Tributes have poured in following the death of Australian Mad Max stuntman Grant Page in a car crash.
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 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.
‘I will miss him terribly. He was an inspiring man who lived uncompromisingly.
Tributes have poured in following the death of Australian Mad Max stuntman Grant Page in a car crash. In the picture: Subsidy page
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
‘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.’
Director Jamie Blanks wrote to X: ‘I have just heard the devastating news of the passing of legendary Australian stuntman and dear friend, GRANT PAGE.
Grant was one of the most wonderful, kind and brave men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I deeply mourn the loss of this Australian legend today. RIP Grant.’
Film reviewer Dr. Luke Buckmaster wrote to X: ‘Australia’s greatest stuntman. I have never met anyone like him: a bold, brilliant, devilishly cheeky man whose legacy is written in tire stripes and burn marks’.
His long-time friend and former manager Brian Trenchard-Smith posted a moving tribute to Page on his blog on Thursday
Director Jamie Blanks wrote to X: ‘I have just learned the devastating news of the passing of the legendary Australian stuntman and my dear friend’
Film reviewer Dr. Luke Buckmaster wrote to X: ‘Australia’s greatest stuntman. I’ve never met anyone like him: a bold, brilliant, devilishly cheeky man whose legacy is written in tire stripes and burn marks”
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.’
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.’
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
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).
He recently worked on George Miller’s film Three Thousand Years of Longing and the Mad Max prequel Furiosa as a stunt artist.
Known for his extraordinary ability to stage eye-catching stunts with vehicles, Page was famous for a trick known as ‘the transfer’.
Image: A Grant Page stunt scene in Mad Max (1979)
Grant was known as ‘indefatigable’ in the film world
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.