The Northwest's Famous Stuntman
I’m Susan Allen this is Open Range. John Wayne’s success as an actor and can, in many way be can be attributed to a Northwest cowboy called Yakima Cannutt. . When John Wayne threw his famous punch orgalloped with reins in his teeth he had Yakima Cannut to thank. Despite the name, penned on him after a rodeo photograph at the Pendleton Roundup misidentified him, Canutt born Enos Cannutt was raised on an Eastern Washington Ranch near Colfax. After a career in rodeo he used those techniques to develop famous movie stunts, and equipment like release stirrups, and cable riggings that made stunts safer for riders but could be deadly for horses, many of which have now been banned. His most famous stunt was dropping from a stage coach made famous in the movie with the same name. Apparently John Wayne was so taken with the stunt rider that he patterned his on-screen persona from Cannutt, his slow way of talking, his hip rolling walk, all Yakima . Wayne considered Canuut the real cowhand and together they would pioneer techniques of on screen fighting, making a punch more realistic that are still used today . Cannut taught Wayne to do his own stunts even the art of falling off a horse without breaking his neck . By the 1950’s Cannut would become one of the best action directors. Staging ground breaking scenes in movies like Ben Hur where he spent five months on the chariot race sequence alone, without harming a human or horse. Cannut would be given a academy award for creating the category of stuntman and despite breaking nearly every bone in his body throughout his rodeo and Hollywood years lived to be 90.
