Members of the North Vancouver Island Chapter of the Back Country Horsemen Society of B.C. have invited a special guest to their next monthly meeting.
They extend an open invitation to the public to join them Feb. 20 to meet Hollywood stuntwoman and author Martha Crawford-Cantarini, who will reminisce about her experiences during the Golden Era of western film and television and the challenges of writing her memoir: Fall Girl: My Life as a Western Stunt Double.
Crawford-Cantarini, who now lives on Denman Island, was inducted into the Hollywood Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2005, she was presented with the Hollywood Motion Picture and TV industry’s coveted Golden Boot Award.
The Golden Boot award was presented to her by film legend Jean Simmons and recognized Crawford-Cantarini for her stunt work with horses, doubling for such glamorous leading ladies as Simmons, Eleanor Parker, Rhonda Fleming, Shirley MacLaine, Carol Baker, Linda Darnell, Claudette Colbert and many others.
Her film and television credits include MGM’s Academy-acclaimed Interrupted Melody, Yellow Sky, My Friend Flicka, Have Gun Will Travel and The Big Country, to name just a few.
“We are thrilled to have Martha come to our meeting to reminisce about her career as a Hollywood stunt girl,” says BCHBC North Vancouver Island chapter president Sharon Pickthorne.
“We will watch a short video highlighting some of her most famous film and television scenes and then have the privilege of hearing what it was like to not just work with various Hollywood legends, but also get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into what it was like to work with the horses and wranglers.”
The Back Country Horsemen Society’s meeting will be held Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Grantham Hall, 6040 Old Island Highway in Merville. Crawford-Cantarini’s presentation will be followed by a refreshment break and regular club business.
Admission for members is free and a small donation from non-members is appreciated. A limited number of her books will be available for purchase. Equine enthusiasts of all disciplines and ages are welcome.
For more information about the meeting of the Vancouver Island Chapter of BCHBC, call Sharon Pickthorne at 250-337-1818 or Terri Perrin at 250-218-4952. To learn more about the organization, visit www.bchorsemen.org.
— Back Country Horsemen