Joe Powell (21 March 1922 - 30 June 2016) was a British stuntman and actor. He was known as the "daddy of British stuntmen".

Early life and career

Powell was born in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

, London. He joined the British Army and served in the 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers Cadet Corps. He enjoyed soldiering, and soon after the outbreak of war, when he was still only 17, he joined the Grenadier Guards. To break the monotony of drill and PT he took up boxing with the regimental team, but as the war progressed he was selected for No 4 Special Service (Commando) unit, taking part in the 1942 raid on Dieppe, during which he was briefly knocked out, and in the D-Day invasion. In 1946 he met with the actor Dennis Price which led to him getting a job as an extra at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

. He was sparring at the London's Polytechnic Boxing Club and soon became a founding partner in a stunt team by Captain Jock Easton. Powell performed stuntwork in many films, including ''The Guns of Navarone'' (1961), ''The Longest Day'' (1962), ''Cleopatra'' (1963), Zulu (1964) and ''

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines ''Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines; Or, How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours and 11 Minutes'' is a 1965 British period comedy film that satirizes the early years of aviation. Directed and co-written by Ken Annakin, the film ...

'' (1965). He also participated in several James Bond films. He is listed by The Guardian as having performed one of the 10 best film stunts ever.

Personal life and family

Powell was twice married, first to Marguerite and after to Juliet. Powell is survived by four sons and a daughter. He was the brother of

Eddie Powell Eddie Powell (9 March 1927 - 11 August 2000) was a British stuntman and actor. Powell performed stuntwork in several films for Hammer Studios, serving as a regular stunt double for Christopher Lee. His credits during this time included portra ...

, also a film stuntman.

Publications

Powell also published a book on his life known as ''The Life and Times of a Fall Guy''.

References

External links

* 1922 births 2016 deaths Male actors from London British male television actors English stunt performers {{UK-actor-stub