Obituaries : Veteran Stunt Man C.H. Roberson, 69
Veteran movie stunt man Charles H. (Chuck) Roberson, who spent decades taking falls for John Wayne and other stalwarts of the Western genre, died Wednesday in a Bakersfield hospital. His death reportedly was due to cancer.
Roberson, 69, began his career as a stunt man working on “10-day Westerns” at the old Republic studio in the 1940s. He first doubled for Wayne in the 1949 feature “The Fighting Kentuckian.”
In a 1984 interview, Roberson said of Wayne: “He could do any stunt I could do. But the money people couldn’t afford to let him get hurt. So I was the one who ended up in stitches.”
Over the years, Roberson recalled, he cracked his back, twisted an ankle and broke a toe, ribs and arms on Wayne’s behalf. During his career he also doubled for Gregory Peck, Jeff Chandler and Clark Gable. He retired in 1976, after working with Wayne on a final picture, “The Shootist.” In recent years, Roberson raised horses on a ranch near Bakersfield.
Roberson is survived by his wife, Dollie Mae Roberson, four daughters, a sister and several grandchildren.
Funeral services are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills.
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