(written from a Production point of view)
Robert "Bob" Orrison (28 July 1928 – 11 October 2014; age 86) was a Stuntman and Stunt Coordinator who worked as stunt double and stunt performer on several episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. He was one of Leonard Nimoy's and DeForest Kelley's stunt doubles and received no credit for his appearances.
Orrison filmed his scenes for "I, Mudd" on Monday 14 August 1967 at Desilu Stage 9 and his scenes for "The Trouble with Tribbles" on Tuesday 29 August 1967 at Stage 10. He filmed his scenes for "A Private Little War" on Monday 2 October 1967 and Wednesday 4 October 1967 on location at the Bell Ranch, and his scene for "Spectre of the Gun" on Monday 27 May 1968 at Stage 10.
Personal
Born as Robert P. Orrison in Bakersfield, California, he followed his younger brother George Orrison, who worked as personal stunt double for Clint Eastwood throughout his career, into the stunt business, after he worked as steer wrestler and bulldogger in the rodeos. Orrison was a member of Stunts Unlimited and an inductee in the Stuntmen's Hall of Fame. His two sons, Brad and Mark Orrison were also working as stuntmen.
Orrison died with fellow retired stuntman Gary McLarty in a car accident on 11 October 2014, aged 86. [1]
Stunt career
Orrison started his career when he worked as stunt double for Dean Martin on the 1968 western 5 Card Stud on which he worked with fellow stuntman Robert F. Hoy. Beside working on several episodes of Star Trek in the late 1960s, he also performed stunts in the western Bandolero! (1968, stunt coordinated by Hal Needham and stunts by Gary Combs and Donna Garrett), the western Che! (1969, stunt coordinated by George Sawaya and stunts by Phil Adams, Bobby Bass, David Cadiente, Fred Carson, Kenny Endoso, Alan Oliney, Frank Orsatti, Victor Paul, and Ron Veto), the western The Wild Bunch (1969, with stunts by Tony Epper, Lou Elias, Roy N. Sickner, Bob Herron, and Gary Combs), the comedy The Great Bank Robbery (1969), with stunts by Carl Saxe, Allen Pinson, Carey Loftin, Jack Perkins, Bob Miles, Bennie E. Dobbins, Carol Daniels, Bill Catching, and Paul Baxley), and the western The Undefeated (1969, stunt coordinated by Hal Needham).
In the 1970s, he performed stunts in the western Chisum (1970), Molly and Lawless John (1972), and The Culpepper Cattle Co. (1972), the drama Class of '44 (1973, with Walker Edmiston), the action thriller Three the Hard Way (1974, starring Fred Williamson and stunts by Dick Ziker, Jophery C. Brown, Charlie Picerni, Buddy Joe Hooker, and Bob Minor), the science fiction comedy A Boy and His Dog (1975), the crime drama Mitchell (1975), the western The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976), the music drama Bound for Glory (1976, stunt coordinated by Buddy Joe Hooker), the comedy Fun with Dick and Jane (1977, coordinated by Paul Baxley), the action comedy Smokey and the Bandit (1977), the comedy Zero to Sixty (1978), the action drama Convoy (1978), the action comedy Hooper (1978, directed by Hal Needham), and the crime comedy Sunburn (1979).
In addition, Orrison worked as stunt driver for the television series Harry O under stunt coordinator Craig R. Baxley between 1974 and 1975 and performed stunts in episodes of The Immortal (1970, with Alan Oliney, Frank Orsatti, and Charlie Picerni), Mannix (1971), and Alias Smith and Jones (1971).
Between 1979 and 1985, Orrison worked for stunt coordinator Paul Baxley as stunt double for actor James Best on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard along with fellow stunt performers Corey Michael Eubanks, Steve Kelso, Doug Coleman, Henry Kingi, Sr., and Gene LeBell. He was also the main stunt double for actor George Peppard on the television series The A-Team between 1983 and 1987 where he worked with actors Dwight Schultz and Melinda Culea, stunt coordinator Craig R. Baxley and stunt performers Lane Leavitt, Leslie Hoffman, Nick Dimitri, and Bobby Bass.
Further stunt work in the 1980s include the crime drama Tom Horn (1980), the sequel Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), the comedy In God We Tru$t (1980, with stunts by Christine Anne Baur, Kane Hodder, Pete Kellett, Pat McGroarty, and Mic Rodgers), the action comedy Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981), the thriller No Man's Land (1987, with stunts by Terry Jackson, Spiro Razatos, and Brian J. Williams), the action film Action Jackson (1988), the horror film The Seventh Sign (1988), the sequel Rambo III (1988), the action film Road House (1989, with stunts by Janet Brady, Gary Epper, Branscombe Richmond, Patricia Tallman, Anthony DeLongis, and Glenn R. Wilder), and the action comedy Tango & Cash (1989).
In the 1990s, Orrison worked as stunt driving double for Dolph Lundgren on the science fiction film Universal Soldier (1992) and performed stunts in the comedy Far Out Man (1990), the action drama Days of Thunder (1990), the action thriller Die Hard 2 (1990), the action film Stone Cold (1991), the fantasy sequel Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time (1991, stunt coordination by Al Jones), the television thriller Revenge on the Highway (1992), the crime drama Hoffa (1992), the action thriller Speed (1994), the science fiction film Stargate (1994), the television western The Avenging Angel (1995), the family adventure Two-Bits & Pepper (1995), and the television comedy Breast Men (1997).
Among his most recent work are stunts in the comedy The Wedding Planner (2001, with stunts by Merritt Yohnka and Gordon O. Hansen and stunt coordination by Corey Michael Eubanks), the comedy The Animal (2001), the television western The Last Cowboy (2003, stunt coordination by Clint Lilley), and the television crime drama Detective (2005, with stunts by Danny Downey, Caryn Mower, and Jim Palmer).
Star Trek appearances
TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles"
(uncredited)
DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations"
(archive footage)
