Remembering TOS Stuntman Loren Janes, 1931-2017

StarTrek.com is saddened to report the passing of legendary Hollywood stuntman and stunt coordinator Loren Janes, who died on June 24 at the age of 85. Janes was Steve McQueen's longtime stunt double and handled stunts for the likes of Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Robert Wagner, Jack Lemmon, Charles Bronson, Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas and, believe it or not, Esther Williams and Debbie Reynolds. Star Trek: The Original Series twice tapped his talents, as he doubled William Shatner in "Charlie X" and Richard Tatro in "I, Mudd."

Janes, in 1961, co-founded (with Dick Deary) the Stuntmen's Association of Motion Pictures and Television, and he was also the National Chair of the Screen Actors Guild Stunt and Safety Committee. Over the years, the former Marine amassed an impressive array of film and TV credits that included The Ten Commandments, The Magnificent Seven, The Getaway, Planet of the Apes, Little House on the Prairie, The Towering Inferno, Blazing Saddles, Escape from New York, Beverly Hills Cop, MacGyver, Wild at Heart, Out to Sea, The Practice, America's Sweethearts and Spider-Man. According to CNN, he won a Golden Boot, the Stuntmen Association's lifetime achievement award, in 2001, but in more recent years battled Alzheimer's Disease.

His family issued a statement that read, "As a family, we will always remember his astonishing life force, his compelling honesty, his outrageous sense of humor, and surprising gentleness. He was fiercely loyal and loving. And we loved him in return. We were proud to be his family."

Please join StarTrek.com in offering our condolences to Janes' family, friends and colleagues.