Australian Mad Max stuntman Grant Page has died in a car accident.
The 85-year-old screen legend was driving alone near his home in Kendall on the mid-north coast of New South Wales on Thursday when he hit a tree.
His son Leroy Page told Daily Mail Australia that ambulance and police were on the scene within minutes. No further details about the accident have been released.
Leroy, 49, described his father as a ‘legend’ and said the tragic accident came at a time when Grant was making plans for new projects.
‘He died in very high spirits and he was very motivated. He was very happy.’
World-famous Australian ‘Mad Max’ stuntman Grant Page has died in a car accident. The 85-year-old screen legend was driving alone near his home on the New South Wales north coast on Thursday when he hit a tree. In the picture: Subsidy page
Grant Page was a pioneer of Australia’s golden age of cinema in the 1970s.
His long list of credits includes such action-oriented films as Mad Max (1979), Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985), The Man from Hong Kong (1975) and Roadgames (1981).
Page also had a secondary career as an actor, appearing in Deathcheaters (1976) and Stunt Rock (1978).
Pictured: Grant Page in a scene from Stunt Rock (1978).
Page recently worked on George Miller’s film Three Thousand Years of Longing and the Mad Max prequel Furiosa as a stunt performer.
His long-time friend and former manager Brian Trenchard-Smith posted a moving tribute to Page on his blog on Thursday.
“Grant Page was Australia’s pioneering stunt performer and my friend for 52 years,” Trenchard-Smith said.
Pictured: A Grant Page stunt scene in Mad Max (1979).
‘I will miss him terribly. He was an inspiring man who lived uncompromisingly.
‘Most people accept that age weighs us down, gravity holds us down, death awaits us if we dare too much. Not necessarily, said Grant as he successfully fiddled with the laws of physics and probability.’
In the documentary Not Quite Hollywood, Trenchard-Smith summarized Page’s extraordinary skill and daring.
‘He’s the guy you make dodging the cars, sliding down the cliff on fire, jumping into the water and fighting the shark.’
Known for his extraordinary ability to stage eye-catching stunts with vehicles, Page was famous for a trick known as ‘the transfer’.
Page recently worked on George Miller’s film Three Thousand Years of Longing and Mad Max prequel Furiosa (star Anja Taylor-Joy pictured) as a stunt performer
This involved Page climbing out of the window of a car into another car traveling side by side at high speed.
He was also famous for jumping off burning cliffs and his ability to resist being ‘hit’ by a fast moving vehicle.
Page was survived by his four sons Adrian, 52, Jeremy, 51, Leroy, 49, Gulliver, 47, ex-wife Joy and former partner Ulli.
Grant was known as ‘indefatigable’ in the film world.
