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Bennie Dobbins

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bennie Dobbins
Born(1932-11-16)November 16, 1932
Los Angeles County, California, US
DiedFebruary 5, 1988(1988-02-05) (aged 55)
Vienna, Austria
Years active1957–1988

Benny E. Dobbins, aka Ben, Bernie, or Bennie Dobbins (November 16, 1932 – February 5, 1988)[1] was an American stuntman, actor, stunt coordinator, and second unit director.

As coordinator and director, Dobbins is known for films such as Planes, Trains and Automobiles, The Running Man, Extreme Prejudice, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Commando, and Weird Science.

As a stuntman and actor Dobbins was frequently omitted from the end credits. Even in his credited work, he is often given generic character names such as Cowboy #2 in Gunsmoke (S17E21 "Yankton") and 1st Bandit in The Six Million Dollar Man (S1E12 "The Coward").

Dobbins died in Austria after suffering a heart attack near the ski resort of Schladming during the filming of Red Heat starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Dobbins was a co-director on the film, and was coordinating the stunts when he collapsed. He was airlifted from the film location by helicopter to a hospital where, later, a doctor pronounced him dead.[1]

Filmography

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A partial filmography follows.[2][3]

Second unit director/Stunts

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Year Title Stunts Second unit director Director
1971 Dirty Harry Yes No Don Siegel
1973 Magnum Force Yes No Ted Post
1974 Blazing Saddles Yes No Mel Brooks
1980 Used Cars Yes No Robert Zemeckis
1982 48 Hrs. Yes No Walter Hill
First Blood Yes No Ted Kotcheff
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Yes No Steven Spielberg
1985 Weird Science Yes Yes John Hughes
Commando Yes Yes Mark L. Lester
1986 Ferris Bueller's Day Off Yes Yes John Hughes
1987 Extreme Prejudice Yes Yes Walter Hill
The Running Man Yes Yes Paul Michael Glaser
Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yes Yes John Hughes
1988 Red Heat Yes Yes Walter Hill

Actor

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Obituaries : Benny Dobbins; U.S. Action Film Director". Los Angeles Times. Feb 7, 1988. Retrieved Aug 11, 2022.
  2. ^ Turner Classic Movies: https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/51110%7C0/Bennie-Dobbins#overview
  3. ^ TV Guide: https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/bennie-dobbins/credits/3000551238/
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