Dick Durock

Richard "Dick" Durock (born January 18, 1937 in South Bend , Indiana , † September 17, 2009 in Oak Park , California ) was an American actor and stuntman .

Life

Durock grew up in New Jersey and played American football in his youth . After high school , he joined the United States Marine Corps . To prepare for a career as a stuntman, he trained with Paul Stader , who had doubled for Johnny Weissmuller , among others . From 1967 Durock worked as a stunt double for Max Baer Jr. in the series The Beverly Hillbillies . Like many stuntmen, he occasionally worked as an extra on filming; for example as a bodyguard in an episode of the series Starship Enterprise from 1968, in which there is a fight with Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner . Durock made his feature film debut in 1972 in an extra role in the action film Die Höllenfahrt der Poseidon . His first notable speaking role in a feature film he played in 1976 alongside Clint Eastwood as the terrorist Karl in Dirty Harry III - The Relentless . In 1980, with Full Throttle to San Fernando, another collaboration with Eastwood followed, which begins with a fist fight between the two.

In 1982 Durock received the title role in Wes Craven's horror film The Thing Out of the Swamp alongside Adrienne Barbeau ; for this he was in a full body mask . Also in the sequel The Green Thing from the Swamp from 1989 and the television series based on the films produced between 1990 and 1993 , he portrayed the eponymous swamp monster in 72 episodes. Durock's other film roles include Blind Date - meeting a stranger and Jack alone in serial madness . Durock also made numerous guest appearances in television series, including in Knight Rider , The A-Team , A Colt for All Cases and Magnum . In two episodes of the series Kampfstern Galactica he portrayed the Imperious Leader , for which he also wore a full body mask. As a stuntman he worked, among other things, on Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and The Battle for the Planet of the Apes , 1941 - Where are you going to Hollywood , Mel Brooks - The crazy story of the world and Howard - An animal hero .

Durock died after a long illness of complications from pancreatic cancer .

Jump up ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Gene Scott Freese: Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary , McFarland 2014, ISBN 978-0-7864-7643-5
↑ Stephen Jones: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 21 , Running Press 2010, ISBN 978-0-7624-3997-3

personal data
SURNAME	Durock, Dick
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Durock, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American actor and stunt performer
DATE OF BIRTH	January 18, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH	South Bend , Indiana
DATE OF DEATH	17th September 2009
Place of death	Oak Park , California