 Introducing the Daredevil's of Hollywood. Hey in here, will you? Over a little. Yeah, that's right. Now make it hot. You want a high hat on this camera, Mr. Martin? No, that's okay. Well, you all set, Joe? Have you got that stunt straight? I think so. I'm supposed to drive this crate around the corner at 60 miles an hour and crash into that flaked glass window. Is that right? Yeah, that's exactly it. And listen, Joe, when you hit that window, hit it. You know what I mean? Oh, don't worry. I'll spray that drugstore all over the street. Yeah, good boy. Now take care of yourself. Okay, everybody, okay? That'll give me plenty of ride. And a boy. Well, all right, everybody. Listen to take. Now quiet, please. Quiet. Okay, give him a signal. Turn him over. Well, he'll be makes it. Listen, don't worry. That boy knows his stuff. Oh, man, look at him go around. From Hollywood, the motion picture capital of the world, we bring you the thrilling two life experiences of those men behind the scenes. Those daring unsung heroes whose breathtaking adventures on the screen have thrilled millions. Whose daily jobs bring them face to face with death. Those men who comprise the strangest fraternity on earth. The Suicide Squad. The movie Stuntmen. The Daredevil of Hollywood. Ladies and gentlemen, in bringing you this copyrighted feature, we are privileged to have as our guest one of the top-notch stuntmen of Hollywood, Bob Rose. It is through his cooperation that we are able to re-enact some of the highlights of his dangerous profession. The thrilling scenes you are about to hear are his own actual experiences. Bob Rose is here in the studio right now. And later in the program, we will bring him to the microphone. But first, let us learn something of his job. It is a typical California day in 1921. The picturesque shoreline of Laguna Beach lies stretched out for miles in a lazy sprawl. In some places, smooth beds of white sand listen in the sunshine. Other points, large jagged rocks rear themselves majestically into a peaceful blue sky. At a point in these rocks, we find a single towering stone which rises to a height of 40 feet, standing some short distance from the shore. It is here that a motion picture company has set up location. Ruth Roland is making a serial, The White Eagle. A very difficult and dangerous scene is to be photographed. And Ms. Roland has called in Hollywood's top stuntman, Bob Rose, who is to do that scene. The scene is being used as an office. We find Mr. Van Hayden, the director, his assistant, and Bob Rose. The director speaks. Well, I'm going to tell you right now, Bob, this is going to be plenty tough. Frankly, I don't know how you're going to do it. Don't you worry about that, Mr. Van Hayden. I've never seen one yet that Bob couldn't figure out. Well, now let's just start from scratch. What is the gag? Well, Bob, you see that big rock out there all by itself? Yeah. We're going to build a grass hut on the top of that rock. We're going to build a stone pole up to the center to about 40 feet. Right on top of the pole, we build a little crow's nest, sort of a lookout to get the idea. Yeah, I see. That makes the lookout 85 feet above the water. Yeah, that's right. Now, the cannibals are supposed to be chasing you and to escape them, you run up into the crow's nest and pull the ladder up. I see. And then what happened? Well, then the cannibals set the grass hut on fire and that burns the pole in too. Yeah, and then the whole works until the fall will throw me clear. The only thing is, that rig won't fall into the ocean. The stiff winds in the sea will blow it right smack into the rocks there on the shore. Well, how are you going to manage it, Bob? Well, let's see. The only thing to do is to anchor a boat out there about 200 yards. String piano wire from the top of it to the lookout. Oh, I see. And then when she starts to burn in too, the boat keeps attention on the wire and pulls it over into the water, huh? That's right. Okay, Bob, we'll rig it up for you. Bill, what do you think? Well, you know, I'd rather you to string the wire of the last thing, Mr. Hayden. The saw layer weakens it, you know. Well, whatever you say, Bob. Well, now I get to get over to San Pedro and charter a boat, and now we got to build that hot eye. I think we can shoot this Monday morning. That's okay with me. Be seeing you Monday, Bob. Guess we might as well knock off for the day, Bill. Okay. For the next three days, preparations are made for the big scene. The sound of hammers and saws fades to silence as platforms, grass huts, and other properties shape into being. Every instruction has been carried out to the letter. That is, all but one. Through error, property men have strung the wire too soon, and Bob Rose, after a thorough inspection, has ordered new wire. This order, because of carelessness, has not been observed. So there, soaring into the air, 85 feet, stands a tower supported by rusty corroded strands of wire attached to a boat 200 yards out to sea. A hard wind is blowing in from the ocean. The high pole is already swaying in the stiff breeze. Bob Rose, unaware of the imperfect rigging, stands at the foot of the ladder puffing a cigarette. He is chatting with the director. Well, how do you feel, Bob? Oh, I'm okay. This is a cinch as long as that wire doesn't break. Well, if something does happen, maybe you can just dive in that little channel there between the big rock and the shore. Now, that'll be all right if the breakers can't be rolling in just then. But the waves are running back to sea. Well, the channel'd only be about a foot deep. Oh, I think everything's going to be okay. Let's hope so anyway. Well, how about it? All set? Sure, anytime. I'm ready. Okay, everybody, all ready. Here we go. Now, Bob, you get up there and we'll take a picture. This might not quiet down. Hey, stick a mask to that hut now. All right, camera. Maybe it burns like gasoline. Yeah, it sure does. The wind is catching already. Say, that wind is certainly blowing. Hey! Take off that slack and keep pulling it over. Oh, there goes the wire. Hey, for the love of Pete, the wire's broken. Who is? And the pole is going to fall. Look, he's rocking it. He's trying to break it over into the wall. Yes, but he can't do that. The wind is blowing it back. It's falling. Sit down! Boy, it's sure a lucky thing that big wave commander had never have made it. Oh, boy, what a narrow escape. Say, you rode that falling tower to about halfway down. Yeah, plenty luck, all right. But very well. Come on, let's get going. What you're waiting for? Let's rig up another tower and make that next scene. Oh, no, that one was good enough for me. Say, boy, that's better than we planned. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our pleasure to present the courageous young man who not only made that scene, but hundreds like it. Bob Rose, interviewed by Kurt Forman. Well, you certainly had us going there for a minute, Bob. That was plenty exciting. It was pretty exciting at the time, too. Bob, tell me, how long have you been doing stunts for the movie? Now you're trying to find out my age. I won't tell you. But I did work with Pearl White, Ruth Roland, Eddie Polo, and a lot of those. That ought to give you some idea. Well, that's very interesting. Now, have you ever been injured in all these years? No, not seriously. There was a funny thing that happened on an airplane gag once, though. Dick Grace was supposed to fly the ship. I was to do a transfer from a motorboat to the plane. It was down at a point... Just a minute, Bob. We'll see our announcer standing over there, and he gets a turn right here. But we'll hear about that airplane stunt in just a moment. Okay, Bob, now, what about that airplane stunt? Where all is? Well, it was on location down near San Pedro. The name of the picture was the Haunted Valley, also with Ruth Roland. It was a very simple gag. All I had to do was stand on the speedboat and grab a rope ladder that hung down from the airplane. Everything looked all right, too. The boat was plenty fast. Well, I wasn't worried about the plane. Dick Grace, you know, can fly for me any day. But this old boy with the boat, he wanted to argue with us. He was telling me that he could take his boat. Now, looky here. If you young upstarts think you can tell me how to run a boat, you've got another thinker coming. Why, I've been running boats for nigh on 40 years. Well, that's just fine, Bob. But you see, airplanes can't turn as sharp as boats. When you go around that lighthouse, make your turn wide. Get the point? Of course I get the point. Of course I get it. You just leave this boat to me. I'll handle it. Okay, crank her up and let's get going. You all set, aren't you, Dick? Sure, sure, any time. Very ID. Them fellas are telling me how to run a boat. I'll show them. Hey, Bob, give me a crank, will you? Sure. Switch off. Contact. Contact. I've seen you on the landing gear, Bob. Okay, Pop. You ready to ride? Let's get her going. Right out here, Pop, in the smooth water. You fellas sure got a funny way of making a living, eh, chick? Yeah, I guess so, Pop. Not bad, though. Now, here he comes. Remember that wife turned around the lighthouse? Take it easy, Pop. Widen your turn. You're going too close to the lighthouse, Pop. Take it easy. Grab that ladder, son. Hang on, hang on. It's better to be off the boat. Widen your turn, Pop. Holy mackerel. It's dragging in through the water. Whoopie, 85 miles an hour. Look at him bounce. Bob, you certainly were in a tough spot there. I sure was. Uh, what happened? What did you do? Well, I bounced along there for a while, an awful long while, it seemed to me. Then I hit a big swell, it threw me all over the place. Well, threw me way up into the air, to be exact. That gave the ship a chance to gain altitude, and I climbed up the ladder and just got on the plane. Uh, it's too bad that you had to suffer for that old fellow's mistake. Now, look, what did you, uh, how did you happen to get into this business? Well, uh, just one of those things, you know. Just had to happen, that's all it was to it. I decided to be an aviator. Stuntman, there I was. Anyhow, it's a long, long story if I were to tell you all of it. I started out as a race jockey when I was nine years old. Then about the age of 15, I started motorcycle racing, wild west shows, high diving acts, and all kinds of things like that. Then I finally got to doing those things for the movies. Bob, if you had your life to live over again, would you be a stuntman? I sure would, boy. Would a duck do without its wings? Well, you've certainly given us an exciting and an entertaining time, and on behalf of our listeners, I want to sincerely thank you for coming here. I know that everyone joins me in hoping that we may have you on this program again very soon. Goodbye, old man, and happy landing.