Gary Kent, a well-known actor, director, and stuntman whose career is said to have inspired Quentin Tarantino’s film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, died on Thursday at an assisted living facility in Austin, Texas. He was 89 years old at the time.
Gary Kent Obituary
Kent began his film career on June 7, 1933, in Walla Walla, Washington, with credits in films such as Battle Flame in 1959. During the 1960s, he also acted in a number of low-budget films, including The Black Klansman (1966) and The Savage Seven (1968).
In 1969, he worked as a stunt double for Bruce Dern in Richard Rush’s cult classic exploitation picture Psych-Out.
Kent’s filmography also included important works such as Boris Karloff’s first film Targets (1968), Hell’s Bloody Devils (1970), The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971), and Angels’ Wild Women (1972), all of which were popular drive-in movies at the time.
While Kent had a few minor acting appearances during that time period, his lasting contributions to Hollywood came from his work as a stuntman from the 1960s until the 1990s. He brought action and excitement to shows like The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Green Hornet, and Daniel Boone, as well as feature pictures like Hells Angels On Wheels, The Return of Count Yorga, Freebie and the Bean, Color of Night, and Bubba Ho-Tep.
Kent’s life and career were modeled after by Brad Pitt’s stuntman Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, claims Joe O’Connell’s biographical documentary Danger God, which was released in 2018.
However, Kent’s interactions with Bruce Lee on the set of The Green Hornet and his run-ins with the Charles Manson Family during the late 1960s Spahn Ranch film shoots stand out as particularly noteworthy connections between Kent and the role of Booth. Stuntman and director Hal Needham was also influential.
Kent co-wrote and directed the 1976 film The Pyramid, which was just included in the book TCM Underground: 50 Must-See Films From the World of Classic Cult and Late-Night Cinema. Kent’s memoirs, Shadows & Light: Journeys With Outlaws in Revolutionary Hollywood, was published in 2009.
Six children and four grandchildren are left behind by Kent. His family intends to scatter his ashes in the Pacific Ocean in accordance with his wishes, the Austin Chronicle reports.