Alice Van-Springsteen (July 12, 1918 – September 13, 2008) was an American

stuntwoman 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 ...

and

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

. Born as Alice Grace van der Veen in

Arvada, Colorado Arvada () is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States Census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 residing in Adams Coun ...

, she debuted in rodeo at the age of 13 in 1932 at the

Los Angeles Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

Career

A close friend of

Dale Evans Dale Evans Rogers (born Frances Octavia Smith; October 31, 1912 – February 7, 2001) was an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She was the third wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers. Early life Evans was born Frances Octavia Smith on Oc ...

, she served as Evans'

stunt double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

through most of her career. She was also a stunt double for

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

in ''

National Velvet ''National Velvet'' is a novel by Enid Bagnold (1889–1981), first published in 1935. It was illustrated by Laurian Jones, Bagnold's daughter, who was born in 1921. Plot summary ''National Velvet'' is the story of a 14-year-old girl named ...

''. Other actresses for whom she stunt doubled on film or television include:

Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...

Ann Sheridan Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938) with James Cagne ...

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007)"Actress, P ...

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

Susan Hayward Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrenner; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American film actress, best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories. After working as a fashion model for the Walter Thornton Model A ...

, and

Linda Evans Linda Evans (born Linda Evenstad; November 18, 1942) is an American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s she played Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck) in the Western tel ...

. Her first film stunt work came in 1935 in

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

' last film, ''In Old Kentucky''. She had performed during the opening ceremony at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. She also rode as a jockey, becoming the third woman ever to receive a trainer's license for thoroughbred horses. In 1937, at 18, she was invited by the Queen to ride in the annual Royal Easter Show in Australia, where she was the only American in the show."Dale Evans And Her 'Twin' Still Share A Rare Friendship"
''The San Bernardino Sun''; accessed June 4, 2016.

Awards

She was presented one of the

Golden Boot Awards The Golden Boot Awards were an American acknowledgement of achievement honoring actors, actresses, and crew members who made significant contributions to the genre of Westerns in television and film. The award was sponsored and presented by the ...

in 1993 for her contributions to western cinema.

Family

On August 12, 1960, she married film director Robert G. "Bud" Springsteen. The couple's only child, Norman Van Der Veen, died in 1993. She was widowed in 1989. Survived by grand daughter Darcy Van Der Veen and great grandson. (Name not disclosed) United States Army currently in service.

Death

Van-Springsteen died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on September 13, 2008, aged 90, at

Point Loma Point Loma (Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community within the city of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the w ...

Convalescent Hospital. She was survived by a granddaughter, Darcy Van Der Veen. Van-Springsteen was cremated and her ashes were interred at Sunset Hills Memorial Park,

Apple Valley, California Apple Valley is an incorporated town in the Victor Valley of San Bernardino County, in the U.S. state of California. It was incorporated on November 14, 1988, and is one of the 22 incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in thei ...

, where her long-time friends

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

and

are buried.

References

Links

*
Profile
westernclippings.com 1918 births 2008 deaths American people of Dutch descent American female jockeys American stunt performers Deaths from pneumonia in California People from Arvada, Colorado Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductees American jockeys 20th-century American women 20th-century American people 21st-century American women {{US-film-bio-stub