LOS ANGELES, April 16 (UPI) -- Jack Williams, a Hollywood stuntman known for his horse-riding and horse-falling skills, died of heart failure in a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 85.
Williams, a charter member of the Stuntmen's Association of Motion Pictures and an inductee of the Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall of Fame, spent six decades performing stunts in movies such as "Gone With The Wind," "Sparticus" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," and television shows such as "Maverick" and "The High Chaparral," the Los Angeles Times said Monday.
Williams, who died last Tuesday, was best known for training his horse to fall dramatically on cue at a given spot.
"He was the top falling-horse stuntman in the business," stuntman Bob Hoy, who first worked with Williams in 1950, told the Times. "Jack drove stagecoaches, he wrecked wagons, he could transfer from the horse to the train -- he could do anything pertaining to horse work."
Williams' pedigree in horse stunts came from his parents. His mother, Paris, a world-champion trick rider on the rodeo circuit, and his father, George, a cowboy, found work doing stunts in movies.
Williams is survived by several children and step-children.
