Back to the Future and Star Wars stuntman Bob Yerkes has died at the age of 92, fellow stunt performer Darlene Ava Williams has announced.
Taking to social media on October 3, 2024, she wrote: ‘I am horribly sad to hear that my mentor and stunt coach Bob Yerkes passed away this morning in Northridge, California.’
Born Brayton Walter Yerkes on February 11, 1932, in California, the Hollywood legend started tumbling as a teenager and ran away from home at the age of 15 to join the Clyde Beatty Circus as an acrobat.
He would go on to perform stunts for over 70 years, doubling for stars including Paul Newman, Robert Duval, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In Back to the Future, Yerkes doubled for Christopher Lloyd in the epic scene which saw him sliding down a clock tower cable.
Continuing in a touching tribute, Darlene wrote: ‘Bobby opened the door to his home and backyard to everyone that either needed a place to stay or to train for a job.
‘Bobby knew my parents before I was born and knew me as a kid growing up in the circus.
‘At one time, long before me, my dad and Bob performed in a flying trapeze act together in the circus. As a kid I remember visiting his backyard. I remember watching him train celebrities and stunt people.’
She went on to explain how Bob would always think of her when stunt jobs came up, and before she knew it she was a stunt woman.
‘I would not have had a career in stunts without Bob Yerkes,’ she said, adding: ‘I am so thankful that we got to celebrate Bob Yerkes induction into the Circus Ring of Fame this year for Coach of the Year.
‘I am so happy we got to also celebrate his 92nd birthday with him here in Sarasota,’ Darlene said, concluding: ‘There will never be another Bob Yerkes! My heart is broken. I am proud and honoured to have known him. He was a true legend!’
In 1948 Yerkes returned to Los Angeles and began performing stunts, first in the film Julia Misbehaves.
Over the next decade he would flit between circus performances and stunt double work in films, appearing on Ringling in 1957 and 1958.
For over 12 years, Yerkes also taught many celebrities circus acts for the Circus of the Stars TV specials throughout the 70s and 80s, also working as a circus advisor to many films and TV shows, and teaching budding stunt doubles in his kitted-out back yard.
A skilled trapeze aerialist and tightrope walker, Yerkes transferred his acrobatic skills to films including Breakout in 1975, when he fell from a helicopter through a roof as Charles Bronson, and broke two legs.
He also broke legs while working on Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Her Alibi, but aside from these instances, he was relatively unscathed by his dangerous work.
In Star Wars, Yerkes flew as Boba Fett in Return of the Jedi – which was filmed in his backyard – where he taught circus and stunt for years to students including Brooke Shields and Todd Bridges.
He doubled as Schwarzenegger in Commando and Eli Wallach in Tough Guys, as he swung from ceilings and was cinematically thrown off trains.
He is survived by his son Mark, who also worked as a stunt performer. He had another son called Gerald, who died while serving in the Vietnam war.
His most recent credits include Killing Hasselhoff in 2017 and Water for Elephants in 2011.
With 88 IMDb credits to his name, Yerkes also assisted with stunts in Angels and Demons, Adaptation, Ferris Kueller’s Day Off, Psycho III and II, Ghostbusters, Poltergeist, and Airport, among many others.
Yerkes was a recipient of the World Acrobatics Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award – Gallery of Acrobatic Legends – and was one of Hollywood’s most revered stunt doubles.