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Bud Ekins
Bud Ekins. It's a name I heard a lot
when I was a kid. Racer, stuntman, Triumph rider, and more.
Bud Ekins passed away at 77 in October 2007. We learned about a
memorial at Warner Brothers Studios, and several of us attended. It
was quite an event.
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We first met at Johnson Motors in
Pasadena. Johnson Motors sells books and other things related to
British bikes and cars. This is my friend Robert and his wife Carmen
on their Triumph Bonneville. |
| A Vincent parked in the alley
behind Johnson Motors. |
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Another classic, a big Matchless
single. |
| Here's a fellow coming in on an
antique Indian. That's the horn behind the headlight. |
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| A modern Triumph Sprint
exhaust. The Triumph Sprint has a three-cylinder engine.
There's a lot of flare in this photo, but I liked it. |
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| Here's an older Triumph
Bonneville. |
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| Another photo of that
Indian. The blue and silver bike behind it is a modern Triumph
Bonneville. |
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Another old Matchless
single.
Bud Ekins raced both Triumphs and Matchless
motorcycles. Both were made in England. |
| Here's a restored Triumph Speed
Twin. |
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| This is another early Triumph,
with the single-crab engine and an upswept exhaust pipe for off road
riding. |
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| After meeting at Johnson
Motors, the group rode over to Warner Brothers Studios. There were
quite a few older British and American motorcycles in the
procession. The people who arranged the tribute to Bud Ekins wanted
the attendees' bikes to be on display, and it was quite a display:
Antiques, modern motorcycles, and many of the vehicles Bud Ekins used in
his movies. I knew that Bud Ekins had done motorcycle stunt work,
but I did not know that he also did many of the automobile stunts. Bullitt
(one of my favorite movies) and its incredible chase scenes were mostly
done by Bud Ekins. He did the stunts in The Blues Brothers (another
one of my favorites). Most people know about the motorcycle jump
scene in The Great Escape. The people at Warner Brothers had
assembled a short movie about Bud Ekins' life, and the movies he
did. One that surprised me was the scene in Animal House,
another favorite movie, where "D-Day" rode up the stairway in the
fraternity house. |
| Here's a very exclusive Ducati
on the Warner Brothers Studios lot. A
few years ago, Ducati sold these during a brief window on the
internet. They sold out in minutes and command premium prices now. |
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To honor Bud Ekins, Triumph will
offer a 2009 Bud Ekins model based on their current Scrambler. This
is the first one shown to the public. |
| This is the Warner Brothers
movie theater. |
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| This is the original 1962
Triumph that Bud Ekins used for the jump scene in The Great Escape. |
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Another shot of the short movie
Warner Brothers showed as a tribute to Bud Ekins' life. |
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Here's Bud Ekins sailing over a
12 foot barbed wire fence. He flew about 65 feet during the
jump. The motorcycle had been modified to look more German, but the engine and suspension were stock.
Warner Brothers paid Bud Ekins $1000 for the
jump scene stunt, which at the time was the highest amount ever paid to a
stuntman. He did it in one take. |
| Here's another shot I grabbed
from the silver screen. Not bad for shooting indoors, in a darkened
theater, with no flash. |
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Jay Leno was one of the
speakers. That's Skip Van Leeuwen in the middle. |
| The Bulllitt Mustang. This
is the green 390 cubic inch Mustang
Steve McQueen's character (Frank Bulliltt) used in the movie.
Bud Ekins did most of the driving during
the chase scenes. |
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Warner Brothers had two
identical Mustangs for the movie.
The studio had permission to use the city
streets in San Francisco, but they were supposed to stay within the speed
limits. That didn't happen. Some of the scenes were shot at
over 100 mph.
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| Here's the Mustang's interior. |
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One of the Mustangs had some
memorabilia in the back. |
| I think about a thousand people
attended this event. It was impressive. Warner Brothers had food,
drinks, a movie, and a lot of well known people from the entertainment
industry and the motorcycle world. All for free, and all as a
tribute to Bud Ekins' life. There were a lot of good stories and it
was a fitting tribute. |
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