![]() ![]() Morgan received guidance from celebrities including actor/stuntman/director Yakima Canutt, World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider Casey Tibbs, stuntman Bob Terhune, and Montana artist Dave Powell. His roots as a rancher’s son and rodeo rider formed a basis for this endeavor and a whole cast of stars advised him along the way. Morgan also enjoyed getting to train and ride stunt horses. Some of his fondest memories are of the nights when he would stay on set with famous cast and crew members, sharing jokes and stories until 4am. Morgan had many great experiences in show business and worked with a number of talented people. A studio once hired a girl for three days just to teach Morgan how to smoke right – and he spent the first two days trying to inhale without throwing up.Īlthough Morgan’s job required him to do some things he disliked, these nuisances were worth it. ![]() As a villain, he was frequently asked to smoke onscreen, only he didn’t know how to. In fact, the only thing that Morgan really had to fake was being a smoker. They want you.” Morgan’s intimidating stature and his ability to take a beating meant that he didn’t have to pretend to be a badass he was a badass. “The best acting advice I ever got was from a gentleman in Hollywood,” says Morgan. (For instance, he played Mercenary One in the Oscar-nominated Western Heaven’s Gate.) However, even in his acting roles, he did little acting, instead playing to his strengths as a stuntman. When he wasn’t being a double for the villain, Morgan was usually playing an onscreen role as a mobster or outlaw. ![]() He looked the part of a rough-and-tumble character and he embraced it. He had a large build, was fit, and had a busted up nose from his pre-stunting days as a boxer. Besides, Morgan’s physically intimidating presence was better suited for villainous roles. Since the villain would take a beating and appear in the script until the end, it meant there was a lot of stunt work for his double. While the other stuntmen were competing for the part of the hero’s double (typically to impress the ladies), Morgan would vie for the less glitzy role as the lead villain’s double. Morgan learned quickly in Hollywood that the glamorous roles were not the well-paying roles. “Especially a full head burn – that was worth $10,000.” “The great thing about being set on fire was that it paid well,” says Bruce Morgan. Though his parts were often relatively minor, Morgan’s stunt performances enhanced the illusion of reality in every film and television show he appeared in, whether he was taking punches, falling off a horse, or being set on fire. He broke ribs, toes, teeth, and an arm, literally pouring blood and sweat into his roles. You’re not going to make money playing cowboys and Indians.’ So I went to Hollywood and proved him wrong.”įor over fifteen years, Bruce Morgan put himself in physical danger for the sake of good cinema. “When I was a kid, my dad would say, ‘Tie that horse up and do your homework. ![]()
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