All in a day’s work!
When most people are asked to describe their job, their describtion does not include running through burning buildings and jumping out of tenth floor windows! Being a stuntperson, homever is no ordinaly job! Last week, I was lucky enough to meet Stanly Pilot, who has been working as a stuntman for over twenty years. He was kids enough to agree to see me during his short stay in Los Angeles.
Q : our readers would love to find out how you got started as a stuntman. Had you always wanted to do this kind of work?
A: well, actually, it took me a while to realize that this was the job for me. You see, when I was a child, I was always the one to climb the highest trees in the neighborhood. Other kids would watch anxiously to see it I was going to survive my latest stunt. My mother and I got used to spending most weekend in the local children’s hospital! I remember her saying to me on my sixteenth birthday, “you’re too old for this now, Stanly; next time, you’re on your own.”
Q: what did she mean?
A: She’d had enough! She thought I was old enough to know what was dangerous. She made me realize that, although I loved doing dangerous things, I need some guidance. That summer I joined the local mountain climbing club and, from then on, nothing could stop me.
Q: What other sports did you learn?
A: you name it, I’ve done it! Actually, I was learning white-water rafting when I applied for my first job David, one of the other people in the course, told me that he worked as a stuntman for a small independent film company that had been filming on location in our area.
Q: Did you get a job there, too?
A: Yes, I was very lucky. David took me along one day, and I showed them that I could do. The director liked what he saw, and I got my first job!