RIP Bob Yerkes

 

Legendary Hollywood Stuntman Bob Yerkes Dies at 92

Movie Guide

October 2, 2024

 

Legendary Hollywood stuntman Bob Yerkes died this week at the age of 92.

 

“Bob was more than a mighty man of God, he was a faithful friend,” Movieguide® Publisher Dr. Ted Baehr said. “[My daughter] Evy [Carroll] and her family and I visited him as he was holding on bravely, but he knew he was graduating to be with Jesus Christ and was full of grace and love. He came to most of our Hollywood parties and MOVIEGUIDE® Annual Faith & Values Awards Galas & Report to the Entertainment Industry. Bob even won a lifetime MOVIEGUIDE® Award. Jesus is rejoicing, but we will miss him a lot.”

MOVIEGUIDE® host and producer (and Baehr’s daughter) Evy Carroll said, “Kinda like a grandfather type for us since he was always around since we were kids.”

Yerkes first joined the entertainment industry at 15 years old when he ran away from home to join the circus where he performed the teeterboard act. As his acrobatic skills improved, so did his opportunities. He performed in shows in Las Vegas and the Catskills and ultimately found his way onto movie sets.

“This is my 57th year in the business, and my body keeps going. I’ve broken my leg three times, nothing serious. When I was in Ringling in 1957, I started reading the Bible,” Yerkes previously told Movieguide®.

Yerkes’ performed stunts in multiple iconic movies, including GHOST BUSTERS, BACK TO THE FUTURE, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF, WHO FRAMED ROGER RABIT and more.

In 2004, Movieguide® honored Yerkes with the Special Lifetime Faith & Values Crystal Teddy® Awards.

Yerkes was recognized for “his tireless and superior efforts to help entertainers understand God’s love and grace.”

“It’s great to stand in for people,” he said at the time, “just like Jesus Christ, who stood in for all of us on the Cross.”

He continued: “I have been watching Hollywood come back to family-type films, and I’m watching more Christians move into leadership positions in the Entertainment Industry, and more of these come out of the Christian closet. Ted is doing such a great thing, and it’s having a great impact. Each year the awards Gala is bigger and better, and I’m here to give encouragement.”

Bob added, “Since the beginning, I’ve seen the MOVIEGUIDE® Awards grow each year, and I’m so excited about it…and I always take MOVIEGUIDE®’s with me when I go to work, I keep them backstage and talk to people and say, ‘You should subscribe to find out what really good films are, what you want to subject your mind to.’ More and more people are really getting into it — MOVIEGUIDE® and the awards.”

Yerkes continued to follow his passion for stunts well into his later years. His final credit is listed as 2017’s KILLING HASSELHOFF.

Yerkes leaves a strong legacy of faith and positivity in the entertainment industry. To hear more of his story in his own words, watch our interview below:

YERKES, Bob (Brayton Walter Yerkes)

Born: 2/11/1932, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Died: 10/1/2024, Northridge, Californiua, U.S.A.

 

Bob Yerkes westerns – stuntman, actor:

Little House on the Prairie (TV) – 1979 (tumbler)

The Legend of the Lone Ranger – 1981 [stunts]

Back to the Future Part III – 1990 [stunts]