John ‘Bud’ Cardos dies at 91: Animal handler, stuntman and director has passed away at his Californian ranch
John ‘Bud’ Cardos died in his sleep at the age of 91 on Thursday.
The entertainment industry veteran filled many roles during his career, and worked as an animal wrangler, a stuntman and a director.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cardos passed away at his home in Acton, California, where he maintained a horse ranch.
In memoriam: John ‘Bud’ Cardos, who worked as an animal handler, an actor and a director, died at the age of 91 on Thursday; he is seen in a 2018 documentary entitled Danger God
The multitalented performer is survived by his two daughters.
Cardos was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1929 and moved to California as a child.
His father was the manager of the famed Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and his uncle managed the Egyptian theatre.
The director started out in the entertainment industry by appearing in several of Max Roach’s Our Gang short films.
Multitalented figure: Cardos worked as an animal handler and as a stuntman early in his career, and eventually began directing films, including the 1980 science fiction film The Day Time Ended
During his teenage years, Cardos became a rodeo rider and helped transport horses to the sets of various western films.
He was later hired as the animal handler for Alfred Hitchcock’s seminal 1936 thriller film The Birds.
He notably appeared in various features that were helmed by veteran director Al Adamson, including Satan’s Sadists, Five Bloody Graves and Blood Of Dracula’s Castle, among various others.
After becoming well known for his physical abilities on camera, Sam Peckinpah hired Cardos to perform stunts and act as a second unit director on the 1969 revisionist western film The Wild Bunch.
All over the place: In addition to his directing career, Cardos also worked as an actor and as a production manager
The actor also worked as a production manager on various low-budget exploitation films, including Hell’s Bloody Devils and The Rebel Rousers.
In 1970, the stuntman made his directorial debut with the film The Red, White and Black.
He would go on to direct the science fiction-horror film Kingdom Of The Spiders, which starred William Shatner.
Cardos’ other directorial ventures include The Dark, which was released in 1979, and The Day Time Ended, which made its debut the following year.
Longtime collaborator: Cardos worked with veteran director Al Adamson on several movies; the actor is seen performing in the 1969 film Satan’s Sadists
In addition to his career in the entertainment industry, the actor also produced western art in his free time.
In 2018, the performer was interviewed for the documentary Danger God, and described the qualities he thought were required for stuntmen.
Cardos remarked, ‘You’ve got to be very athletic, but that doesn’t mean you can do stunts.’
He went on to say, ‘A stunt, to me, has to be done without even thinking about it. You’ve got to know what you’re going to do, and it has to happen, that fast!’
Words of wisdom: in a 2018 interview, Cardos remarked that a stunt ‘has to be done without even thinking about it’
Advertisement
