Gary Kent (born June 7, 1933) is an American film director, actor, and stuntperson notable for his appearances in various

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

grindhouse A grindhouse or action house is an American term for a theatre that mainly shows low-budget horror, splatter and exploitation films for adults. According to historian David Church, this theater type was named after the "grind policy", a fil ...

and

exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of labour ** Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery ** Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts and entertainment *Exploi ...

films. A native of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Kent studied at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

before later embarking on a film career. He made his feature film debut in '' Battle Flame'' (1959), and had roles in several other low-budget films in the 1960s, including ''

The Black Klansman ''The Black Klansman'', originally released in 1966 under the name ''I Crossed the Color Line'', is a low-budget feature film directed by Ted V. Mikels and starring Richard Gilden, Rima Kutner, Harry Lovejoy, Max Julien, Jakie Deslonde, and Jam ...

'' (1966) and the biker film ''

The Savage Seven ''The Savage Seven'' is a 1968 outlaw biker exploitation film directed by Richard Rush, who had directed the previous year's '' Hells Angels on Wheels''. Rush agreed to direct ''The Savage Seven'' in exchange for the opportunity to make the psyc ...

'' (1968). He also served as a stunt double for Bruce Dern in ''

Psych-Out ''Psych-Out'' is a 1968 American psychedelic film about hippies, psychedelic music and recreational drugs starring Susan Strasberg, Jack Nicholson (the film's leading man despite being billed under supporting player Dean Stockwell) and Br ...

'' (1969). Kent and his experiences as a stuntman served as inspiration for Cliff Booth, the character portrayed by Brad Pitt in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

's '' Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' (2019).

Biography

Early life

Kent was born on a wheat ranch in

Walla Walla Walla Walla can refer to: * Walla Walla people, a Native American tribe after which the county and city of Walla Walla, Washington, are named * Place of many rocks in the Australian Aboriginal Wiradjuri language, the origin of the name of the town ...

, the son of Arthur E. and Iola Kent. He graduated from

Renton High School Renton High School is a public secondary school (grades 9–12) in downtown Renton, Washington, U.S., about 10 miles southeast of downtown Seattle. Founded in 1911, it is the oldest high school in the Renton School District. History The origin ...

in Renton, Washington, a suburb of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, and attended the

, where he studied journalism, played football and pole-vaulted on the track team. After college he entered the Naval Air Corps, where he wrote promotion and publicity for the Navy's elite flying team, The Blue Angels.

Career

In 1959 Kent moved to Hollywood and was working primarily in drive-in

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

s. He acted, worked stunts and directed action for directors Richard Rush,

Monte Hellman Monte Hellman (; born Monte Jay Himmelbaum; July 12, 1929 – April 20, 2021) was an American film director, producer, writer, and editor. Hellman began his career as an editor's apprentice at ABC TV, and made his directorial debut with the ho ...

Al Adamson Albert Victor Adamson Jr. (July 25, 1929 – June 21, 1995) was an American filmmaker and actor known as a prolific director of B-grade horror and exploitation films throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The son of silent film stars Victor Adamson a ...

, Don Jones,

Ray Dennis Steckler Ray Dennis Steckler (January 25, 1938 – January 7, 2009), also known by the pseudonym Cash Flagg, was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor best known as the low-budget auteur of such cult films as ''The Incredibly St ...

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. One of the " New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on ...

and

Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading ...

. He performed television stunts and acted on '' Green Hornet'', ''

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret ...

'', and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

'' starring

Fess Parker Fess Elisha Parker Jr. (born F. E. Parker Jr.;Weaver, Tom.Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde: Interviews with 62 Filmmakers p. 148 (McFarland 2012). August 16, 1924 – March 18, 2010),(March 18, 2010Daniel Boone Actor Fess Parker Dies at 85" ''CBS ...

. Some of the films he directed were ''The Pyramid'' (1975) and ''

Rainy Day Friends ''Rainy Day Friends'' is a 1986 American independent drama film written and directed by Gary Kent and starring Esai Morales, Chuck Bail and John Phillip Law. Premise A Mexican-American teenager who is suffering from cancer must learn to cope ...

'' (1983). Kent doubled

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

in stunts in the Richard Rush films ''

Hells Angels on Wheels ''Hells Angels on Wheels'' is a 1967 American biker film directed by Richard Rush, and starring Adam Roarke, Jack Nicholson, and Sabrina Scharf. The film tells the story of a gas-station attendant with a bad attitude who finds life more exciting ...

'', ''

'' and ''

'', and also did his very first stunts in 1966 Nicholson films ''

Ride in the Whirlwind ''Ride in the Whirlwind'' is a 1966 American Western film starring Cameron Mitchell, Millie Perkins, Jack Nicholson, and Harry Dean Stanton, and directed by Monte Hellman. Nicholson also wrote and co-produced the film. A trio of cowboys are fo ...

'' and ''

The Shooting ''The Shooting'' is a 1966 American Western film directed by Monte Hellman, with a screenplay by Carole Eastman (using the pseudonym Adrien Joyce). It stars Warren Oates, Millie Perkins, Will Hutchins, and Jack Nicholson, and was produced by ...

'', which shot back to back in Kanab, Utah under the direction of

. In his 2009 memoir ''Shadows and Light'', Kent writes of an "outlaw" cinema aimed at breaking film taboos and barriers. In the book he talks of shooting at

Spahn Ranch Spahn Ranch, also known as the Spahn Movie Ranch, was a 55-acre (22.3 ha) movie ranch in Los Angeles, California. For a period it was used as a ranch, dairy farm and later movie set during the era of westerns. After a decline in use for filming b ...

when Charles Manson and his followers were there. He retired from stunts in 2003 after an accident on

Don Coscarelli Don Coscarelli Jr. (born February 17, 1954) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born to Italian settlers in Libya, he is best known for his work in horror films. His directing credits include the first four films in the ' ...

's film ''

Bubba Ho-Tep ''Bubba Ho-Tep'' is a 2002 American comedy horror film written, co-produced and directed by Don Coscarelli. It stars Bruce Campbell as Elvis Presley—now a resident in a nursing home. The film also stars Ossie Davis as Jack, a black man who c ...

'', for which Kent served as stunt coordinator. Kent does continue to act in independent films.

Later years

As of 2018, Kent resided in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. Kent is the subject of the documentary ''Danger God'' released on DVD in 2019. Kent and his career as a stuntman in Hollywood (specifically his experience working at

while the Manson family resided there) served as inspiration for the character of Cliff Booth (played by Brad Pitt) in

's '' Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' (2019).

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Gary Living people 1933 births American stunt performers American male actors Film directors from Washington (state) People from Walla Walla, Washington Male actors from Seattle University of Washington alumni