Whitey Hughes

Oklahoma-born, one of the smallest of Hollywood stuntmen, he often doubled as a woman, most notably in The Stunt Man (1980), in which he can be seen in a dress, jumping over a cliff while holding an umbrella. A regular member of Sam Peckinpah's company, he often acted small speaking roles as well as supervising stunts and wrangling for the director. An expert driver, pilot, horseman and motorcyclist, he is one of the nefarious gang members who surround Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953).

Shares memories of stunt-coordinating the TV series The Wild Wild West (1965), and the ups and downs of working with star Robert Conrad, in Tom Weaver's book "A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde" (McFarland & Co., 2010).

An accomplished livestock teamster due to his farm upbringing, Whitey found his way into the film business as a full-fledged Screen Actors Guild member in 1947. Hughes worked profusely as an actor, stuntman, and stunt coordinator on an enormous volume of movies and television programs in a career that spanned six decades altogether.

Hughes moved with his family to California at age sixteen in 1936 and graduated from Fremont High School in Los Angeles.

Stuntman and actor Whitey Hughes was born on November 9, 1920 in Arkoma, Oklahoma. Whitey was raised on a farm where he learned how to plow and drive teams as well as ride and break horses with his father.