RIP Neil Summers

 

The Hollywood actor and stuntman worked alongside Elvis, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood.

The Daily Beast

By Erkki Forster

September 10, 2025

 

Neil Summers, a veteran Hollywood stuntman who transitioned into acting, has died at 81. The English-born performer was best known for playing The Rodent in the 1990 crime-action movie Dick Tracy, and Dougy in the 1987 sci-fi action film RoboCop. Summers died last Thursday at his home in Kanab, Utah, TMZ reported, citing family friend David Friedman. He is said to have been surrounded by loved ones. Though an official cause of death has not been released, Summers is believed to have died of natural causes, according to TMZ. Beyond Dick Tracy, Summers’ filmography also includes appearances in films like The Shawshank Redemption and My Name Is Nobody. He acted in numerous TV shows, including Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and The Fall Guy, according to his IMDb page. As a stuntman, he worked on set with Elvis Presley, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood, according to Daily Mail. Among his credits are Holes, Bedazzled, U.S. Marshalls, Harry and the Hendersons, Howard the Duck, Better Off Dead, The Outlaw Josey Wales, El Dorado, and two Naked Gun films. Summers doubled for actors such as Warren Oates, Roddy McDowall, Michael Anderson Jr., and Michael J. Pollard. He is survived by his longtime partner, Karen, as well as his sister, niece, and nephew, TMZ reported.

SUMMERS, Neil (Nicholas Sylvere Summers)

Born: 4/28/1944, Bromley, Kent, England U.K.

Died: 9/4/2025, Kanab, Utah, U.S.A

 

Neil Summers’ westerns – stuntman, stunt coordinator, actor.

McLintock! – 1963 [stunts]

Cheyenne Autumn – 1964 [stunts]

Arizona Raiders – 1965 [stunts]

The Great Sioux Massacre – 1965 [stunts]

The Rounders – 1965 [stunts]

Shenandoah – 1965 [stunts]

Daniel Boone (TV) – 1965 (settler)

Duel at Diablo – 1966 (trooper) [stunts]

El Dorado – 1966 [stunts]

The Plainsman – 1966 [stunts]

Ride the Whirlwind – 1966 (Ward) [stunts]

The Shooting – 1966 [stunts]

Death Valley Days (TV) – 1966-1970 (cowboy, deputy, soldier) [stunts]

The Last Challenge – 1967 [stunts]

Rough Night in Jericho – 1967 [stunts]

A Time for Killing – 1967 [stunts]

The Violent Ones – 1967 [stunts]

Cimarron Strip (TV) – 1967 (trooper)

Dundee and the Culhane (TV) – 1967

The High Chaparral (TV) – 1967-1971 (trooprt, ranch hand, Colonel Ruiz’s man) [stunts]

Heaven with a Gun – 1969 (Beck’s man) [stunts]

Mackenna’s Gold – 1969 [stunts]

True Grit – 1969 [stunts]

A Time for Dying – 1969 [stunts]

Young Billy Young – 1969 [stunts]

Dirty Dingus Magee – 1970 [stunts]

Monte Walsh – 1970 [stunts]

Rio Lobo – 1970 [stunts]

Bonanza (TV) – 1970, 1971 (posse man, cowboy)

The Animals – 1971 (Charlie Boggs)

Scandalous John – 1971 (cowboy)

Shootout – 1971 [stunts]

Wild Rovers – 1971 (ranch hand)

Bearcats (TV) – 1971 (Zaval’s man, soldier, bandit) [stunts]

The Legend of Nigger Charley – 1971 [stunts]

Dirty Little Billy – 1972 [stunts]

Joe Kidd – 1972 (posse man)

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean – 1972 (Sanke River Rufus Krile) [stunts]

My Name Is Nobody – 1972 (Squirrel/Wild Bunch) [stunts]

Ulzana’s Raid – 1972 (trooper)

Appointment with Destiny: Showdown at O.K. Corral (tv) – 1972 (John Galody)

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1972-1974 (Comanchero, townsman,

Guns of a Stranger – 1973 [stunts]

The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing – 1973 [stunts]

One Little Indian – 1973 [stunts]

Boss Nigger – 1974 (Clayton’s man) [stunts]

The Trial of Billy Jack – 1974 (bus thug)

The Hanged Man (TV) – 1974 [stunts]

Little House on the Prairie (TV) – 1974-1983 [stunts]

The Gun and the Pulpit (TV) – 1974 (posse man) [stunts]

Adios Amigo – 1975

The Red Badge of Courage (TV) – 1974 (soldier)

Hawmps! – 1976 [stunts]

Joshua – 1976 (sheriff) [stunts]

The Last Hard Man – 1976 [stunts]

How the West Was Won (TV) – 1976-1979 [stunts]

The Outlaw Josey Wales – 1976 [stunts]

The Quest (TV) – 1976 [stunts]

Centennial (TV) – 1978-1979 [stunts]

Smokey and the Good Time Outlaws – 1978 (cowboy) [stunt coordinator]

The Legend of Grizzly Adams – 1980 (Jake)

The Gambler (TV) – 1980 (Polo)

Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (TV) – 1982 (halfbreed) [stunts]

Stagecoach (TV) – 1986 [stunts]

Sunset – 1988 [stunts]

Young Guns – 1988 [stunts]

The Tracker (TV) – 1988 (bad guy) [stunts]

Cold Feet – 1989 [stunts]

Lucky Luke (TV) – 1990-1991 (Deputy Virgil)

Lucky Luke – 1991 (Deputy Virgil)

Posse – 1992 [stunts]

Bad Girls – 1994 (Ned)

Troublemakers – 1994 (Dodge)

Los Locos – 1997 [stunts]

The Quick and the Dead – 1995 [stunts]

Avenging Angel (TV) – 2007 [stunts]

Appaloosa – 2008 (Bragg henchman) [stunts]

Doc West (TV) – 2008 (Santa Fe Sheriff) [stunt coordinator]

Triggerman (TV) – 2008 (Santa Fe Sheriff)