Johnny Weismuller had portrayed the popular Edgar Rice Burroughs character in six films with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but this was his first with the producer Sol Lesser at RKO Pictures...
and in the 1955 television series Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim (TV series)
Jungle Jim is a 26-episode syndicated adventure television series which aired from 1955-1956, starring Johnny Weismuller, as Jim "Jungle Jim" Bradley, a hunter, guide, and explorer in, primarily, Africa. The program should not be confused with Ramar of the Jungle, but is based on the Jungle Jim...
, based on a popular comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
about the hunter, guide, and explorer Jim Bradley.
In the Jungle Jim films, Stader doubled for Weismuller by diving, running, swinging, and fighting for him, and even substituting for him atop an elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
. He also mastered the difficult task of wrestling with animals, including alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
s.
Stader described Weismuller, accordingly:
He was a generous, really nice fellow. I was always his stuntman. We would exercise together because he'd have to weigh 192 pounds before each picture started. So he and I would begin working out about three or four months before, paddling a board, swimming every day, that sort of thing. I got paid by the studio, and I also got a check from Weissmuller, so it was pretty good money for those days.
Stader also doubled for Lex Barker
Lex Barker
Lex Barker was an American actor best known for playing Tarzan of the Apes and leading characters from Karl May's novels.-Early life:...
, when he replaced Weismuller in the Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
films, and the two men became good friends. The weekend before Barker's death in 1972, he had visited Stader at the Stader home in Malibu, California, and complained of chest pains. Stader made Barker promise to consult a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
. Barker saw a doctor in 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...
but shortly afterwards collapsed on a street and died.
In June 1954, two of Stader's friends vanished off the coast of Catalina Island
Santa Catalina Island, California
Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is...
when their speed boat sank eleven miles from the island. Stader swam for nine hours to shore to summons help, but his companions, considered excellent swimmers too, were never found by the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
.
Stader also did stunts for Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson (actor)
Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
in the 1949 film Mighty Joe Young. He had to fall from the second floor of a burning building, landed improperly, and broke both heels. In 1950, Strader was cast as "Killer" Lawson in the Superman
Superman (serial)
Superman is a 15-part black-and-white Columbia film serial based on the comic book character Superman. It stars an uncredited Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill as Lois Lane. It is notable as the first live-action appearance of Superman on film and for the longevity of its distribution...
serial in the film, Atom Man vs. Superman
Atom Man vs. Superman
Atom Man vs. Superman , Columbia's 43rd serial, finds Lex Luthor , secretly the Atom Man, blackmailing the city of Metropolis by threatening to destroy the entire community...
. He did stunts for John Wayne in the 1963 film McLintock!
McLintock!
McLintock! is a 1963 comedy Western starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, and loosely based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The film is notable, perhaps even infamous, for its two spanking scenes, in which mother and daughter are each paddled with coal shovels: the daughter by her...
and for Gregory Peck, who portrayed Captain Ahab, in the 1956 picture Moby Dick, based on the Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
.
Television appearances
Between 1958 and 1959, Stader appeared in different roles in six episodes of the syndicatedTelevision syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
television series State Trooper
State Trooper (TV series)
State Trooper is a half-hour television crime drama set in the 1950s American West, starring Rod Cameron as Rod Blake, an officer of the Nevada State Troopers. The series aired 104 episodes in syndication from September 25, 1956, to June 25, 1959...
, set in the American West of the 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
and starring Rod Cameron
Rod Cameron
Rod Cameron was a Canadian-born movie actor whose career extended from the 1930s to the 1970s. He appeared in horror, war, action and science fiction movies, but is best remembered for his many Westerns....
. That same season, he guest starred five times in different roles on Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...
’s syndicated Sea Hunt
Sea Hunt
Sea Hunt was an American adventure television series that was aired in syndication by Ziv Television Programs from 1958 to 1961 and was popular in syndication for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced...
series. In 1960, he appeared once on Rod Cameron’s subsequent syndicated detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
series Coronado 9
COronado 9
Coronado 9 is a syndicated crime drama set in San Diego, California, starring Rod Cameron as Dan Adams, a former United States Navy intelligence officer turned private detective. Coronado 9 is Adams's address; the numeral 9 on a rock shown near his front door in the opening credits denotes the...
. He appeared twice on Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.-Overview:Zane Grey Theatre was created by Luke Short and Charles A. Wallace...
, as Crane in the 1958 episode "Three Days to Death" and as a farmer in the 1960 segment "The Man from Yesterday".
He appeared twice in 1963 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series, The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction, rather than fantasy stories...
in episodes entitled "Nightmare" and "Tourist Attraction". In 1964, he guest starred as Rankin in the "The Link Cheney Story" of ABC's Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
. His co-stars in the episode were Yvonne Craig
Yvonne Craig
Yvonne Joyce Craig is an American actress best known for her role as Batgirl from the 1960s TV series Batman, and as the Orion Marta in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Whom Gods Destroy”.-Early life and career:...
, Charles Drake
Charles Drake
Charles Drake was an American actor.-Biography:Drake was born as Charles Ruppert in New York City. He graduated from Nichols College and became a salesman. In 1939, he turned to acting and signed a contract with Warner Brothers. He wasn't immediately successful...
, Pippa Scott
Pippa Scott
Pippa Scott is an American actress who has appeared in movies and television since the 1950s. She was also married to a founding partner of Lorimar Productions, Lee Rich...
, Tom Simcox
Tom Simcox
Thomas William Simcox, known as Tom Simcox is a former actor who resides in the unincorporated community of Leona Valley west of Palmdale in Los Angeles County, California....
, and Harry von Zell
Harry von Zell
Harry von Zell , born in Indianapolis, made his mark as an announcer of radio programs and an actor in films and television shows....
.In 1968, he was cast as an unnamed slave in the episode "Bread and Circuses" of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
science fiction series, Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
. In 1969, he appeared in a minor role in "A Pinch of Salt" episode of NBC's Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone (TV series)
Daniel Boone is an American action/adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's Native American friend, for the...
, starring Fess Parker
Fess Parker
Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. was an American film and television actor best known for his portrayals of Davy Crockett in the Walt Disney 1955-56 TV mini-series and as TV's Daniel Boone from 1964-70...
.
Later stunt roles
After his acting roles ended, Stader continued performing stunts into the 1980s, having worked on such other films as Demetrius and the GladiatorsDemetrius and the Gladiators
Demetrius and the Gladiators is a 1954 sword and sandal drama film and a sequel to The Robe. It was made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Delmer Daves and produced by Frank Ross. The screenplay was by Philip Dunne based on characters created by Lloyd C...
, Giant, Our Man Flint
Our Man Flint
Our Man Flint is a 1966 action film that parodies of James Bond genre. The film was directed by Daniel Mann, written by Hal Fimberg and Ben Starr, and starring James Coburn as master spy Derek Flint...
, Tobruk
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
, Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs...
, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is a 1972 science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson. It is the fourth of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs. It explores how the apes rebelled from mankind's ill treatment following Escape from the Planet of...
, Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles is a 1974 satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the film was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger, and was based on Bergman's story and draft. The movie was nominated for three...
, The Great Waldo Pepper
The Great Waldo Pepper
The Great Waldo Pepper is a 1975 drama film directed, produced, and co-written by George Roy Hill. It stars Robert Redford as a discontented airplane pilot in the years 1926-1931....
, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure
Beyond the Poseidon Adventure
Beyond the Poseidon Adventure is a 1979 American disaster film, a sequel to the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure. It was directed by Irwin Allen and starred Michael Caine and Sally Field...
, and a 1985 television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
of Alice in Wonderland.
Stuntman Ted Batchelor (born 1959), originally from Chagrin Falls
Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Chagrin Falls is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland in the Northeast Ohio region, the 14th largest Combined Statistical Area nationwide. The village was established and has grown around a natural waterfall on the Chagrin River. As of the 2010 census,...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and a Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
record holder, visited Stader's Malibu home and set himself on fire. Such stunts were later declared illegal in many places. Batchelor said that Stader, from whom he sought advice regarding stunts, "was the nicest man I ever met in the industry."
Stader died in Malibu at the age of eighty. He was survived by his wife, Marilyn M. Stader (born 1929).