(Courtesy of Ed Phillips) Fred Graham circa 1950 | Fred Graham Full name: Charles Frederick Graham 1908 - 1979 |
Charles Frederick Graham was born October 26, 1908 in Springer, Colfax County, New Mexico. His career in the movie business spanned about 35 years, from about 1930 through the mid 1960s, and his stunt speciality was fisticuffs and screen brawls. Graham was a big guy and his World War II draft registration has him at 210 pounds and 6 feet, 2 inches tall.
In addition to stunt work, he also appeared in front of the camera in various supporting roles. Following are a few memorable Graham screen performances:
(From Old Corral collection) Star Dick Purcell lands a solid left to the jaw of stuntman / supporting player Fred Graham in the CAPTAIN AMERICA serial. |
Family Search (free), Ancestry.com (subscription), Social Security Death Index (SSDI), and newspapers provide more on Fred Graham and family:
(Courtesy of Les Adams) Above is a handful of mid 1940s baddies and henchies --- from L-to-R are Herman Hack, Tommy Coats, Fred Graham, Bud Geary and Buck Bucko in a scene from CHEROKEE FLASH (Republic, 1945), which starred Sunset Carson. Graham is clean shaven in this shot - but he often wore a moustache. |
Boyd Magers' Western Clippings often includes articles authored by Neil Summers on the stunt men, and following is Neil's remembrances and biographical info on Fred Graham. Thanks to Neil for the writeup and to Boyd Magers for permission to reprint on the Old Corral. Fred Graham by Neil Summers One of the greatest 'fight' men ever in the film business was Fred Graham. His screen fights are legend amongst his peers and film buffs alike. Although, not always a perfect double for such stars as John Wayne, Clark Gable or Robert Taylor, because of different builds, Fred always managed a slug fest that kept actor and director alike completely satisfied. |
My Encounter With a "Bad Guy" by Jim Andrews In my youth I was, what you might call, an adolescent movie fanatic. Every Saturday afternoon, between the ages of 7 and 14, I attended at least 2 matinees with at least one of them being the "shoot-em-up" type. |
Fred Graham, Arizona, and the Arizona Film Commission by Bill MacCallum (Bill MacCallum is the retired director of the Arizona Film Commission and worked with Fred Graham in the 1970s.) I met Fred in the Fall of 1970 when I arrived at a studio in Carefree, Arizona with Fred Graham's name on it. I was reporting to work on the NEW DICK VAN DYKE SHOW that CBS was about to start shooting there. It seems that some development company built this studio on speculation that some one would want to make films or TV shows there. And guess what! They did! While the stages were being built, they found out somehow that Fred Graham had retired from the film business and was living in Scottsdale. They approached him about joining the effort and so the "Fred Graham Studios" were born. We shot two seasons of the Dick Van Dyke Show there (1971 and 1972). If I remember correctly, some time during our first season, the development company lost control or ownership of the studio, Fred was let go, and they renamed the studio the "Carefree Studios". |