Jeannie Epper, the legendary stuntwoman that acted as a double for Lynne Carter, who portrayed the original ‘Wonder Woman’ has reportedly died at the age of 83.
Sources told the Hollywood Reporter that the actress passed away from natural causes in her Simi Valley, California home on Sunday night.
Epper was a stunt legend. Considering that a film celebrating stuntmen and women called ‘The Fall Guy’ just hit theaters this weekend, Epper deserves to be celebrated.
The iconic stuntwoman worked on over 150 movies and television shows during her time in the film industry, which spanned over 70 years in total.
In 2007, she received a lifetime achievement award for her work in films and television. She also acted in Charlie’s Angels, The Bionic Woman, Police Woman, Play Misty for Me (1971),Silver Streak (1976) and for Nancy Allen in RoboCop (1987).
The Hollywood Reporter reports on her death,
Epper was caught in a fire and wound up in the hospital after a stunt went awry on an episode of the 1968-70 ABC series Lancer, and she received a severe head wound when smashed with a heavy picture frame in a barroom brawl with Pam Grier in Foxy Brown (1974).
On the latter, “The cameraman loved it. I had blond hair, the blood was running down, they kept the camera right on me,” she told Dan Rather for a CBS Sunday Morning segment in 1979.
In 2000, she donated a kidney, possibly saving the life of good friend Ken Howard. “It’s very humbling when someone gives you a part of themselves to keep you alive,” the actor said three years later. “Thankful doesn’t seem to quite make it.”
Hollywood Reporter
Not only was Epper a consistent contributor on the screen, but a beloved friend off of the screen.
She dedicated her life to excellence in her field, and achieved it, which few can say. Rest in peace, Jeannie Epper!
One Response
She was the greats of The Greats, truly a legend in the business. Plus she was a wonderful, kind lady who loved the LORD Jesus Christ with all her heart.