November 29, 1896 - May 24, 1986)

Yakima Canutt was an American actor and stuntman in Hollywood movies from the 1920s through the 1950s. He was born Enos Edward Canutt in the Snake River Hills, near Colfax, Washington.

As a young man, he gained fame as a very successful rodeo rider. He got his nickname when he was caught fraternizing with several rival rodeo performers from Yakima, Washington. His friends never let him forget and the name stuck. He met actor Tom Mix at a rodeo in Los Angeles and was persuaded to work as a cowboy in films.

He had some success as an actor, primarily playing "heavies," or villains in a number of B-films with John Wayne and George "Gabby" Hayes, but he was more successful as a stuntman and stunt coordinator. He staged some memorable action scenes in film, including the famous chariot race segment in the 1959 film Ben-Hur. Sharp-eyed observers can recognize him in the distant shot of the moment in which Judah Ben-Hur's chariot bounces over the wreck of another chariot, before the cut to the close-up of Charlton Heston.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Yakima Canutt has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street. In 1967, he was given an Honorary Academy Award for achievements as a stunt man and for developing safety devices to protect stunt men everywhere. He was inducted into the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum (Hall of Fame).

In 1985, Canutt appeared in a music/bio called "Yak's Last Ride" directed by John Crawford.

His autobiography, Stuntman, was published in 1979.