Buddy Mason

Horse Specialist
Stunt Double
Wrangler/Animal Specialist
High Fall Specialist
Stunt Actor

Hollywood Stunts Hall of Fame Inductee

Silent Era (1895–1927)

Induction Year: 1984

Stunt Performer

Buddy Mason was one of the true pioneers of Hollywood stunt work, beginning his motion picture career in 1920 and performing stunts from 1922 until a broken back ended his active stunt career in 1942. During the Silent Era and early sound period, he doubled many of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Fred Thomson, Alan Hale Sr., Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Errol Flynn in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936). A versatile performer equally comfortable with horse falls, high falls, cliff jumps, vehicle transfers, and action comedy, Mason helped define the craft during its formative decades. He later remained active as an extra and stand-in while sharing his memories and experiences with future generations, preserving valuable firsthand accounts of stunt work’s earliest years. His career stands as a bridge between the birth of motion pictures and the modern stunt profession.

Career Highlights

One of Hollywood’s Original Professional Stuntmen — Began working in motion pictures in 1920 and performing stunts in 1922, making him one of the earliest generation of full-time stunt performers in Hollywood history.
Doubled Many of the Greatest Stars of the Silent and Early Sound Eras — Served as a stunt double for Fred Thomson, Alan Hale Sr., Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Errol Flynn, Jack Holt, Warner Baxter, Monte Blue, Billy Sullivan, Tom Santschi, George Brent, and numerous other stars across decades of filmmaking.
A Pioneer Who Helped Shape Modern Stunt Safety — Credited himself with introducing one of the earliest portable stunt pad systems in the 1920s, helping normalize protective equipment at a time when many stunt performers considered pads a sign of weakness.

Biography

Buddy Mason belonged to the first generation of men who transformed stunt work from a collection of daredevil feats into a specialized profession. Entering motion pictures in 1920 and beginning stunt work in 1922, he arrived at a time when the industry was still inventing the techniques, equipment, and safety practices that would later become standard. Long before airbags, modern pads, or sophisticated rigging systems, Mason built a reputation as a dependable performer capable of handling nearly any physical challenge placed before him.

Throughout the Silent Era, Mason became one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stunt doubles. According to his own recollections, he doubled nearly every major action star of the period at one time or another. Among the actors he specifically cited were Fred Thomson, Alan Hale Sr., Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Jack Holt, Warner Baxter, Monte Blue, Billy Sullivan, Tom Santschi, and many others. His work ranged from westerns and serials to adventure pictures, helping audiences believe the impossible was happening on screen.

Mason’s stunt repertoire was remarkably broad. Surviving photographs and records show him performing horse falls, cliff dives, transfers between moving vehicles, rooftop stunts, and dangerous riding sequences. One of his most notable assignments came when he doubled Errol Flynn during the production of The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936). His Hall of Fame files also reference work on numerous serials and western productions ranging from the Francis Ford films and Berwilla Studio productions to the popular Jack Holt serials. Mason was the type of all-around stuntman who could be called upon for virtually any action sequence.

Among the many stories Mason shared with Hall founder Johnny Hagner was his recollection of performing one of his most dangerous assignments while filming Africa Speaks. In that production he worked with a condemned lioness named Flora-Mae inside an enclosed set, relying on carefully coordinated gunfire and timing for protection. Equally significant was Mason’s role as an early advocate for stunt safety. In a 1965 letter to Hagner, he described creating one of the industry’s earliest portable pad bags by adapting athletic pads and carrying them to work, despite being ridiculed by fellow stuntmen who considered protective equipment unnecessary.

After suffering a broken back in 1942, Mason stepped away from active stunt performing but remained connected to the film industry through extra and stand-in work. He also became one of the most valuable sources of information about Hollywood’s earliest stunt era, providing interviews, photographs, and personal recollections that preserved a chapter of film history that might otherwise have been lost. Inducted into the Hollywood Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame in 1984, Buddy Mason remains an important link to the generation that built the foundations of modern stunt work.

Awards and Honors

Hollywood Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame Inductee (1984)

Distinctions & Industry Recognition

One of Hollywood’s earliest professional stunt performers (active as a stuntman beginning in 1922)
Recognized stunt double for numerous Silent Era and Golden Age stars Early advocate of stunt safety equipment and protective padding
Contributor to the preservation of Hollywood stunt history through interviews, correspondence, photographs, and archival materials
Veteran performer whose career spanned Silent Era, early sound films, serials, westerns, and later stand-in work

Notable Filmography

Year	Title	Position
1924	Thundering Hoofs	Stunt Performer / Double
1925	The Kit Guard	Stunt Performer
1926	The Danger Rider	Stunt Performer
1927	The Return of Boston Blackie	Stunt Performer
1930	The Lone Defender	Stunt Performer
1931	The Galloping Ghost	Stunt Performer
1933	Lucky Devils	Stunt Performer
1936	The Charge of the Light Brigade	Stunt Performer / Double
1938	The Lone Ranger	Stunt Performer
1949	I Cheated the Law	Actor / Stunt Performer