Yakima Canutt

Above, Canutt gives a helpin' hand to a young John Wayne in THE STAR PACKER (Lone Star/Monogram, 1934). Many folks have wondered whether Canutt was Native American, and in these webpages, there's several images of Yak portraying an Indian. In his autobiography, Canutt answers the Native American question: "... if I was Indian I would be very proud of it, but I have traced my ancestry as far back as possible, only to learn that I am Scotch and Irish on my mother's side and Dutch and German on my father's side."

(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above are John Wayne and Canutt in a crop from a lobby card from one of the Lone Star/Monograms. Player on the left is unidentified.

In addition to the string of silent starring roles, Canutt had the lead in one talking picture, the ultra cheap and forgettable CANYON HAWKS (John R. Freuler/Big 4, 1930).

Canutt's time as a Hollywood cowboy hero was brief as an illness or injury caused his voice to have a gravely sound, and this basically ended any thoughts of continuing his stardom when talkies arrived.

Canutt married Minnie Audrea Yeager in 1931, and that happy pairing continued for more than 50 years, ending when he passed away in 1986. Yak and Audrea had three children: daughter Audrea Elaine "Honey" Canutt (born 1940) and two sons, Edward Clay "Tap" Canutt (born 1932) and Harry Joe Canutt (born 1937). Both boys followed their dad into the stunt profession. In a March, 2006 e-mail, "Honey" Canutt mentioned that her Mother passed away on February 12, 2006 at the age of 98.

Yak's early sound era stuntwork included serials for Nat Levine at Mascot, John Wayne oaters at Warners and Lone Star/Monogram, the RKO westerns starring Tom Keene, more. It was during this period that he honed his skills and gained his reputation as a premier stuntman and stunt coordinator.

Canutt is credited with the development of the choreographed screen brawl (where, in earlier films, the hero and baddie threw unrealistic punches at each other and wrestled/flailed around).

The Canutt screen fight involved the positioning of the camera at angles to the participants (rather than straight on), and the camera would often face one of the brawlers. That camera angle gave the perception of bone-crushin' punches landing on the jaw. Many writers and fans also note that Canutt did much of this development during his many appearances with John Wayne in the Wayne oaters for Paul Malvern's Lone Star productions of the 1930s. Wayne and Canutt would remain friends for life.

For those of you who study Wayne, recall the way he often twirls/spins his six-shooter when he draws the weapon. Canutt did the same and Wayne probably copied that mannerism when he and Yak were working on those Lone Star westerns. Billy Alford sent me an e-mail reminder that this is seen in RANDY RIDES ALONE (Monogram/Lone Star, 1934). Wayne and Canutt shoot at a wanted poster. Yak draws, twirls, and shoots. Wayne then draws, does the same twirl as Yak, and shoots.

In addition to stuntwork and doubling, Canutt remained busy on the screen, usually portraying a baddie, mostly in westerns and chapterplays. He was working two jobs during this period - picking up some money as a freelance actor and day player as well as more bucks for stunting and doubling.

One of his more interesting roles was as 'Snake', the assistant to George Chesebro in CYCLONE OF THE SADDLE (Weiss/Superior, 1935), which starred Rex Lease. Canutt's weaponry is memorable - a pair of bullwhips. And he kills people by attaching a knife blade to the end of the whip and snapping it at his foe.

When Republic Pictures was formed in the mid 1930s, Canutt was there, playing supporting roles and doing stunts. But he was not tied exclusively to Republic. He doubled Clark Gable and drove the buckboard while Atlanta burns in GONE WITH THE WIND (MGM, 1939). And he doubled Gable (and was severely injured) in BOOM TOWN (MGM, 1940).

Canutt is best remembered for a stunt he performed during the Indian attack in John Ford's STAGECOACH (UA, 1939) - portraying one of the galloping warriors, he transfers from his horse to the six-horse team, is shot, and falls underneath the fast moving team and stage. That "Yak underneath the stagecoach" gag became part of Hollywood's stock footage library and was used in other westerns (such as the Charles Starrett/Durango Kid adventure LARAMIE (Columbia, 1949)). Canutt re-did that stunt in other films including the cliffhanger ending of Chapter 7 of ZORRO'S FIGHTING LEGION (Republic, 1939).

Some other memorable Canutt stunts from the early to mid 1930 period includes:

• In the chapterplay THE DEVIL HORSE (Mascot, 1932), Yak (doubling Harry Carey Sr.) hangs on for dear life under the devil horse's neck, with the black hoss trying to buck him off.

• In THE LUCKY TEXAN (Lone Star/Monogram, 1933), Yak doubles John Wayne and rides a tree limb down a water drain into a river. Later in that film, Yak (portraying a gang member) has a harrowing experience trying to hang on to a bucking mule.

• In THE LAWLESS FRONTIER (Lone Star/Monogram, 1934), Canutt (again doubling Wayne) does the "down the water drain chute" (this time laying flat on a board), and he also rides a hoss off a cliff into a lake.

• One of my favorites is at the tail end of THE TRAIL BEYOND (Lone Star/Monogram, 1934). Canutt (doubling Wayne again) is galloping after a buckboard driven by baddie Robert Frazer. Yak misses the horse to wagon transfer and falls onto the dusty trail. He remounts, renews the chase, and successfully makes the jump on to the speeding buckboard. Camerman Archie Stout filmed it all - including Canutt's miss - and the entire chase scene is in the film.

(Courtesy of Minard Coons)

Bob Livingston and Canutt are getting ready to mix it up, while Max Terhune observes the action in the background. From ROARIN' LEAD (Republic, 1936), the third installment in the Three Mesquiteers series, and one of many films in which Canutt portrayed a baddie/henchie.

I would guesstimate that Canutt's total film work - as actor and stuntman, in silents and sound films - is well over a thousand films. His acting credits at Republic Pictures from 1935-1950 numbers about 100 movies. Les Adams has Canutt identified in about 350 sound era films - of that number, 231 are westerns and 51 are cliffhangers.

In the 1940s, a variety of injuries and age caused Canutt to reduce stuntwork and move into stunt coordination and second-unit directing. And during the mid to late 1940s, Canutt wound up as the director/co-director on about twenty Republic westerns and cliffhangers. He remained busy in the 1950s and 60s handling second unit/stunt coordinator jobs in films such as SPARTACUS, KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE, IVANHOE, CAT BALLOU, WHERE EAGLES DARE ... and BEN HUR.

(Photo Courtesy of Donn & Nancy Moyer)

Taking a break during the filming of the unbelievable chariot race in BEN HUR. From L-to-R are famous horse trainer Glenn Randall, Yak in the chariot, and Charlton Heston on the far right. Yak's son Joe was Heston's double in the chariot race (and drove the quartet of white horses). Canutt's autobiography notes that stuntman Joe Yrigoyen was handling the reins of the four black horses (doubling actor Stephen Boyd).

In 1966, Yakima Canutt was presented a special Academy Award for a lifetime as a premier stunt developer and performer ... as well as creating the stunt profession and developing a variety of safety devices.

You may want to go to the In Search Of ... page on the Old Corral and check the California Death Records database. There you will find a record for Enos Edward Canutt, born 11/29/1895 in Washington state, Mother's maiden name of Stevens, passed away on 5/24/1986. There is a corresponding record in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI).

Rick Albright checked the 1930 online census database for Canutt and found the following info, including Canutt's home address at the time of the census. I'm confused about the mention that Yak was a "widower".

For those of you who want to read more about Yakima Canutt, stuntwork and Hollywood history, see if you can find Stunt Man, The Autobiography of Yakima Canutt at your local library ... or from a used book outfit. This autobiography was co-authored by Oliver Drake, who wrote screenplays as well as directing and producing B westerns. It was first published in 1979 by Walker and Company, New York, and is ISBN: 0-8027-0613-4. It was also issued in paperback by the University of Oklahoma Press - Norman, OK and London, ISBN: 0-8061-2927-1, first paperback printing was 1997. Both are out of print. Search for either the hardbound or paperback versions at one of the used book services - you'll find a page on the Old Corral with links to many used book sources.

Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has information on Yakima Canutt's film appearances and Oscar for his stuntwork, as well as info on his sons, "Tap" and Joe. Click below:

As of late 2008, Grapevine Video had several of Canutt's silent starring films - RIDIN' MAD (1924), BRANDED A BANDIT (1924), and THE IRON RIDER (1926): http://grapevinevideo.com/Yakima_Canutt.htm

There's a photo of Yak's first wife Kitty Canutt (Kitty Wilks), who also was a rodeo performer and champion. The photo of Kitty at the top of this webpage was taken after she won first place in the Cowgirl's Bucking Contest at the 1916 Pendleton Round-Up: http://www.kaizenheron.com/cowgirl/1916.html