Later that week, Kim, Wrangler and Cowboy Crowe go to a rodeo. The rodeo riders are performing for a rambunctious crowd of people, who are jammed together in the stands. There is not a vacant seat anywhere. The lively audience is oblivious to the packed conditions because the outstanding performances totally energize them!
The cowboys’ skillful riding, tie downs and roping, thrills the crowd. The rodeo clowns and the pick-up riders are also on their game. No one misses a beat. Throughout the night, the audience shows their appreciation with thunderous applause, whistling, and shouting.
After the rodeo is over, the cowboys, rodeo crew, pick-up riders, and laborers return to the backstage of the arena. Wrangler, Cowboy Crowe, and Kim head towards the arena area too. Wrangler and Crowe know a lot of the rodeo cowboys and are always welcome to go backstage.
Some of the cowboys are hard at work, others are drinking beers, talking, laughing, and crying about their performances in tonight’s show. Then a six-foot, slender, flashy cowboy walks out of the shadows and stops to congratulate one of the winners. Everyone backstage notices him, and they start whispering to each other. “Is that him?” Their whispers get louder and louder.
Then someone shouts out, “Holy crap! It is him! He’s here!”
Everyone gathers around this cowboy in hopes that they will get to talk to him. One man in the distance shouts, “You rock!” Another yells, “I speak for everyone here when I say it’s a real honor that you came to see our rodeo.” The sincere accolades continue for a while. The cowboy is friendly as he talks and jokes with many of the men.
Kim whispers to Wrangler, “Who is that guy?”
Wrangler says, “Yakima Canutt.”
Kim asks, “What has he ever done?”
Wrangler loudly replies, “What has he ever done? You’re no cowboy or stuntman if you don’t know about Yakima!”
Kim is embarrassed as he looks around to see if anyone else heard what Wrangler said to him. He tells Wrangler, “I want to know, but tell me quieter. I don’t want all these guys here to know that I don’t know.”
Wrangler pats him on the back and apologizes. Then he goes on to say, “He’s a world champion cowboy and rodeo rider. He was also the biggest silent film star of action-packed westerns. And, that isn’t all. He is a legendary stuntman, stunt coordinator and 2nd Unit Director.”
Then Kim hears someone in the crowd shout out to Yakima, “I saw Ivanhoe a couple of times. It was great! Me and my wife are going back to see it again. You are the man!”
Yakima smiles, tips his hat, and tells him, “Thanks.”
Cowboy Crowe has worked for Yakima in the past and is excited and anxious to go over and talk to him. He walks towards him, looks over his shoulder, and tells Kim and Wrangler to follow him.
As they get closer to Yakima, they see a young, pretty cowgirl talking to him. It is obvious by her mannerisms that she is awestruck at being in his presence. They hear her saying, “I’ll never forget Gone with the Wind or you. Your stunt doubling for Clark Gable was truly amazing. I loved the scene where you drove a one-horse carriage through the burning streets of Atlanta.”
Cowboy Crowe approaches Yakima and says, “Did you hear what John Wayne said about you in his latest, magazine interview?”
Yakima says, “What is my good friend saying now?” Crowe replies, “John Wayne credited you as the model for his cowboy character that he portrays in all of his movies. He said that the way he talks and walks in his films is all Yakima.”
Wrangler is too excited to stay silent any longer.
He tells Yakima, “I am eternally grateful for ‘the pass’ that you created for fighting scenes. Before you created the pass, we had to duke it out. We had to land our punches on the other fighter’s face and body. All of us stuntmen had to suffer a lot of bruises, sprains, and broken bones.”
Kim whispers to Crowe, “What’s the pass?”
Crowe explains to Kim that Yakima convinced a director to place the camera at an angle, so it would look like John Wayne’s fist hit his opponent. Then Wayne’s punch would pass by without ever striking him. The pass is now a standard shot in all the Hollywood movies.
Kim then overhears a group of cowboys talking about the thrilling stunts, fights, and stage coach scenes that Yakima has directed. Everyone agrees that he is the best and he is tough to work for on a set. Most of them believe that Yakima’s toughness stems from the fact that he is extremely safety conscious, and he is always on the alert that not even the smallest, safety infraction gets past him.
Crowe introduces Yakima to Wrangler and Kim. Wrangler tells Yakima, “I want to thank-you personally for all the things you did for us, stuntmen.
Then Crowe says to Wrangler, “I liked how he figured out a way to release a team of horses on the same spot every time. Safer for the horses and us, cowboys too.”
Yakima replies, “The movie producers like the things I’ve done. They have less accidents on their sets. But you know what they really like?”
Crowe, Wrangler and Kim, wide eyed and in unison ask, “What? What do they really like?” Yakima says, “Well, boys, what they really like is that I save them time shooting and that helps them to stay on schedule and within their budget.”
Crowe continues, “What about the crupper mount?” Kim looks puzzled because he has never heard of a crupper mount.
Wrangler sees the confusion on Kim’s face and responds, “Kim, Yakima perfected the crupper mount with a flying mount. The crupper is a piece of tack used on horses to keep a saddle or harness from sliding forward. It makes it easier and safer for us stuntmen to leap frog over the horse’s rump into the saddle, no matter how fast the horse is running.”
Crowe, Wrangler, and Kim are intently listening to Yakima tell the story of how and why he developed the crupper mount. Then a young, obnoxious cowboy pushes his way through the crowd to talk to Yakima. When the cowboy reaches him, he takes a swig of whiskey from his flask.
He tells Yakima that his name is Blake Hardon. He claims that that there is not a horse he cannot break. He also brags that he is one of the best bronco riders that Yakima will ever meet.
Yakima responds, “Mr. Hardon, what do you want from me?”
Blake answers, “I want to ride for you in your movies. I figure, I can also get some training from you.”
Then Yakima replies, “What can I get from you?”
Blake answers, “I’m a dare devil. I can do anything, and I will do anything. I can always make you and your pictures look good.”
Yakima responds, “Cowboy, that is good to know, but I am not in the market for daredevils. Get hired by someone else, and then you can make me sorry that I did not hire you.”
Blake is outraged by Yakima’s comment. At that moment, a few of Blake’s friends walk up to him and grab his arms to take him away. As they leave, they apologize to Yakima for Blake’s bad-manners.
Yakima acts as if nothing has happened. He asks Crowe, “What have you and your buddies been up to?” Crowe responds. “Me and Wrangler are getting more work since action westerns have become popular. We have been doing more chase scenes; wagon wrecks and canyon jumps.
Then Yakima looks at Kim and says, “You’re awful quiet. You are not a cowboy. Why are you hanging out with them?”
Kim responds, “Crowe, Wrangler and I met when the three of us rode bikes in the movie, The Wild One, which starred, Marlon Brando. During the shooting of the film we became friends. Afterwards, they invited me along to ride horses with them. When they found out that I didn’t know how to ride, they taught me.”
Then Yakima asks him what he does know about horses.
Kim responds, “When I was a kid, I wanted to ride horses like a cowboy. Then a few years later, I slept in a stable for a while. My only companion was a beautiful horse named Patches. She was my best friend.”
Then Wrangler says, “Kim moved to Chatsworth to be part of the cowboy’s way of life. He’s riding with a lot of stuntmen, even the Epper kids, on the dirt roads. Even though Kim just started riding a while ago, he is good and has the drive to be a great rider.”
Yakima tells Kim, “There is a high demand in action western films and television programming for riders who can portray Indians.” Cowboy Crowe agrees and exclaims, “Kim fits that bill.”
Yakima continues, “All the riders are seasoned stunt men or real cowboys. Most of them are Caucasian, and when they perform as Indians, they must use a lot of studio make-up to look their parts. All the make-up they use does not make them look believable for the camera. The make-up is messy and drips off the stuntmen when we are shooting outside in the hot sun.”
“When their make-up melts, we must stop shooting so a make-up artist can fix their make-up. Kim, my advice for you is to keep practicing your skills and you will get a lot of work.”
Yakima starts to walk away, and Kim, Wrangler, and Crowe trail behind him. Kim decides to take a chance and he asks Yakima if he would train him.
Yakima responds, “So you want to be a stuntman?”
Kim with much sincerity says, “I didn’t know it until right now that I have been a seasoned stuntman since I was a kid. During that time, I rode the rails from California to New York. I had to hop on and jump off speeding trains. I leaped from them and learned the safe way to roll after I jumped. I believe that I can learn to fall off a horse and it would not be that hard for me to do.”
Yakima replies, “Kid, you’ve got gumption, but there’s a lot more needed to be a cowboy stuntman than just riding and falling off a horse.”
Kim, with great humility says, “Sir, I know there is.”
Yakima then asks Kim; “can you shoot a gun? Can you shoot with a bow and arrow? Have you ever been around fire and explosives? Are you a daredevil?”
Kim answers him. “Before the war, I was in a fire sword dancing troupe. I would swing the flaming swords while dancing. Then I had to leave the troupe when I served in the special unit of the Army Rangers as a sergeant in the Korean War”
“During that time, I became an expert with guns, knives and the bow and arrow. After the war, I was blind in both of my eyes. I thought my life was over. I thought I would live out the rest of my days sitting in a wheelchair as a blind man.”
Kim pauses as he takes a deep breath and then continues his story. “Things turned around for me when a nurse, named Jenny, was assigned to my case. She taught me the katas and that is when I learned to change my attitude and get my confidence back. My eyesight will never return in my right eye, but it did return in my left eye. I worked hard, and I am now performing as a flaming sword dancer with Freddie Le Tuli’s troupe. I am not a foolish daredevil and never will be.”
Yakima listened to what Kim told him. He tells him to come over to his house at 5:00 o’clock next Saturday morning and he will test him. If, he passes, he will train him for a while. Then Wrangler and Crowe promise Yakima that they will work with Kim to get him ready.
Yakima tells Kim that he does not have a lot of time to work with him. He says, “In a few months I will be shooting Westward Ho, the Wagons! at James Congo’s Ranch in Thousand Oaks. When I finish the film, I’ll be going to Italy to be the second unit director on Ben-Hur”.
He goes on to say, “Horses are not speeding trains. You need to know them, talk to them, and respect them. The more time you spend with them, the better. I will not make you any guarantees or promises. If I think, you do not have what it takes, or cannot take directions, then I will stop our sessions.”
Kim says, “You’ve got it.”
Yakima then responds, “I’ll see you next Saturday morning at my place.” Kim tells him that he will be there. Then Crowe, Wrangler and Kim start to walk away.
Yakima shouts at them. “Crowe can you and Wrangler come out to my place on Saturday with him? It would be good for him and both of you.”
Crowe and Wrangler do not hesitate to respond with a firm yes.
Kim, Crowe, and Wrangler head to their motorcycles. Wrangler, like a little kid, shouts out, “Yee Haw! -We get to go to Yakima’s house!” Kim believes that he is now on the path, that he is supposed to be on.
Kim goes to Yakima’s home the following Saturday. He passes his test, makes the grade and Yakima begins to train him. He learns more than he could have ever imagined from him. He has come so far in such a brief time. Even though, he did not receive a formal education, he has been going to school all his life in a unique way. He shines as a student in the “classrooms of life.”
Kim is in awe every time that he is with Yakima. He, along with most of Hollywood, believes that Yakima is the best 2nd unit director and stuntman of all time. Kim is beginning to understand how Yakima created the art of staging any kind of fight scene to make his films look believable for the camera angles.
Kim is also discovering more details about Yakima’s life. He was a World War I. veteran, who served in the United States Navy. He was one of Hollywood’s silver screen stars, who did all his own stunts. Then his career came to an abrupt halt when talkie movies came on the scene. Yakima knew that his stardom was over because he did not have the speaking voice for talking pictures. The only role left for him in Hollywood was to be a stuntman and stunt coordinator.
Kim has a deep sense of sorrow when his training under Yakima’s guidance ends. When they part, Kim expresses his gratitude and feelings to him. “I got angry at times because I thought you were too tough on me. You always demanded perfection, but I am thankful that you did. You brought out the best in me.”
Kim and Yakima shake hands and make small talk before they say their final good-byes. Then Kim rushes home to get ready for his fire sword dance performance.