George Sawaya


Biography

George Sawaya made a bang in Hollywood--quite literally, as a stuntman for nearly 30 years. Risking life and limb for some of the best-remembered films of the 1960s and '70s, he stood in for Warren Beatty in the provocative 1967 crime classic "Bonnie and Clyde" and dodged bullets in the gritty Clint Eastwood thriller "Dirty Harry." Sawaya went on to work with the likes of comic genius Me...

Biography

George Sawaya made a bang in Hollywood--quite literally, as a stuntman for nearly 30 years. Risking life and limb for some of the best-remembered films of the 1960s and '70s, he stood in for Warren Beatty in the provocative 1967 crime classic "Bonnie and Clyde" and dodged bullets in the gritty Clint Eastwood thriller "Dirty Harry." Sawaya went on to work with the likes of comic genius Mel Brooks on his Western satire, "Blazing Saddles," and with innovative director Robert Zemeckis on his first feature-length effort, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." In the '80s, Sawaya scored some of his highest-profile work yet. He performed stunts on both John Carpenter's post-apocalyptic actioner, "Escape from New York," and meticulous English filmmaker Ridley Scott's existential sci-fi masterpiece, "Blade Runner." A talented actor as well, Sawaya appeared in scores of movies and television shows over his 30-year tenure in Tinseltown, including the campy '60s take on comic book hero "Batman" and two episodes of the sci-fi cult classic "Star Trek." Other standout roles included Jack the Ripper on the serialized spy spoof "Get Smart" and an uncredited but often-seen guard on the more straight-faced espionage show "Mission: Impossible." Among his last roles was one opposite Steve Martin in the noir parody "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid."

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

Repo Man (1984)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981)
The Concorde--Airport '79 (1979)
Beggarman, Thief (1979)
FM (1978)
The Devil's Rain (1975)
Steve Preston
The Red Badge of Courage (1974)
Colonel
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Boatswain's mate
Moon Of The Wolf (1972)
Attendant
Private Duty Nurses (1971)
Ahmed
Panic in the City (1968)
Sol Madrid (1968)
3d Dietrich gunman
The Young Warriors (1967)
Batman (1966)
Quetch
Fort Courageous (1965)
Convict Stage (1965)
The Lollipop Cover (1965)
Drums of Africa (1963)
Arab
Diary of a Madman (1963)
Hands of a Stranger (1962)
Cab driver
Everything's Ducky (1961)
Simmons
The Police Dog Story (1961)
Driver
The Walking Target (1960)
Driver
Bop Girl Goes Calypso (1957)
Record company representative
Hot Cars (1956)
Lt. Holmes
Emergency Hospital (1956)
Jack Larson
The Black Sleep (1956)
K-6
The Prodigal (1955)
Kavak
Day of Triumph (1954)
James the Less
Dragnet (1954)
McQueen
Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1953)
Native boy
The Desert Song (1953)
Riff guard
Desert Legion (1953)
What Price Glory (1952)
One Minute to Zero (1952)
Ralston's sergeant
With a Song in My Heart (1952)
G.I.
The Narrow Margin (1952)
Reporter

Stunts (Feature Film)

Repo Man (1984)
Stunts
Blade Runner (1982)
Stunts
Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982)
Stunts
Bustin' Loose (1981)
Stunt Coordinator
Cheech & Chong's Next Movie (1980)
Stunts
The Concorde--Airport '79 (1979)
Stunts
The Concorde--Airport '79 (1979)
Stunt Coordinator
I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978)
Stunts
The Master Gunfighter (1975)
Stunts

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

Dragnet (1954)
Stand-in for Jack Webb

Cast (Special)

The Best of Friends (1981)

Life Events

Bibliography