Bob Yerkes

Overview

February 11, 1932 -  October 1, 2024

Brayton Walter "Bob" Yerkes started tumbling at Santa Monica Muscle Beach at age eleven and ran away from home to join the Clyde Beatty Circus as part of an acrobatic act at age fifteen. Bob began performing stunts in movies upon returning to Los Angeles, California in the late 1940s. His career as a stuntman encompasses over seven decades. Among the notable people that Yerkes doubled are Paul Newman, Robert Duvall, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Christopher Lloyd and Della Reese.

Moreover, Bob also taught many celebrities circus acts for various "Circus of the Stars" TV specials throughout the 1980s and trained many, many stunt performers in the backyard of his Los Angeles home. Bob Yerkes was supportive of the United Stuntwomens Association and our members since we first started.  Bob was a big hearted, talented person who only wanted to see all of the stunt performers he met reach their full potential, and to do it with a smile on their faces.

Bob Yerkes was an Honorary Member of USA Stunts and will be greatly missed.