Roy Alon is one of the world’s great stunt performers and when he's not working on

another long running television series or creating new and exciting stunts for film he's

explaining his craft to the new performers arriving onto Equity's 'Stunt Register'. I first

became aware of Roy after he won the ITV programme Stunt Challenge in 1983. He

reversed a car up a ramp and through the side of an articulated lorry. This, I was to find

out, was only one of his many talents. Versatile is his middle name. In 'Curse of the Pink

Panther’ he doubles for Herbert Lom during the films climatic sequence. His engineering

background told him that if he was to perform this 'gag' successfully he'd have to tether

the wheel-chair with fish wire. After all you don't want to be crushed by the wheel-chair

after surviving the initial 70ft fall. So he could concentrate on his fall and positioning and

not worry about where the wheel-chair was going to be.

I caught up with Roy at Yorkshire Television in Leeds and asked him about those special

moments he's created on screen. Starting with his first feature film.

'My first actual feature film was 'A Bridge Too Far'. I'd done a lot of television before and I

was still living in the North, although I had met a few of the established stunt-men like

Gerry Crampton, Colin Skeaping and Marc Boyle etc. Then in 1976 I got a phone call from

Andy Armstrong to work at Plnewood Studios on 'The New Avengers'. The job involved

diving head first from a speeding truck, which was driven by Alan Stuart. Rocky Taylor,

doubling for the hero, was driving the car chasing us and Eddie Stacey was jumping out of

the way. I had a really great time. Fortunately the job also went well and I will always be

grateful to Andy Armstrong because he then recommended me to his brother Vic, who was

doing the film 'A Bridge Too Far' with Alf Joint in Holland. Consequently, I finished up in

Holland, riding in the back of a speeding jeep driven by Vic which he was about to crash

and turn over and, as the bullets rang out; once again I dived out head first and went

sliding down the tarmac. It was on that film, that I met my great pal Billy Horrigan and

people like Paul Weston, Chris Webb, George Leach (Wendy's father), Stuart Fell, etc. and

many more. Most of them have become more than just colleagues but also genuine friends

over the years. It was a real turning point.'

This was the start of a very solid working relationship with Vic Armstrong. Whenever Vic

needed a stuntman to perform something a little different, he'd call Roy. A perfect

example of this was on the 1981 film 'Green Ice' where a high fall was called for whilst on

location in Mexico City.

Roy Alon performing a spectacular high-dive for the film 'Green Ice' in Mexico City

'Well, it was Vic's 'gag'. He was Stunt Co-ordinator and he probably also directed the

second unit. He had been to Mexico on a recce and had seen the building which was over

300ft high. He told me about the 'Fan Descender' which Dave Bickers had made and which

we would be using in the film to escape from the building. Later on Vic decided we could

also do part of the fall using the fan-descender for the first time ever, which was a

brilliant idea. So when you put the 'descent' together with a genuine high fall you get the

best of both worlds. This technique has since been copied many times. There's a funny

thing about this fall. Vic asked if I fancied doing it. I'd thought about it and said yes,

because it's great to be asked and offered a 100ft fall at that time was, to a stuntman, a

bit like an actor being offered the lead in a West End play. Although my fall was to be in

Mexico in a couple of months, by coincidence Vic himself also had a 100ft fall to perform

the following week, on a different film here in the UK, so he suggested that we rehearse

our falls together at R.A.F Cardington in the giant airship hangers. So we both went there

and together we practiced falls into an air-bag, each time getting progressively higher as

we rehearsed, learning not only the skills required in high-falls, but also how to conquer

our fears and to overcome other problems. As anyone who has ever done it will tell you,

each time you go higher it can and does get scary, but also it is great fun. At one point,

Vic had just done around 80 to 85ft and was about to go up to the 90ft level. Personally, I

was having difficulty progressing beyond the 80ft level, so I said to Vic, "What I'm going to

do is to go up to a much higher level and then look down and watch you from above. When

you go, I'm going to run back down to the lower level, which hopefully will now 'appear'

much lower, to follow you and jump off'. Well I felt I was getting close to what at that

time was approaching my limit and as I said, I was having a few problems getting past

80ft. So now I'm standing high above Vic looking down at him way below on the 90ft ledge,

watching his every move. After a few short moments, he leaned slightly forwards and very

slowly, allowed his body attitude to tilt past the point of balance moving into the zone

from which there is no turning back. At this point, to maintain control he pushed off and

just sailed way out and downward dropping away further and further. It seemed like he

was going on forever and I'm asking myself, when is he going to tuck? Just like a Formula

One car coming straight at you on TV, there's a distortion of distance, which is just what it

looked like from above. It seemed to take forever and I was wandering by now is he ever

going to tuck, sooner or later he has to, he must, and eventually he did just before landing

on the bed. Up to this point, I was still holding my breath when I realised I had to follow

that and do the same. For some reason, hurrying back down the steps no longer appealed

to me so I slowly walked back down as I mentally prepared myself to follow him.

At the 90ft level, I stopped, climbed through the handrail and stepped out onto the take-

off platform from where Vic had just fallen. For a few seconds I glanced around and tried

to enjoy the view. Whenever you perform a fall, the view is invariably unique and you

rarely get to see it more than a couple of times, so I try to enjoy it. I'm not always

successful but it’s worth a try. Far below I could see Vic and Dicky Beer, re-setting the

bed. I continued looking down, took a deep breath and prepared myself. At this moment

Vic called out to hold it a minute because there was a problem. In fact one of the small

tethers located inside the air-bag had snapped. After a few moments Vic finally called out

to me to come down, the rehearsals were over because the air-bag now couldn't be used.

All I could think of was "Thank God for that!” But we'd all had great fun and Vic went out a

week later, did his fall from a 100ft high viaduct and joined the 'ton up' club. A month

later we went to Mexico, got an air-bag out there from the States and, once again, the

pair of us started rehearsing together once more for my high fall. There's a shared kind

of...camaraderie, but that sounds too corny. I don't want to make it sound corny but it

must have been like the guys in the trenches before going over the top. You look at each

other and you're both scared, you laugh, there's a nervousness that comes across. That's

what it was like doing those rehearsals with Vic. Sadly very few stunt coordinators work

like that these days.’

Roy performed the major stunt in the film. However Vic Armstrong had brought in Tracey

Eddon and Billy Horrigan to double for the stars Ryan O'Neal and Anne Archer during a

speedboat chase. Roy has always been well used on movie sets. During the filming of

'Firepower' in 1979 he doubled for all the main stars, Sophia Loren, O.J.Simpson and James

Coburn. This was the first time that Roy had worked with Hollywood's top stunt co-

ordinator, Terry Leonard, and during the films explosive finale a mass horse fall was called

for. Four horsemen chasing James Coburn through a plantation. Roy was joined by Terry

Leonard, Glen Randall and Billy Horrigan for this pile up which takes place after a

helicopter explodes above them. Four horses in a confined space. How was it done?

‘We all have a physical bias which means we are happier to fall one particular way rather

than the other and stunt-men invariably discuss their preferences with each other.

Certainly it would have been much easier simply to go to my left with a conventional drop

but, due to the circumstances on that occasion and the very confined area, restricted

even further by a tall metal tower, I would have probably landed under the horse directly

behind me, which is why I went off forwards, head first and to the right. Terry Leonard

falls in front of me performing a toe taper, but at least I could see Terry right up to the

last moment and make the necessary changes. It's all about judgment.’

The relationship with Vic Armstrong continued on the 1979 war epic 'Escape To Athena'

where an all-star cast had been brought in by director George Cosmatos. The stunt team

reads like a who's who of British Stunt performers. Paul Weston doubled Anthony

Valentine, Marc Boyle doubled Elliott Gould, Doug Robinson doubled for Telly Savalas,

Tracey Eddon doubled for Stephanie Powers and Roy Alon doubled Sonny Bono (Yes that

Sonny Bono). Richard Roundtree, otherwise known as 'Shaft', was doubled by Clive Curtis

and Roger Moore was doubled by his Bond double Martin Grace.

‘When Vic first told me I would be doubling Sonny Bono, I asked him what he was like and

how tall he was. Vic said, "He's not all that tall, but nobody seems to know exactly, so

you've got the job", which was great news for me. I also remember the first day at Elstree

Studios, when the proposed stunt team lined up to meet the director, George Pan

Cosmatos, who later went on to direct 'Rambo - First Blood Part 2'. Vic and the director

walked along the line and Vic introduced each of us in turn, saying who would be doubling

for who. When he got to me Vic said, "This is Roy and he will be the double for Sonny

Bono". George stopped and said, "He is too tall for Sonny Bono". Not knowing how tall

Sonny Bono was, I had put 3 inch lifts in my shoes just in case, so at this point I

immediately kicked them off and promptly dropped down three inches. George looked

again for a moment, smiled and said, "Perfect".’

Roy was used quite a bit during the film. His first stunt appears only minutes after the

start when he falls some 60ft through the roof of a Turkish bath. Sonny Bono's character is

then seen falling from a clock tower. Roy performed the fall of some 50ft. This could well

be one of the first uses of a decelerator seen on camera. The only other thing that breaks

Roy's fall is the tower itself, which he gives a good clout on the way down. You may just

be able to see stuntman Clive Curtis at the top right of picture. He is doubling for actor

Richard Roundtree.

Then during the fire fight in the main square, Roy as a German soldier hides behind his

motorbike for cover only to be blown up some moments later by a well-thrown grenade.

Timing is all important here and Roy times it beautifully. Ensuring he has enough time to

(a) react to the explosion and (b) position himself whilst in flight for his landing. It’s all

over in the blinking of an eye, but its well worth a few viewings.

Another show that Roy put a lot of work into was a production by Chris Kelly called 'The

Zero Option'.

"Yes, it was about an S.A.S hostage rescue sequence and of course we had Tip Tipping and

Andy Bradford hanging from the plane and fighting. A funny story behind that was the

company decided to film our rehearsals for possible use in the film, which meant the two

guys would have to be in full costume. Normally on rehearsals, each guy would exit from

the very small and very cramped aircraft and in close proximity to the door, check their

rigging etc. and go through a few basic moves, then re-enter the plane. But because the

cameras would be rolling, both guys would now move instead to their maximum end

positions, hanging below the undercarriage, which would result in a long return home.

Therefore they would need assistance getting back into the plane. Now, there was

something at the back of my mind that I could not bring to the forefront. Just a niggle,

but something I couldn't quite put my finger on and discussions about costumes and hiding

the cables and harness etc. made it easy for me to overlook it. So to cut a long story short

we finished up with Andy and Tip hanging way down outside the plane giving their all as

they dangled, struggling and punching each other, buffeted by the 100 mph wind as they

bounced off the side of the fuselage. After a few minutes of this, I knew they would both

be exhausted so I leaned out and signalled cut. Obviously I was also cabled on because I

knew that at some point I would need to assist the other two back in. Then as I leaned

even further out to reach Andy, I remembered what this thing was at the back of my

mind....unlike a helicopter, which I was more familiar with; a plane cannot slow down and

simply hover! If you try using only your arms, to pull yourself back into a plane traveling at

around 80 or 90mph I assure you, without assistance, it's impossible and I knew at this

point that getting them back in was not going to be easy. Andy was higher up and saw me

first because he was closer and using me as a ladder, he managed with great difficulty to

lever himself up onto the undercarriage and then back into the plane. Tip was much lower

down and at first he wasn't aware of what was going on. Even when he was right up close

to me and I was shouting into his ear "CLIMB UP ME"! He was unable to hear because of the

noise of the plane and the wind speed. By this time he was also absolutely exhausted and

had very little strength left in his arms. After a few moments, which felt like forever, I

managed to reach down far enough to get my hand under his belt and lift him up in my

direction. Then I got one hand behind his knee and finally he got the message and raised

his leg allowing me to lock both hands under him. Now by pushing against my arms with his

legs he gained height and was finally able to climb up me onto the undercarriage and back

into the plane. Maybe it's just me, but I found it funny that from that moment I had leaned

from the plane, I had been laughing inside at the thought of us flying around all day

hanging outside the plane trying to figure a way back in. But that's what rehearsals are

for, to identify small problems before they become big ones.

Apart from the plane sequence and, of course, Del Baker's excellent cannon roll, I would

also like to mention Steve Whyment, who coped brilliantly with a very awkward backwards

fall. Wearing a black hood, unsighted and with only a minimum of preparation time, he

went out of a window backwards and timed it perfectly as he dropped and crashed

through a large awning. In fact every single member of the stunt team on 'The Zero Option'

did a first class job.’

So, after thirty years or so in this business does Roy have a favourite moment?

‘Yes, there are a number of quite remarkable and unforgettable incidents but probably

not the kind you'd expect. It's the little things mostly, those ridiculously funny moments,

like Terry Walsh coming up to you before a fire gag saying, "It’s going to be a big one - so

put these in your pockets in case it goes wrong"! Naturally feeling apprehensive, you

glance down to see he has given you two large potatoes. At a moment like that, it’s great

to have a reason to laugh.

My fondest memory is the day I did something particularly dreadful to a fellow stuntman.

In fact to my best pal Billy Horrigan, so between you and me I'm not really that sorry.

Anyone who has met Billy will no doubt be aware of his unique and eccentric sense of

humour and his love of practical jokes. It was time, I felt, to give Billy a taste of his own

medicine so I called him to do a car crash on 'Dempsey and Makepeace'. After rehearsals,

and around the corner out of sight, we substituted the car Billy was to crash into and he

suddenly found himself crashing into his own car, - he went absolutely ballistic - and it

took ages before he calmed down enough to realise that the car was not really his and was

in fact a 'clone' look-alike and that he wasn't performing on 'Dempsey and Makepeace', but

that we had done him on 'Game For A Laugh'. To this day I worry that he may someday

seek his revenge.

It is without a doubt an extraordinary job and I wouldn't change it for the world. I thank

God every day for allowing me to do something that I truly enjoy and actually get paid

too.

The late

British

stuntman Tip

Tipping turns

this car over

during an

episode of

Dempsey &

Makepeace

This sequence below best demonstrates Roy's versatility. He plays the part of an I.R.A

heavy in the 1981 film 'The Long Good Friday'. After gunmen burst into the room Roy, and

fellow stuntman Frank Henson, crash through the window to the floor below. The pink car

tries to avoid the two men and crashes into the blue car. Roy is driving car 674.

Roy performs a fall through a window and then crashes car 674

into another vehicle, all for the film 'The Long Good Friday'

Roy earning his Equity

card with a spot of

acting. The IRA section

head / banger racer

‘Captain Death’