John Epper
John Epper (* as Hans Emil Epper on May 7, 1906 in Switzerland , † December 3, 1992 in California , USA ) was a Swiss-American actor and stuntman .
Epper was born as the youngest of eight children of the Swiss builder Johann Wilhelm Epper (born April 2, 1868 in Gossau ) and M. Albertina Isler (born August 19, 1870 in Constantinople). He left Switzerland at the age of 19 and made his way as a bus driver, gas station attendant and horse rental company. The passionate rider came to his first stunt assignment at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by chance .
Epper starred in several films, for example in action in the North Atlantic , Schnellboats in front of Bataan , The Broken Lance , The Journey to the Center of the Earth and With Iron Fists . In the journey to the center of the earth , he embodied a character named Groom . Interestingly, a character of the same name was also played by Robert Adler .
Epper mostly worked as a stuntman. He has performed stunts in more than 34 films and doubled, among others, Ronald Reagan , Errol Flynn , Gary Cooper , Randolph Scott and Henry Fonda .
Epper married his wife Frances in 1935. Three of his sons, Tony (1938–2012), Andy (1943–2010) and Gary (1944–2007), and several of his grandchildren, also became stuntmen. His daughter Jeannie Epper (* 1941) also works as a stunt woman and became known through the documentary Double Dare , which was made about her and Zoë Bell .
He died in California in 1992 at the age of 86.
Web links
- John Epper in the Internet Movie Database (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Epper, John |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Epper, Hans Emil (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss-American actor and stuntman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 7, 1906 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Switzerland |
| DATE OF DEATH | 3rd December 1992 |
| Place of death | California , USA |