David Hardin Sharpe (February 2, 1910 – March 30, 1980) was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and stunt performer, sometimes billed as ''Davy Sharpe''.

Biography

Sharpe won the US National Tumbling Championship in 1925 and 1926. He began his film career as a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated t ...

in the 1920s. He was married for a short time to

film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Gertrude Messinger Gertrude Dolores Messinger (April 28, 1911 – November 8, 1995) was an American film actress known for her B-movie roles from the 1930s through the 1950s. She began as a child actor in silent films, but found her greatest fame in talkies of ...

. Eventually he became the "Ramrod" (stunt coordinator) for Republic Pictures from 1939 until mid-1942 when the USA entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was replaced in this role by Tom Steele while Sharpe joined the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

in 1943.

Death

Sharpe died in 1980, aged 70, of

Lou Gehrig's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

(some sources cited

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

).David Sharpe biography
B-Westerns.com. Accessed November 28, 2022.

Recognition

In 1979, Sharpe received the Yakima Canutt Award, which honors stuntmen. Sharpe was inducted into the Stuntman's Hall of Fame in 1980.

Selected filmography

* ''Air Tight'' (1931) * ''Call a Cop!'' (1931) * ''Too Many Women'' (1932) * ''

Social Error ''Social Error'' is a 1935 American crime film directed by Harry L. Fraser and starring David Sharpe, Gertrude Messinger and Monte Blue.Pitts p.129-30 It was re-released by Astor Pictures in 1948. Main cast * David Sharpe as Edward 'Eddie' B ...

'' (1935) * ''

Ghost Town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

'' (1936) * ''

Idaho Kid ''Idaho Kid'' is a 1936 American Western film directed by Robert F. Hill and starring Rex Bell, Marion Shilling and David Sharpe.Pitts p.118 Plot Following the death of his mother in childbirth, Todd Hollister's father has nothing to do with ...

'' (1936) * ''

Desert Justice ''Desert Justice'' is a 1936 American western film directed by William Berke and starring Jack Perrin, Warren Hymer and David Sharpe.Pitts p.50 Synopsis When the police commissioner orders all police horses to be sold off, officer Jack Rankin ...

'' (1936) * ''

Santa Fe Rides ''Santa Fe Rides'' is a 1937 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Bernard B. Ray and starring Bob Custer, Eleanor Stewart and David Sharpe (actor), David Sharpe.Pitts p.320-21 Partial cast * Bob Custer as Santa Fe Evans * Eleano ...

'' (1937) * ''

Melody of the Plains ''Melody of the Plains'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Bennett Cohen. The film stars Fred Scott, Louise Small, Al St. John, David Sharpe, Lafe McKee and Bud Jamison. The film was released on April 2, ...

'' (1937) * ''

Galloping Dynamite ''Galloping Dynamite'' is a 1936 American Western film directed by Harry L. Fraser and written by Sherman L. Lowe, Charles R. Condon, Stanley Roberts and Jesse Duffy. The film stars Kermit Maynard, Ariane Allen, John Merton, David Sharpe, S ...

'' (1937) * ''

Where Trails Divide ''Where Trails Divide'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring Tom Keene, Warner Richmond and Eleanor Stewart Eleanor Stewart (February 2, 1913 – July 4, 2007), was an American film actress of ...

'' (1937) * ''

Young Dynamite ''Young Dynamite'' is a 1937 American crime film directed by Leslie Goodwins from a screenplay by Joseph O'Donnell and Stanley Roberts, adaptation by Arthur G. Durlam. The film stars Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, and Charlotte Henry. Cast lis ...

'' (1937) * ''

Daredevils of the Red Circle ''Daredevils of the Red Circle'' (1939) is a 12-chapter Republic Movie Serial starring Charles Quigley, David Sharpe, Herman Brix (better known under his subsequent stage name, Bruce Bennett), Carole Landis, Miles Mander (in a dual role) an ...

'' (1939) * ''

Dick Tracy Returns ''Dick Tracy Returns'' (1938) is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was the eleventh of the sixty-six serials Republic produced and a sequel to the 1937 serial ''Dick Tracy'', with Ralph Byrd reprising his role as the ...

'' (1938) * ''

Man's Country ''Man's Country'' is a 1938 American Western film directed by Robert F. Hill and written by Robert Emmett Tansey. The film stars Jack Randall, Marjorie Reynolds, Walter Long, Forrest Taylor, and David Sharpe. The film was released on July 6, ...

'' (1938) * ''

Covered Wagon Trails ''Covered Wagon Trails'' is a 1940 American Western film directed by Raymond K. Johnson, starring Jack Randall, Sally Cairns and Lafe McKee. Cast * Jack Randall as Jack Cameron * Sally Cairns as Carol Bradford * Lafe McKee as John Bradfo ...

'' (1940) * '' Mutiny in the Arctic'' (1941) * '' Silver Stallion'' (1941) * ''

Texas to Bataan ''Texas to Bataan'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey. The film is the seventeenth in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars John "Dusty" King as Dusty, "Davy" Sharpe and Max "Alibi" Terhune, ...

'' (1942) * ''

Trail Riders ''Trail Riders'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey. The film is the eighteenth in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars John "Dusty" King as Dusty, "Davy" Sharpe and Max "Alibi" Terhune, wit ...

'' (1942) * '' Two Fisted Justice'' (1943) * ''

Haunted Ranch ''Haunted Ranch'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey. The film is the twentieth in Monogram Pictures' " Range Busters" series, and it stars John "Dusty" King as Dusty, "Davy" Sharpe and Max "Alibi" Terhune, w ...

'' (1943) * '' The Good Humor Man'' (1950)

References

External links

*
Dave Sharpe at B-Westerns
* 1910 births 1980 deaths Male actors from St. Louis American stunt performers American male film actors Male film serial actors Male Western (genre) film actors American male child actors Neurological disease deaths in California Deaths from motor neuron disease United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century American male actors {{US-film-actor-1910s-stub