Stuntman "El coloso de Rodas" 1961
Cinema
Boys who "do" the dangerous scenes in movies
The stunt doubles, the risk specialists, are film professionals who, in most cases, go unnoticed. Their exploits, almost always dangerous, die in the most complete oblivion. Among them, there is a kind of conspiracy not to reveal the names of the actors they double in the risky scenes and in this way not disappoint the public when they find out that the fabulous feat was not filmed by their favorite heartthrob.
And one of these specialists who wants to be considered this way is the young José Luis Chinchilla. This young man leads a group of risky Spanish filmmakers, all of them masters of swimming, accomplished ji-nets, weightlifters..., and specially trained for difficult falls. They are the ones who throw themselves from a tower onto cardboard boxes in the thick of a fight, or those who jump into the water from a height of 25 meters when the director orders it.
This last is the feat we have to tell you about one of these hard-working, but not poorly paid, young men. José Luis Chinchilla is the protagonist. The scene took place in Laredo, Santander, during the filming of "The Colossus of Rhodes." José Luis had to jump into the water from the aforementioned height, in a scene that the cameras talk about capturing as part of the film. It was an impressive jump. The young man is ne-
José Luis Chinchilla jumps into the water from a height of 25 meters to "double" Rory Calhoun in THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES
was going to do it, because due to the low tides at that time of year, there was only three meters of depth at the entrance to the port, a propitious place for the pirouette.
The day scheduled for the launch into space arrives, and Chinchilla flatly refuses. He doesn't dare. Filming is suspended and they wait to see if the mark is higher the next day. José Luis goes with his friends to a bar for a few drinks.
THE BET
"The thing is, you're afraid, and even if there were a depth of twenty meters, you wouldn't jump in."
Who told you that? To prove I'm not a coward, if you bet two thousand pesetas right now and pay for the "Cuba libres," I'll jump in now."
"That's all bragging. Deal."
He paid for the drink and they all headed together to the monumental statue of the wooloso, followed by quite a few spectators. José Luis climbed up to the latter's legs.
He reached the platform that was prepared for the jump, and ordered
This is the impressive Chinchilla jump. From the statue of the Colossus, at twenty-five meters high, it descends vertiginously towards the water.
(Photo: Hoya Corral.)
