Carey Loftin

William Carey Loftin (January 31, 1914 – March 4, 1997, a.k.a. Cary Loftin, Carry Loftin, Carey Lofton, Gary Loftin, William Carey Loftin) was an American professional stuntman, stunt coordinator and actor in the U.S. film industry. He is considered to be one of the film industry's most accomplished stunt drivers. In a lengthy career spanning 61 years, his body of work included classic films such as Thunder Road, Bullitt, Vanishing Point, Duel, and The French Connection. He was posthumously inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001. Early life Loftin was born in Blountstown, Florida and grew up in Alabama and Mississippi where, he learned to ride a motorcycle when he was 10 years old. He attended high school in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and began his stunt career at the age of 19 as a member of a traveling motorcycle stunt show in the early 1930s. Having to constantly repair and maintain motorcycles made him a proficient mechanic. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, Loftin moved to Los Angeles, California in the late 1930s where he worked as a mechanic. Film industry career He began his career as a stuntman in the 1930s, working in serials such as Dick Tracy Returns and The Green Hornet. During the 1940s and 1950s, Loftin raced in many Southern California off-road motorcycle events such as the Catalina Grand Prix, the Big Bear Hare & Hound desert race, the Greenhorn Enduro and others. Loftin was soon being hired by film studios for his talent as a motorcycle stunt rider but, also became invaluable for his mechanical expertise on film sets. Although Loftin performed many different types of stunt work, it is his driving abilities for which he is most remembered. His stunt driving in the 1958 film Thunder Road was considered groundbreaking for its realism. He had an uncredited stunt driver role in the seminal 1966 auto racing film, Grand Prix. Loftin served as the uncredited stunt coordinator for the 1968 film Bullitt, which included one of the most influential car chase scenes in film history. He was also one of the stuntmen driving the green Ford Mustang during the chase scene filmed on the streets of San Francisco. While working on Bullitt, one of his fellow stuntmen called him "the greatest car man in the business". Loftin was also involved in the filming of the car chase scene in the 1971 film The French Connection, which is also considered one of the most impressive car chases in film history.