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Gale Gordon Biography Coming Soon


Shemp
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  • 5 months later...

I got my copy.  I'll reserve my judgement for those who haven't received theirs yet. 

 

It includes excerpts from several interviews Gale did over the years including this one where he says something like "we did all our own stunts.  We NEVER EVER used stunt doubles."

 

As we all know, they did MOST but not all.  Lucy's physical agility is well-documented and continue to amaze.  Some of her most difficult stunts are not necessarily the most funny.  For instance, in the "Wally Cox/Tommy Tucker Toy Tycoon", I marvel how she was able to slide down the slide, land on the skateboard (or whatever it was) and glide to the phone....and without making it obvious pulling her skirt down which was showing more knee than was 'proper'.   Another is from "Bags a Bargain" in which she circles the small set on what appears to be a motorized skateboard, steering with her body weight and righting herself just as she needs to go straight for her exit.  (Hands down can anything beat her acrobatics on wires as part of the Danny thomas burlesque special?)

 

Other than the location shows, I can think of only one time Lucy used a double in front of the audience: getting tossed out the window as Ironman.  Considering what they had to do, it was pretty cleverly staged by director Maury "Soggy Crack" Thompson. 

 

Gale's stunts are perhaps more amazing, considering 1) it was not his stock-in-trade; and 2) he was not a young man nor physically in great shape (or so it would seem, him being the butt of many 'fatso' jokes).

His cartwheel is perfection.  He probably could have done it on "Life with Lucy" if they had let him.

He was 63 when he did his spill into that ICY river when trying to board the rubber raft in "Runs the Rapids".

Falling down the chimney in "Fixer" couldn't have been easy.

 

Can anyone list any other Gale stunts?

 

Or any other time stunt doubles were used?

 

I'm not positive which location episodes (including LDCH) employed the use of stunt doubles.

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