Dar Robinson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dar Robinson
Robinson in The Ultimate Stuntman
Born	Dar Allen Robinson (1947-03-26)March 26, 1947 Los Angeles, California, United States
Died	November 21, 1986(1986-11-21) (aged 39) Page, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation	Stunt performer, actor
Years active	1973–1986

Dar Allen Robinson (born March 26, 1947 – died November 21, 1986) was an amazing American stunt performer and actor. He was known for his daring stunts in movies and TV shows. Dar Robinson broke 19 world records and was the first to do 21 different stunts.

He even invented a special device called the "decelerator." This invention used strong cables instead of big airbags for high falls. It allowed cameras to film stunts from above without showing the safety equipment. You can see this in his famous fall from a hotel in the movie Stick. The original decelerator is still on display in Moab, Utah.

Dar Robinson's Amazing Stunt Career

Early Life and First Stunts

Dar Robinson grew up in Los Angeles, California. When he was just thirteen, he appeared on the cover of Life Magazine. This was because of his incredible skills on the trampoline. His father, Jess Weston Robinson, helped make trampolines popular across the country. Dar spent a lot of time helping at his father's Gymnastic Supply Company. His natural athletic talent and ease on the trampoline helped him become the 3rd best in his division.

One of Dar's first big stunts was in the 1973 film Papillon. He jumped 100 feet from a cliff into a river for actor Steve McQueen. In the same year, he was a motorcycle stuntman in the Clint Eastwood movie, Magnum Force. He is also famous for driving a car over the edge of the Grand Canyon. He safely parachuted out before the car hit the ground. In 1979, he set a world record for a free-fall from a helicopter. He dropped 311 feet (95 meters) onto a special airbag.

Record-Breaking High Falls

In 1979, Dar Robinson performed a very famous stunt for the 1982 film Highpoint. He was the stunt double for actor Christopher Plummer. He made a 700-foot free-fall from a deck on the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At that time, the CN Tower was the tallest free-standing building in the world.

Another incredible stunt was a 220-foot fall from the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta. This was for the 1981 Burt Reynolds film Sharky's Machine. This stunt is still the highest free-fall ever done from a building for a movie. However, only the start of his fall through the window was used in the film. A dummy was used for the wider shot from outside.

Dar performed a similar falling stunt in the 1985 Burt Reynolds film Stick. This time, almost the entire stunt was shown. You can see him falling from a tall building while firing a pistol.

The CN Tower Cable Jump

Dar Robinson returned to Toronto for another world record attempt. This was a cable jump from the CN Tower for a TV documentary called The World's Most Spectacular Stuntman. The first test with a water bag failed when the braking system broke. High winds and bad weather delayed the jump until August 12, 1980.

Even though he looked nervous, he jumped from the tower's edge. He fell more than 1,200 feet (366 meters) tied to a thin steel cable. He stopped just a short distance above the ground. For this amazing feat, he was listed in the 1988 Guinness Book of Records as the highest-paid stuntman for a single stunt at that time.

Dar Robinson's Final Stunt

Dar Robinson's stunts were always carefully planned. He never broke a bone in his 13 years working in Hollywood. Sadly, on November 21, 1986, he passed away. This happened on the set of the film Million Dollar Mystery.

After finishing the main stunt for the day, the medical team had left the set. While filming a routine high-speed motorcycle ride with another stuntman, Dar rode his motorcycle past a turn and off a cliff. He passed away from this accident.

Dar Robinson is buried in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. After his passing, a documentary about his life was made in 1988. It was called The Ultimate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson.

The last three films Dar worked on were dedicated to his memory. These were Cyclone, Lethal Weapon, and Million Dollar Mystery. The dedication in the closing credits of Lethal Weapon reads, "This picture is dedicated to the memory of Dar Robinson / one of the motion picture industry's greatest stuntmen". He is survived by his wife, Linda, and their son Landon. He also had a son from a previous marriage, Troy. His son, Shawn Robinson, who was also a stunt performer, passed away in 2015.

Dar Robinson's Acting Roles

Dar Robinson also appeared as an actor in several films. Here are some of them: