Bud was a great guy, I first met him in 1957 when he had his first bike shop in Tarzana, CA. He always helped his customers. He was also a terrific motorcycle rider as well. You could tell when they cut Bud into the jump scene. McQueen suddenly got several inches taller. LOL.
Ekins also did the stunts for Then Came Bronson. He picked a Sportster for the Bronson bike, because he said he couldn't do the stunts on a Big Twin Harley. My best friend was the real Jim Bronson, Birney Jarvis.
0:40 - "Got a suit? Get it on, we're gonna meet the director" ^ I can totally see McQueen saying it exactly that way, just as it was relayed in the story here.
People at the time really thought it was Steve who did the jump, and was it so absurd for them to assume that? We knew Steve was probably capable of such a stunt. It couldn't really have been allowed though, could it? In Sturges' mind, Steve was an actor, not a stuntman, and it would have been imperative for another person to attempt something like that unless you're prepared to risk the entire production and violate insurance regulations.
Great chase i remember as a kid watching it and after Steve got caught in the fence. Thinking why didnt he just wheelie through it, but this was reality. Steve was super on the bike watching him jumping up and down on the pegs so the rear wheel gets grip on the grass in his scenes..
Several of the cast did it after Ekins made the jump, according to John Leyton. That included himself and Charles Bronson. The fence had been taken down. But the point is, McQueen said some things that weren't so, and this is one of them, but he absolutely could have done it if he'd been allowed. I think he said it was him because he was embarrassed. I can't help but wonder if this frustration is buried somewhere in the circumstances behind his handling of 'Le Mans".
