Martin Grace, (1942-2010)

Ireland's 'Indiana Jones', Martin Grace, from Lisdowney, has died aged 67.

He doubled for Harrison in Raiders Temple and Crusade.

The following is an excerpt on Martin's life from MI6: The Home of James Bond.

Martin was an accomplished stunt performer and coordinator, according to an update posted on Bondstars, Martin died on Wednesday, 27 January. The stuntman has apparently suffered a cycling accident in late November, which landed him in the hospital for several weeks with a fractured pelvis. This week he was taken from his home in Spain to the hospital again after developing breathing problems. He died yesterday after suffering an aneurism.

Martin Grace was born in Kilkenny September 12, 1942. During his time at college at Kilkenny, Grace first experienced action movies when a tented traveling film show arrived in town. Bitten by the bug, he moved to London in the early 1960's to attend Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

After joining a stunt agency, he found his first professional work in commercials as the mysterious action man in the Cadburys milk tray television ads. The secret agent aesthetic and daring stunts would give him a taste of what 007 would later offer him.

His first film credit was as a Thal on the BBC's big screen adaptation of "Dr. Who and the Daleks" in 1965. Shortly thereafter, his first brush with Bond came when stunt coordinator Bob Simmons and his right-hand man George Leech called up almost every professional stunt man in England to perform in the climatic volcano battle in "You Only Live Twice" (1967).

Click to expand...

For the full story on Martin Grace - Irelands's Indiana Jones - see next week's Kilkenny People.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jCXeq8vszEg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jCXeq8vszEg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Cadbury Milk Tray Man!

Wow, he did stunts for the Cadbury Milk Tray commercials!?! Those are amazing. Check out the one where he jumps from a moving truck into a lake.

R.I.P. Martin Grace. Just a few months younger than Harrison Ford.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/THH8p21akrA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/THH8p21akrA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Another legend of the screen lost. RIP Martin Grace

Check out Harrison Ford Impression on Youtube. Could be a younger version.

A great loss.
Rest in peace

Martin Grace, a former Santa Ynez Valley resident and longtime Hollywood stuntman, has died in Spain.

His death at 67 years old, first reported on a fan site for James Bond movies, was confirmed by friends in the Santa Ynez Valley this week. In recent years he had been living in Spain but still visited the valley.

According to www.mi6.co.uk, Grace was hospitalized in late January after developing breathing problems at his home in Spain and died Jan. 27 after suffering an aneurysm.

As Moore?s stunt double, Grace took the risks when ?James Bond? fought villains atop the Golden Gate Bridge, drove a sports car through narrow, winding streets while chased by a helicopter and motorcycles, hung from the side of a helicopter or fought atop trains or the Eiffel Tower.

During the filming of ?Octo*****,? Grace?s pelvis and thigh bones were smashed while he was hanging from the side of a moving train, but he hung on until the train stopped ? and after months flat on his back, made a full recovery in time for the next Bond outing, according to the MI6 Web site.

As a stunt performer or coordinator he also contributed to ?Superman? (1978), ?Raiders of the Lost Ark? (1981), ?Robin Hood? (1991) and ?The Truman Show? (1998). Grace also worked sometimes as an actor. In 1997 he was Captain Braga in ?Robinson Crusoe,? which featured Pierce Brosnan in the title role.

Over his career, Grace worked on 73 motion pictures and many television programs, including ?Monk? and ?Heroes.?