Dear fellow Flynn fans,
Jock Mahony was the go- to- fallguy for any leap of faith. He made a name for himself within the stunt community and a top 1000 $ by jumping down a staircase from a standing position in “The Adventures of Don Juan”.
Born in Chicago of 1919 Jacques O’Mahoney excelled at swimming, basketball, and football at the University of Iowa. During World War II he was a Marine flight instructor. After the war, he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a horse breeder. He soon was doubling Charles Starrett in the Durango Kid westerns. Jock also doubled Gregory Peck, Randolph Scott and Rod Cameron. One of a few incedibly talented stuntmen he later became a TV star alongside Gene Autry.
If not for Lex Barker, he even would have succeeded Errol`s prime mate Johnny Weismüller as Tarzan. At age 44 he did just that and starred in two jungle features of the noble Ape Man in Thailand and India.
While pitching himself to Hollywood studios with this daring flying stunt from above, he needed a catcher to either save him or to pick up the pieces. That (no small) feat was handled brilliantly by Paul Baxley
Enjoy,
— shangheinz
ILIKEFLYNN
June 27, 2015 at 4:51 pm
And still Jock was injured doing that stunt. But as well as being a stunt man extraordinaire, Jock was being groomed for stardom and starred in a few westerns in the late fifties before starring in the “Yancy Derringer” TV series. He also trained young Sean Flynn while Sean was in Hollywood, before Sean left for Spain to star in his first feature, “The Son of Captain Blood”! He was married to Margaret Field and was the stepfather of Sally Field.–A. R.
Gentleman Tim
June 27, 2015 at 8:26 pm
Thanks, A.R. Very cool connection.
Here’s some more details:
Gentleman Tim
June 27, 2015 at 8:43 pm
12 steps in one quick jump. Not bad, hopheinz. They could have saved those big bucks, though. All they had to do was replace Paul Baxley with a beautiful starlet, of whom I’m very sure there would have been many applicants for the job.
Sometimes Jocko lept upwards, also in spectacular form:
[img]http://www.westernclippings.com/images/neilsummers/jocko_rangerider.jpg[/img]
He sure was great. Nuntheless, his daughter-in-law Sally appears to have been supremely more gifted:
[img]http://c300221.r21.cf1.rackcdn.com/the-flying-nun-1350102349_b.jpg[/img]
shangheinz
June 28, 2015 at 9:59 am
[img]http://www.theerrolflynnblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/jocko2.jpg[/img]
It was a small step for Tarzan, but a giant one for stuntmankind.
rswilltell
June 29, 2015 at 12:53 pm
Jock Mahoney’s first Tarzan flick ‘Tarzan Goes To India’ (1962) was a major box office hit for MGM. In fact it was the biggest moneymaker in the series until Bo Derek made her ‘Tarzan The Ape Man’ (1982). Her Tarzan is completely forgotten. The photo is from his last ‘Tarzan’s Three Challenges’ (1963) which was not nearly as good or successful as the previous. Jock also contracted dysentary and dropped over 30 pounds during the filming. By the end it looked like Woody Strode could have easily whipped Tarzan. He was replaced by Mike Henry in the next three Tarzan films. A tip of my cowboy hat to the memory of Yancy Derringer, and Jock Mahoney! Ralph Schiller
shangheinz
July 16, 2015 at 7:42 pm
[img]http://www.theerrolflynnblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/jockbio.jpg[/img]
Here is the Jack Mahoney-no baloney biography.
shangheinz
October 7, 2015 at 3:02 pm
[img]http://www.theerrolflynnblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/joko3.jpg[/img]
Jock Mahony in “Squareheads of the Round Table”- one Stuntman & Three Stooges.