Jackson Burns
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Jackson Burns (July 29, 1956 – November 24, 2016) was an American
stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...
, stunt coordinator, writer, and actor.


Biography

Burns was born on July 7, 1956, in Poteau, Oklahoma. He is only child of Luther Jackson Burns and Ermaline Delora Lockhart. Burns claims to be of Native American ancestry. Born in an economically depressed region, known to be the poorest in the state of Oklahoma ( Little Dixie). His father is of French, Scot-Irish and
Cherokee descent Cherokee descent, "being of Cherokee descent", or "being a Cherokee descendant" are all terms for individuals who have some degree of documented Cherokee ancestry but do not meet the criteria for tribal citizenship. The terms are also used by indiv ...
. His mother is of English, Scot, Irish and Choctaw heritage. His father Luther, quit school in 6th grade to help work and take care of his sharecropper parents (also of very limited education) and his siblings. His mother Delora finished high school. Jackson finished high school and graduated in the Class of 1974, Heavener High School, Heavener, Oklahoma. Jackson also attended
Northeastern State University Northeastern State University (NSU) is a public university with its main campus in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The university also has two other campuses in Muskogee and Broken Arrow as well as online. Northeastern is the oldest institution of high ...
at Tahlequah, Oklahoma, for a brief period. Jackson has said that never finishing his education is what has been his most damaging point in his life. Known as Action Jackson for his work in the stunt industry, Burns runs his stunt and special effects company Action Jackson Stunts, based in Houston, Texas He has worked on '' Walker, Texas Ranger''; '' The Con''; and ''
Fingerprints A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surf ...
''. His fire drag stunt from a vehicle at 246 feet totally engulfed Burns in flames at one point and damaged his Nomex fire suit; Burns took 22 squib hits at once, 22 total in 15 seconds; and as stunt double for
George Kennedy George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academ ...
on the motion picture '' The Man Who Came Back'', was dragged from the back of a horse for a total distance of 282 feet. Jackson, was hit by a car at 17 mph as stunt double for James Gandolfini on the motion picture ''Dance with the Devil''. This is considerably faster than normal stunt car hits and Burns broke the windshield, flew over the top of the car and rolled off of the back, without a scratch. He later performed a car hit for the same actor and movie, of which he launched himself from an 18 wheel truck into the windshield of a passing pickup truck and then rolled to the ground. Gandolfini is said to have based his stuntman character in '' Get Shorty'' on Jackson. Burns has worked in many fields including
lumberjack Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...
, pipeliner,
heavy equipment Heavy equipment or heavy machinery refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. ''Heavy equipment'' usually comprises five e ...
operator,
hydrostatic Fluid statics or hydrostatics is the branch of fluid mechanics that studies the condition of the equilibrium of a floating body and submerged body "fluids at hydrostatic equilibrium and the pressure in a fluid, or exerted by a fluid, on an imme ...
tester, private investigator,
Olan Mills Olan Mills, Inc. was a privately owned American company founded in 1932 by Olan Mills Sr. and Mary Mills which was headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It provided portrait photography and church directories through its two main corporate d ...
portrait photographer,
karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
instructor, motorcycle racer, door installer, salesman and
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
supervisor until he broke into the movie stunt business. His work on movies and television has won much acclaim and many awards and Burns is now working on a longtime passion through a character that he is developing for a television project called The Redneck Archaeologist. In this character Burns travels the world finding unknown historical and archaeological sites and artifacts. He now has a widely watched YouTube Channel that he is getting attention with. His work as a community activist and precinct chair has been recognized by the Mayor Bill White of Houston, his work on elections was recognized by a resolution in his name issued by Harris County Commissioners Court. Married to the Mexican actress/model Nelly Castrejon, they have one son and now live in Houston, Texas. According to IMDb, he died on November 24, 2016, aged 60, in Houston, Texas, US.


See also

* Walker Texas Ranger 3: Deadly Reunion (1994 film)


References


External links

*
Adventure To The Unexplained.com
1956 births 2016 deaths American stunt performers People from Poteau, Oklahoma American people who self-identify as being of Cherokee descent American people who self-identify as being of Choctaw descent 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Oklahoma Male actors from Houston Film producers from Texas Activists from Houston Film producers from Oklahoma Historians from Oklahoma Historians from Texas American male non-fiction writers {{Oklahoma-stub