Terry Leonard | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1940 (age 85–86) |
| Alma mater | University of Arizona |
| Occupations | |
| Notable credit | See selected filmography |
| Awards |
|
| Football career | |
| Profile | |
| Position | Halfback |
| Personal information | |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | |
| Career history | |
| BC Lions (1966) | |
Terry James Leonard (born 1940)[1] is an American stunt performer and second unit director.
Biography
Leonard was born and raised in West Allis, Wisconsin, where he was raised on a farm. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and then transferred to the University of Arizona. He also played college football, was a member of the track and field team, and competed in the 1960 and 1964 Olympic trials for decathlon.[2] From 1964 to 1966, he played minor league American football in the United Football League, the Continental Football League, and the Professional Football League of America.[3] In 1966, he was signed as a halfback by the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League.[4] His football career ended that same year when he suffered from a herniated disc.[5]
In need of work, Leonard contacted the stunt performer Chuck Roberson, whom he had watched perform stunts while working as an extra on McLintock! in 1963.[6] Roberson invited Leonard to live with him in Los Angeles. He taught Leonard how to be a stunt performer, including teaching him horse stunts in his back yard.[7] Later in his career, he would train with the martial artist Joe Lewis and learn to drive race cars.[8]
Leonard debuted as a stunt performer by falling from a church steeple in El Dorado (1966).[9] His most famous stunt was during the truck chase sequence in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), when—doubling for Harrison Ford—he jumped from a horse and climbed underneath the truck.[10] Steven Spielberg said that Leonard "took some pretty nasty spills" while filming the sequence.[11] In Romancing the Stone (1984), Leonard drove off a waterfall in a Jeep as Michael Douglas's stunt double.[8] Throughout his career, he has been a close collaborator of John Milius, directing stunts in all of his films.[12]
Leonard has received critical and professional acclaim. In 2003, Leonard received the Golden Boot Award for his work on Western films and the Taurus Lifetime Achievement Award for his stunt work.[13] Writing for The Washington Post, Sharon Waxman called Leonard "one of the most famous and respected stunt coordinators in Hollywood".[14] The Los Angeles Times called him a "legend" in stunt performance.[15]
As of 2008, Leonard lived on a ranch in Agua Dulce, California and competed in rodeo.[16]
Selected filmography
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), second unit director[17]
- 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), second unit director[18]
- The Fugitive (1993), second unit director[9]
- Death Before Dishonor (1987), director[19]
- Romancing the Stone (1984), stunts[20]
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), stunts[21]
References
- AFI Catalog, "Terry J. Leonard"; Freese 2014, p. 167.
- Conley 2009, pp. 56–57; Freese 2014, p. 167; Pro Football Archives.
- Pro Football Archives.
- Canada Press 1966.
- Champlin 1986; Conley 2009, p. 56; Leotta 2019, p. 28.
- Champlin 1986; Conley 2009, p. 56.
- Conley 2009, p. 56; King 2015.
- Freese 2014, p. 167.
- King 2015.
- Conley 2009, p. 55; Leotta 2019, p. 28; Oldenburg 2003, p. E1; Verrier & Huffstutter 2003.
- Spielberg 1981, p. 1187.
- Leotta 2019, p. 28.
- Taurus World Stunt Awards.
- Waxman 2003.
- Verrier & Huffstutter 2003.
- Conley 2009, pp. 57–58; Verrier & Huffstutter 2003.
- McCarthy 2006.
- McCarthy 2003.
- AFI Catalog, "Death Before Dishonor".
- Champlin 1986.
- Conley 2009, p. 58; Spielberg 1981, p. 1187.
Sources
- "Death Before Dishonor (1987)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. n.d. Archived from the original on April 16, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- "Terry J. Leonard". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. n.d. Archived from the original on June 21, 2026. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- Champlin, Charles (March 16, 1986). "The Adrenaline Junkies: Movie Stunt Men and Women Get Paid to Leap From Buildings and Crash Cars". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 10, 2026. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- Conley, Kevin (2009) [2008]. The Full Burn: On the Set, at the Bar, Behind the Wheel, and Over the Edge with Hollywood Stuntmen (Paperback ed.). New York: Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-59691-024-9.
- Freese, Gene Scott (2014). "Terry Leonard (1940– )". Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s–1970s: A Biographical Dictionary (2nd ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 167–169. ISBN 978-0-7864-7643-5.
- King, Susan (May 16, 2015). "Classic Hollywood: Stuntman Terry Leonard's Career Grew by Leaps and Bounds in Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 8, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- Leotta, Alfio (2019). The Cinema of John Milius. Lanham, Massachusetts: Lexington Books. ISBN 978-1-4985-4372-9.
- McCarthy, Todd (June 6, 2003). "2 Fast 2 Furious". Variety. Archived from the original on July 26, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- McCarthy, Todd (June 14, 2006). "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift". Variety. Archived from the original on February 9, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- Oldenburg, Ann (June 6, 2003). "Still Willing to Take the Fall". USA Today. p. E1. ProQuest 408877053.
- "Terry Leonard Pro Football Record". Pro Football Archives. n.d. Archived from the original on June 18, 2026. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
- Spielberg, Steven (November 1981). "'Of Narrow Misses and Close Calls'". American Cinematographer. Vol. 62, no. 11. pp. 1100–1102, 1138–1142, 1160–1168. ProQuest 196335187.
- "Lifetime Achievement". Taurus World Stunt Awards. n.d. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- Verrier, Richard; Huffstutter, P. J. (September 2, 2003). "A New Risk in the World of Film Stunts". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- Waxman, Sharon (November 16, 2003). "Hollywood's Rein Men". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- "Playmate for Willie at B.C.?". Winnipeg Free Press. Canada Press. June 3, 1966. p. 37.