Rodeo legend, actor and stuntman Yakima Canutt blazed a trail as a champion bronco buster and rode to fame as a collaborator with John Wayne, who claimed to borrow his on-screen persona from Canutt’s real one. This memoir, as told to John Crawford, relates Canutt’s years on the rodeo circuit, his roles in silent westerns, and his craftsmanship in movie stunts on such epics as Stagecoach and Ben-Hur, as well as his family life and friendships.

The late Yakima Canutt was an Academy Award winner, and was inducted into the Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame, Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, and the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.
John Crawford is a writer and actor (who earned his first role from Yakima Canutt). He lives in Newbury Park, California.

Yakima Canutt with John Crawford
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 218
Bibliographic Info: 77 photos, filmography, appendices, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4389-5
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5819-6
Imprint: McFarland

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword by Joe Canutt      1

Foreword by Charlton Heston      3

Preface by John Crawford      5

Introduction      7

The Early Years      9

The Rodeo Circuit      34

Breaking Broncs for War      42

Rodeos with C.B. Irwin      53

The Lion’s Share      59

The World Championship      71

Deep Sea Cowboy      79

Back on the Circuit      89

Tipperary’s Only Defeats      100

My First Trip to Texas      114

Oklahoma      124

St. Louis and Chicago      129

Second Trip to Texas      135

Hollywood      139

The Devil Horse      146

Audrea      153

I Always Called Him Jonathan      157

Off to Australia      167

Melbourne      172

Stagecoach      177

Boom Town      184

The Kids      188

Appendix I: Poems of Yakima Canutt      199

Appendix II: Filmography      205

Index      209