Tributes flow in for Mad Max and Furiosa star after sudden death in tragic car accident: ‘I’ve never met anyone like him’
Tributes have poured in following the death of Australian Mad Max stuntman Grant Page in a car crash.
The 85-year-old screen legend was driving alone near his home in Kendall on the New South Wales north coast on Thursday when he hit a tree.
His long-time friend and former manager Brian Trenchard-Smith posted a moving tribute to Page on his blog on Thursday.
“Grant Page was the Australian stunt performer and my friend for fifty-two years,” Trenchard-Smith said.
‘I will miss him terribly. He was an inspiring man who lived without compromise.
Tributes have poured in following the death of Australian Mad Max stuntman Grant Page in a car crash. Pictured: Grant Page
The 85-year-old screen legend was driving alone near his home in Kendall on the New South Wales north coast on Thursday when he crashed into a tree.
‘Most people accept that age weighs on us, that gravity holds us down and that death awaits us if we dare too much. Not necessarily, said Grant, as he has successfully tampered with the laws of physics and probability.”
Director Jamie Blanks wrote on X: ‘I have just heard the devastating news of the passing of legendary Australian stuntman and my dear friend GRANT PAGE.
‘Grant was one of the most wonderful, kind and brave men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Today I deeply mourn the loss of this Australian legend. RIP subsidy.’
Film critic Dr. Luke Buckmaster wrote on X: ‘Australia’s greatest stuntman. I’ve never met anyone like him: a daring, brilliant, devilishly brutal man whose legacy is written in tire marks and burn marks.’
His long-time friend and former manager Brian Trenchard-Smith posted a moving tribute to Page on his blog on Thursday
Director Jamie Blanks posted on X: ‘Just heard the devastating news of the passing of the legendary Australian stuntman and my dear friend’
Film critic Dr. Luke Buckmaster wrote on X: ‘Australia’s greatest stuntman. I’ve never met anyone like him: a daring, brilliant, devilishly brutal man whose legacy is written in tire marks and burn marks.’
In the documentary Not Quiet Hollywood, Trenchard-Smith captured Page’s extraordinary skill and daring.
“He’s the guy who makes you dodge the cars, slide down the cliff while burning, jump into the water and fight the shark.”
His son Leroy Page told Ny Breaking Australia that ambulance and police arrived on the scene within minutes. No further details about the accident have been released.
Leroy, 49, described his father as a “legend” and said the tragic accident occurred at a time when Grant was making plans for new projects.
‘He died cheerful and very motivated. He was very happy.’
Pictured: Grant Page in a scene from Stunt Rock (1978)
Page recently worked as a stunt performer on George Miller’s films Three Thousand Years of Longing and the Mad Max prequel Furiosa
Grant Page was a pioneer of Australia’s golden age of cinema in the 1970s.
His long list of credits includes action-oriented films such as Mad Max (1979), Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985), The Man from Hong Kong (1975) and Roadgames (1981).
Page also had a secondary career as an actor, starring in Deathcheats (1976) and Stunt Rock (1978).
He recently worked as a stunt performer on George Miller’s films Three Thousand Years of Longing and the Mad Max prequel Furiosa.
Page was known for his extraordinary ability to perform dazzling vehicular stunts and was known for a trick known as the ‘transfer’.
Pictured: A Grant Page stunt scene in Mad Max (1979)
Grant was known in the film world as ‘indestructible’
This involved Page climbing out the window of one car into another car that was driving side by side at high speed.
He was also known for his leap from burning cliffs and his ability to withstand being ‘hit’ by a fast-moving vehicle.
Page was survived by his four sons Adrian, 52, Jeremy, 51, Leroy, 49, Gulliver, 47, ex-wife Joy and ex-partner Ulli.