The Captains and the Kings depart |
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| Written by: Mark Lyndon, London | Date: 30.06.2017 |
 Loren
Janes at the Pictureville cinema in 2012. Picture by Thomas Hauerslev“I was a stuntman for 50 years, appeared in over 500 movies and over 2,200 television shows, and never broke a bone,” Steve McQueen, Frank Sinatra Jack Nicholson, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Paul Newman, Charles Bronson, Robert Wagner, Tony Curtis, Yul Brynner, and of course Debbie Reynolds; he doubled and worked with them all. For those of us who have been lucky to attend the legendary Wide Screen Weekend through its golden years, one of the most memorable, moving and magical moments was the standing ovation given by delegates to a true Hollywood legend - Loren Janes. Coming at the precise moment of one of the most exciting and original stunts in the history of cinema *), the audience rose as one to pay tribute to pure cinematic genius - Loren Janes style. It still brings goose bumps! We learned the news of the passing of this great man with sorrow and dismay, yet tempered by some marvellous memories. We first met Loren in a heavy rain storm. He was every inch the archetypal, western hero, complete with Stetson. He was in the company of Tom March, Dave Strohmaier and Randy Gitsch, Cinerama legends in their own right. We took shelter in a pub and I bought Loren a pint - of milk! George Peppard sipping his milk in "How the West Was Won" immediately came to mind. That weekend, Loren introduced "West" to a spellbound Pictureville audience and gave us fascinating insights into the creation of some of the most thrilling scenes in the whole of cinema. He joined us for breakfast at the hotel and shared some wonderful anecdotes of his life and times in the greatest film industry of them all. Those times are now over, but what a legacy! *) Jumping off the roof of a moving runaway steam train, hitting a 30 feet tall cactus in mid air, and then fall to the desert ground. • See an interview with Loren, including the famous jump, here on YouTube |
More in 70mm reading: Loren Janes - Stuntman “How Lone Pine Won the West” Film Locations Tour Widescreen Weekend 2012 in70mm.com Remembers Internet link: Loren Janes' homepage See the jump on YouTube lat.com Loren Janes worked on the following large format films • Hello, Dolly! • Paint Your Wagon • Ice Station Zebra • The Dirty Dozen • Camelot • The Sand Pebbles • "The Greatest Story Ever Told" • Cheyenne Autumn • "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" • "How the West Was Won" • "Spartacus" |
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