Australian film stuntman Grant Page, known for his work on films such as Mad Max, The Man From Hong Kong and Mad Dog Morgan, has died aged 85.
He died on Thursday, March 14 when the car he was driving left the roadway and crashed into a tree near Kendall, NSW.
His son, Leroy Page, posted a public tribute to his "legend" father on social media on March 15.
"He was working on several projects which made him very happy," he said in the social media post.
"He was in the highest spirits that I had seen him in, so he left this world in the positive way that he lived in this world."
The Australian stuntman was born in 1939 in Adelaide and grew up in South Australia.
After attending the University of Adelaide, Grant spent a number of years training with the Commandos where he developed skills that he would later use in his career as a stuntman on screen.
His most notable work in the film industry was during the 1970s and 1980s. He worked as a coordinator on the Australian action movies The Stuntmen (1973), Kung Fu Killers (1974), The Man From Hong Kong (1975), Mad Max (1979) and the cult horror film Death Ship (1980).
Grant also starred in the Australian TV show Danger Freaks in the 1970s.
He worked in the film industry for over 55 years and was involved in over 200 productions.
He worked with director Brian Trenchard-Smith on a number of projects in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mr Trenchard-Smith posted a touching tribute to his friend of over 50 years following the news of his death.
"He was an inspiring man, who lived uncompromisingly," he said in the tribute.
"All those who knew Grant had their spirits lifted by the force of his inimitable personality and 'can-do' attitude to the challenges of his work.
"He was charming, witty and had a forceful intellect. But above all, Grant had a generous life-affirming spirit."
Mr Trenchard-Smith also highlighted Grant's career and what it meant for Australian cinema.
"Such eye-popping stunts were a major contribution to the development of our film industry, and got Australian genre films international respect," he said.
Grant relocated to Dunbogan on the NSW Mid North Coast and he bought a patch of land near Kendall on the bank of the Camden Haven River in 1988. He spoke to ACM's Port News in 2017 about using the land to create a safe adventure facility.
He wanted to pass on his knowledge to others.
"I want to pass on what I've learned about reasonable risk, safety and physics to help people overcome their fears," he said in 2017.
Grant also spoke to the Port News about his career and the stunts that stuck with him. He said his most foolish stunt involved fighting with a leopard in Africa while filming Danger Freaks.
"I was only supposed to fight the leopard for a few minutes but it took more than three hours to get it back into its cage," he said in 2017.
Grant ended up with several scratches and a badly chewed suit. The leopard was unscathed.
He told the Port News in 2021 that one of his most memorable and well-known stunts was driving for Vincent Gil as The Nightrider in George Miller's Mad Max.
He famously smashed a car through a caravan for one of the stunts.
"Vince was playing The Nightrider, but he didn't drive. So we had the car with two single seats, Lulu Pinkus sitting on one side, Vince the other and I was between them," he said in 2021.
"Vince had his hands on the top of the steering wheel, I was holding the bottom and had my feet on the pedals."
Grant returned as stuntman in the franchise for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985).
Most recently he worked as a stunt coordinator on Patrick: Evil Awakens (2013), Gods of Egypt (2016), Mechanic: Resurrection (2016), The Defector (2018) and The Legend of the Five (2020).
