Stuntman bob yerkes7/4/2023 ![]() ![]() I really enjoyed hearing about Smith’s various horses who, like Trigger, could perform great tricks and always made the rider look good. The book was well written and hard to put down. His personal life had ups and downs with several divorces, a wife who was severely injured in a car accident and left paralyzed, but he seems to have found happiness with wife #4 where they live in Texas and work the land that has been in the family since the mid 1800’s. He was a good stuntman with great principles and, probably if he had started a few years earlier, would have made a name for himself as an actor. A friendship with Jim Bumgarner (James Garner) got him introduced to some folks and he began his career as a stuntman and actor, most noticeably in many John Wayne films such as The Alamo, The Comancheros, McLintock, Big Jake, True Grit and El Dorado. He was picked up by the Los Angeles Rams but always had it in his mind to work in the movies. ![]() It was in track that he participated in numerous national events and made the 1952 Olympic Team where he was part of the 4x100 team that won the gold medal for the U.S. He was also interested in sports – particularly football and track. A Texan through and through, he worked on the ranches and with horses and began rodeoing at a young age. His mother died when he was very young and his father was alcoholic and he was raised by his grandparents. What an amazing life! Dean Smith grew up in Texas. ![]()
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