Don't know if anyone has heard or not, but a couple of days ago I received a card from Neil Summers (stuntman on many John Wayne films), and he mentioned that Jim Burke passed away a couple of months ago at his ranch in Montana. He is probably best remembered as "Trooper", a member of the Fain Gang in "Big Jake", and also as "Bobby Joe" in "The Undefeated" (He's the one who was leg wrestling with everyone and had to fight Merlin Olsen). He also doubled John Wayne in the log shots of the Meadow Scene in "True Grit". He was one of my favorite stuntmen, and I always looked forward to spotting him in John Wayne's films. A list of John Wayne films he appeared in are:
The Shootist (1976) (stunt double: / John Wayne)
The Train Robbers (1973) (stunts)
The Cowboys (1972) (as Pete, and also stunts)
Big Jake (1971) (as Trooper, a member of the Fain gang and also stunts)
Chisum (1970) (as Trace, and also stunts)
The Undefeated (1969) (as Bobby Joe, and also stunts)
True Grit (1969) (John Wayne stunt double / stunts)
Hellfighters (1968) (stunts)
The Green Berets (1968) (stunts)
The War Wagon (1967) (stunts)
McLintock! (1963) (stunts)
The Comancheros (1961) (as one of the Rangers and also stunts)
The Alamo (1960) (as one of the Tennesseans and also stunts)
The Horse Soldiers (1959) (stunts)
He will be missed. I don't know if its appropriate to put this in here, but I wrote a poem for a friend of mine (it's based on a true event), and it seems a good memorial for Mr. Burk, so here it is:
The Ranger and the Kid
His folks passed on when he was young,
And he had to leave his home;
And it was a wild and wooly world’
Where he was forced to roam.
But he was honest, tried and true,
And he would not rob or steal;
He’d have to work to pay his way,
But he knew no other deal.
So he worked at farm and ranch and store,
Until one day he saw;
A gang of bandits kill a man,
And he knew he’d join the law.
It was tough demanding work they said,
Full of hardship and of danger;
But if he’d be loyal through and through,
They’d allow him to be a Ranger.
So he took the oath and wore the badge,
With confidence, courage and pride;
Then reported for work with his outfit,
’Twas with Comp’ny “C” he would ride.
He fought Injuns, and thieves and bandits,
And killers on the prowl;
And even drunken cowboys,
Who’d cut loose their wolf and howl.
But in all his years fightin’ badmen,
He never found time for a life,
That included a home and some children,
And he never did take him a wife.
Fifty years he spent in the saddle,
Enforcing the law where he rode;
But now they’d put him to pasture,
He felt tired, and worthless, and old.
They gave him a pension an’ letter of thanks,
And a shiny new watch for his vest;
They all shook his hand, an’ clapped on his back,
And said that they wished him the best.
Now he spends all his days on a park bench,
Out in front of the old general store;
Drinking soda pop out of a bottle,
Tellin’ stories of the old days and more.
But no one paid much attention,
They’d just smile and go on their way;
Till one day a curious kid happened by,
Who wanted to hear what the old man would say.
There was something about that wrinkled old man,
Something that curious kid felt inside;
He knew that old man was living history;
And he wanted to go for the ride.
So the Ranger told the kid all his stories,
And in doing so, he lived them again;
And the kid listened and learned as he told him,
Of his adventures, what he’d done, where he’d been.
After a couple of months tellin’ tales,
And generally having his way;
He saw the boy walking toward school,
He called, and the kid came his way.
For he had sensed that his time had drawn near,
That his time here on earth would soon end;
Though his life may be through, he had one thing to do,
With this kid, his legacy he’d send.
The kid walked to him and sat down,
Near the man he had come to respect;
Thinkin’ he’d hear a new story,
But what he got he did not quite expect.
The old Ranger handed him a package,
Wrapped in cloth that had seen better days;
The kid took, and held it, and looked at the man,
And then he put it away.
Then he opened his mouth to say somethin’,
But the Ranger just told him, “Be still;
There’s sometimes for talkin’, but this ain’t the one,
For I’m fixin’ to head over the hill.”
The kid just nodded, and stood silently still,
And the walked down the road to his school;
He wasn’t quite sure what the old Ranger meant,
And he felt just a bit like a fool.
So he came back the next day to see his old friend,
But he was gone and couldn’t be found;
And that kid looked and looked, but all just in vain,
It appeared the old Ranger left town.
Now and again through the years he’d look at that badge,
That had been wrapped in that cloth on that day;
And truly he knows way down deep in his heart,
That the Ranger hadn’t left him that way.
He knows that old Ranger’s out riding again,
Ridin’ herd on loose clouds cross the sky;
And he’s up there still ridin’ tall in the saddle,
Ridin’ loose, ridin’ straight, riding high.
