Well-known movie stuntman Enos Edward “Yakima” Canutt was the top hand in professional rodeo from 1912 to 1924. He was born in 1895 on the family ranch near Colfax, Washington.
At Pendleton, Yakima Canutt won the saddle-bronc riding title in 1917, 1919, and 1923, the bulldogging title in 1920 and 1921, and the all-around championship in 1917, 1919, 1920, and 1923. In 1923, he captured the titles at both Pendleton and Cheyenne, becoming the first winner of the coveted Roosevelt Trophy.
In 1923, Yakima Canutt signed with a Hollywood studio. He appeared in 48 silent films before becoming a full-time stuntman. His credits included Zorro (the original version), Mogambo, Stagecoach, El Cid, Cat Ballou and A Man Called Horse. Doubling Clark Gable, he drove a buggy through burning Atlanta in Gone With the Wind. He doubled John Wayne in nearly all of the actor’s movies in the 1930s. He staged the famous chariot race between Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd in the 1959 remake of Ben-Hur. For his contributions, Canutt received an honorary Academy Award in 1969.
Yakima Canutt retired in the 1970s and died in 1986.
Well-known movie stuntman Enos Edward “Yakima” Canutt was the top hand in professional rodeo from 1912 to 1924. He was born in 1895 on the family ranch near Colfax, Washington.
At Pendleton, Yakima Canutt won the saddle-bronc riding title in 1917, 1919, and 1923, the bulldogging title in 1920 and 1921, and the all-around championship in 1917, 1919, 1920, and 1923. In 1923, he captured the titles at both Pendleton and Cheyenne, becoming the first winner of the coveted Roosevelt Trophy.
In 1923, Yakima Canutt signed with a Hollywood studio. He appeared in 48 silent films before becoming a full-time stuntman. His credits included Zorro (the original version), Mogambo, Stagecoach, El Cid, Cat Ballou and A Man Called Horse. Doubling Clark Gable, he drove a buggy through burning Atlanta in Gone With the Wind. He doubled John Wayne in nearly all of the actor’s movies in the 1930s. He staged the famous chariot race between Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd in the 1959 remake of Ben-Hur. For his contributions, Canutt received an honorary Academy Award in 1969.
Yakima Canutt retired in the 1970s and died in 1986.
