Ray "Red" Thompson


Raymond "Red" Thompson was an American stuntman and character actor of the silent film era. Known for his daring horseback and aquatic stunts, he appeared in dozens of short films and westerns, often uncredited. He died during a stunt sequence for the film The Trail of '98, becoming one of the early casualties of stunt performance in Hollywood.

Early life

Ray Thompson joined the circus as a young man, performing hippodrome races and stunt riding, and later worked with the 101 Ranch Show. He was also among the first to participate in mounted pushball exhibitions.

Career

Thompson began working in silent comedies and westerns around 1916. He appeared in multiple short films with Harold Lloyd during the "Lonesome Luke" period. In 1920, he played the role of Malbihn in The Son of Tarzan, a successful serial based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Over the next decade, he took on small roles in feature films, often portraying henchmen, foremen, or background characters, while also performing dangerous stunts.
He doubled for several major stars, including John Barrymore, and became known as one of the most fearless stuntmen of the 1920s. Among his most notable feats were
  • Being tied and thrown from a train in motion in The Toll Gate
  • Performing horse rolls down cliffs and into rivers
  • Leaping from boats onto whales in films like All the Brothers Were Valiant and The Sea Beast
  • Doubling for Barbara La Marr in a burning set escape in The Shooting of Dan McGrew
Despite being able to do all kind of stunts, his specialty was the high horse jump from a cliff to water

Death

Thompson died on 29 June 1927 while filming a stunt sequence for Clarence Brown’s The Trail of '98 on the Copper River in Alaska. During a scene involving boats navigating rapids, his craft capsized. Thompson drowned, and two other men—Joseph Bautin and F.H. Daughters—also died while attempting rescues. His body was never recovered.
A coroner’s jury in Alaska ruled that the production company was negligent.

Personal life

He married Harrietta Emma Meloche on 30 June 1920 in Los Angeles. The couple had no children. Harrietta later remarried.

Legacy

Thompson’s story was featured in the 1980 television documentary Hollywood, in the episode "Hazard of the Game," which paid tribute to the overlooked contributions and dangers faced by early film stunt performers.

Selected filmography

Short films

Feature films