George Sawaya
Biography
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."