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I was born on 22
June 1959 in Liverpool Road, Islington, London. My Mother
and Father, Eddie and Marjory, had 3 children, myself and
two sisters Sarah and Christine. Most of my childhood was
spent, like most young boys, playing football and aspiring
to be the next George Best, yet at the age of 12, I was inspired
by a film about Evel Knievel, and thought that stunt bike
jumping looked a much more interesting career path to follow.
So I started training on an ordinary beat up bicycle, jumping
over oil cans, barrells and sometimes even my school mates!!
Within just 2 years I joined the Cyclo-Maniacs stunt team
and within a year of joining the team became holder of the
Junior World Jump Record by successfully soaring over eight
coaches on a motorcycle....
At
the age of 18, my earlier inspiration and dedication paid
off when I successfully jumped a distance of over 190ft, clearing
14 double decker buses, which you can see in the photos above.
I had become the first ever stunt jumper to ever cover such
a distance and retain control of the bike after the jump.
After this amazing stunt, I found myself making world headlines
by flambouyantly jumping in some very dangerous places. For
the film 'Hanover Street' starring Harrison Ford, I doubled
for Harrison and jumped 120ft at 90mph over a ravine in Shepton
Mallett, Somerset, with a dummy strapped to my back!!! Was
I really that mad? The director of 'Hanover Street' was quoted
as saying " there was nobody else in the world capable
of, or prepared to do, the leap". Obviously I was that
mad!!
I then
went on to make a movie called 'Riding High' in which I had
landed the starring role of 'Dave Munday' a motorcyle messenger.
In this movie I had to perform one of the most dangerous of
all the jumps I had done so far. I had to jump over a broken
railway bridge into a head wind of 30mph, with the rocks of
the river Blackwater calling out to me from below, but I made
it in true Eddie Kidd stlye, and never lost control of the
bike on landing.
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The
Levi Ad
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Me
and the cast in Riding High
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Stunt
Double in Bulls Eye
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My
career was only just beginning and I suddenly found companies
all over the world were eager to get this 18 year old pin
up daredevil to promote their products and model their clothing.
Some of the more famous commercials that I appeared in were
for Levi Strauss, Sunsilk and Veida. I was even given a recording
contract with Decca, me sing, Ha!!. Everybody seemed to want
a piece of Eddie Pie!! The name Eddie Kidd became a household
name and teeneage girls all around the world would emblazon
their bedroom walls with 'Black Knight' posters and T-shirts........
I had made it!! What a feeling that is, to know that you are
a somebody.... It was a fantastic time of my life... something
I look back on with very fond memories!!
I went on to perform
stunts in many films and TV programmes including, Judge Dredd,
Michael Collins, Young Indiana Jones, Londons Burning, The
Bill, Heartbeat, Casualty and Dempsey and Makepeace. I was
also stunt double for Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in Goldeneye
and suprisingly, I was also in First Knight!! I don't remember
any horses in the middle ages - anyway, I was in it - honest!!
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World
Title Belt against Robbie Kneivel
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On
set with Melanie Griffiths
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Ron
Templeman, Me and Taddy Okada at Castrol Honda HQ
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During all the fame
and fortune years, I never forgot my true passion and continued
to make death defying jumps, always to please my fans all
over the world. If you are interested in taking a look at
some of the main and important jumps that I achieved, then
click on the link 'Jump History'. At this point in my life,
I decided that it was high time to take my motorcycle test
and passed it in 1995 !!! Well I was so busy all the time
that I never seemed to get around to doing it..
Right up until that
cruel day on August 11th 1996 at Long Marston, Warwickshire,
I lived and breathed for daredevil stunt riding and continually
pushed myself to jump further and faster and thrived on the
thrilling show stopping stunts that I performed to please
my millions of fans across the world.
After my accident,
I fell into a coma for many months and had sustained serious
injuries, including an injury to my brain. I regained conciousness
much to the relief and delight to, not only my friends and
family, but to my millions of worldwide fans that had followed
me throughout my daredevil career. These severe injuries have
left me confined to a wheelchair, however, this does not prevent
me from leading a full and rewarding life. Even now I have
to get my hands around a throttle and spend many hours riding
around on my quad bike.......... Once a biker always a biker.
I spend a great deal of my time working to combat this disability.
My friends are fantastic and I know they are always there
to support me and give me fresh hope and courage.......I absolutely
refuse to let this beat me......
It's that old Arnie
saying..........................' I'll be back ' ...........
and rest assured I will!!
| Name
|
Eddie
Kidd |
| Place of Birth
|
Islington
London |
| Date of Birth |
22 June
1959 |
| Height |
5' 11'' |
| Colour of Hair
|
Black |
| Colour of Eyes
|
Green
( Mum disagrees, she thinks they're Hazel) |
| Birthmark |
Light
patch in hair |
| Favourite
Food |
Sushi |
| Favourite Drink |
Saki |
| Favourite Actor |
Clint
Eastwood |
| Favourite Actress |
Demi Moore
|
| Favourite Bands
|
Light
House Family, Aerosmith, Fine Young Cannibals |
| Hobbies |
Quad Biking,
Eating Out, Reading |
| Favourite Colour |
Red, White,
Blue & Black |
| Fears |
Women.. No only kidding
it's drowning or being burnt alive, morbid I know...
|
| Ambition |
To walk.... |
| His sort of girl |
All (
Ron rekons anything of the female species breathing!!!
) |
I have recently
got my hands on the information that was recorded on the Stunt
Register about the skills that were accredited to me. I guess
it was like a CV. I didn't realise that I was so versatile!!
( Published 1996 ) - The year of my accident.
Statistics
Height 5ft 11in
Weight 12 st
Chest 40/42
Waist 32 in
Hips 36 in
Inside Leg 32 in
Inside arm 22 in
Shoe size 8
Collar 16 & half in
Hat 7 & half in
Hair colour black
Eye colour green
CREDITS
Stunt arranger over the wall ( Documentary
)
Sunsilk (Commercial )
Stunt performer: Hanover Street ( Doubled
Harrison Ford )
Goldeneye ( Doubled Pierce Brosnan )
Top Secrets ( Doubled Val Kilmer )
Bull's eye ( Doubled Roger Moore and Michael
Caine ) not a lot of people know that!!!!
Judge Dredd, First Knight, Michael Collins,
Young Indiana Jones, London's Burning, The Bill, Casualty,
A Touch of Frost, McCallum, Dr Who,
CAPABILITIES
Long distance motorcycle jumper, car stunts,
air ram, scuba diving, water ski-ing, plus jumps, jet ski-ing,
snow ski-ing, abseiling, high falls (one hundred feet plus),
horse riding, firework, martial arts, wire work
ACTING EXPERIENCE
Lead role in feature film. Many small parts
in major Television programmes, Films and Stage.
SPECIAL SKILLS
Long Distance Motorcycle Jumps over Bridges,Viaducts,
Rivers etc.
PERSONAL EQUIPMENT
Owns or has access to all eqipment needed.
Has worked extensively for television and
film over the last twenty one years as a personality, a motorcycle
stunt rider and stuntman.
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