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STUNTS, STARS & LEGENDS October 2011

Danny Costas
by John Hagner (Artist of the Stars)


Roydon Clark

Perhaps one of the most outstanding stuntmen in horse work since stunters like Chuck Roberson, Chuck Hayward, John “Bear” Hudkins, “Red” Morgan, Jack Williams, Danny Sands, and before them, Yakima Canutt, Cliff Lyons, Bobbby Rose, Duke Taylor and the Yrigoyen Brothers (Joe and Bill), just to name a few, Danny Costa has a unique style of falling his horse that is exciting and sometimes breathtaking.

Danny was here in Moab performing his stunt expertise in “Geronimo: American Legend” in 1993. He has worked in countless westerns. When he was here, the Hollywood Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame foot printed him, along with more than twenty other stunt people and actors, including Wes Studi (Geronimo) and his stunt double C.L.Johnson, Robert Duvall, Jason Patric.

Danny was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame for his outstanding contributions to “Action in the Movies”, and adds his name to a host of other stunt people.

Some of the films Danny Costa has appeared in are as follows: Zebra Force (1976), Comes A Horseman (1978). A well known stuntman, Jimmy Sheppard was killed while performing a horse drag stunt in which he is dragged as his foot is hung-up in the stirrup and the horse is galloping away. He was killed doubling for actor Jason Robards, Jr.. The horse veered too far to one side and Jimmy’s head struck a fence post. Jimmy was Audie Murphy’s regular double.

Danny and his horse were also seen in Spacehunter - Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), Repo Man (1984), The Woman in Red (1984), All of Me (1984), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Into the Night (1985),Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Clue (1985), Short Circuit (1986), Ruthless People (1986), Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986), Three Amigos (1986), Over the Top (1987), Dragnet (1987), Master of the Universe (1987), Rolling Vengeance (1987), Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987), The Game (1988), Off Limits (1988), Poltergeist III (1988), Freeway (1988), The Burbs (1989), Old Gringo (1989), Next of Kin (1989), Kill Me Again (1989), Second Sight (1989), Glory (1989), Deadly Stranger (1990), Back to the Future (1990) Young Guns II (1990), Dances With Wolves (1990), Only the Lonely (1991), Breaking the Rules (1992), Far and Away (1992), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Shadowhunter (1993), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), Posse (1993), Geronimo: American Legend (1993), and Tombstone (1993).

The Hollywood Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history of the stunt profession of motion pictures and television and the honoring stunt people the world over. The Hall of Fame needs a home in which to house and exhibit the memorabilia and artifacts that has taken its founder more than 55 years of collection and inventorying. And, it would like to invite anyone to make a tax-deductible donation in the name of Hollywood Stuntment’s Hall of Fame in any amount. For a donation of $175.00 John Hagner (Artist of the Stars) will create a special portrait drawing of you or a loved one, suitable for framing. He will need a photo not smaller than 5” x 7” to work from. It usually takes him more than 25 hours to complete.

Mailing address is: Hollywood Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame, 81 W. Kane Creek Blvd. #12, Moab, Utah 84532. Phone: (cell) 435-250-2160. Hall of Fame wesite: www.stuntmen.org. email: johnhagner@hotmail.com. Facebook: Search for “falling for stars”, then “artist of the stars”, then Stunts, starts and legends.

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