Stuntman Fred Kennedy

Fred Kennedy was a veteran Hollywood stuntman, appearing (uncredited) in films including “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” “The Quiet Man,” “Red River,” and “The Searchers.”  He was a good friend of legendary director John Ford, who hired him for several of his movies.

That included the 1959 John Wayne Western “The Horse Soldiers.”  Kennedy was stunting for co-star William Holden and performed a fairly typical fall from a horse.  But he broke his neck and died on the way to the hospital. The fatal accident was kept in the final cut.