Paul Stader
| Paul B. Stader | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 13, 1911 Neosho, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | April 10, 1991 (aged 80) Malibu, Los Angeles County, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor; Stuntman |
| Years active | 1937-1991 |
| Spouse(s) | Marilyn Stader (1956-1991) (his death) |
| Children | Paul Stader |
Paul B. Stader, sometimes known as Manny Stader (February 13, 1911 – April 10, 1991), was an American actor best known for having performed stunts for Johnny Weissmuller, Lex Barker, Gregory Peck, and John Wayne. He was also the underwater director of the 1978 film The Return of Captain Nemo.
Stader was born and reared in Neosho, Missouri. He came to Los Angeles, to attempt to enter the 1932 Olympic Games. Though he did not make the team, he struck up important friendships with Weissmuller and Buster Crabbe. They encouraged him to take the lifeguard examination in Santa Monica. He earned $5 per day as a guard. Thereafter, studio executives spotted him on a pier and determined that he would make an excellent double for the actor Jon Hall in the 1937 film The Hurricane. He was soon the personal trainer and stuntman for Weissmuller, for whom he doubled in the 1942 film Tarzan Triumphs and in the 1955 television series Jungle Jim, based on a popular comic strip about the hunter, guide, and explorer Jim Bradley.
In the Jungle Jim films, Stader doubled for Weissmuller by diving, running, swinging, and fighting for him, and even substituting for him atop an elephant. He also mastered the difficult task of wrestling with animals, including alligators.
Stader described Weissmuller, accordingly:
He was a generous, really nice fellow. I was always his stuntman. We would exercise together because he'd have to weigh 192 pounds before each picture started. So he and I would begin working out about three or four months before, paddling a board, swimming every day, that sort of thing. I got paid by the studio, and I also got a check from Weissmuller, so it was pretty good money for those days.
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