Kim Kahana

Kim Kahana was an American stunt performer, actor, and action coordinator of Hawaiian and Japanese heritage. Born in Lanai City, Hawaii, he began his performing life on stage, dancing with knives and fire in a show called Samoan Warriors. After the Korean War he broke into film as an extra, rode a motorcycle in The Wild One (1953), and trained in stunts with Yakima Canutt and John Eppers. His stunt work included Cool Hand Luke (1967), The Omega Man (1971), and Soylent Green (1973), and he doubled for Charles Bronson for more than 20 years. On television he worked on 28 episodes of Kung Fu and appeared on Mission: Impossible, Magnum, P.I., and Charlie's Angels. In 1968 he played Chongo, a mute castaway, in the Hanna-Barbera serial Danger Island. In 1972 he opened the Kahana Stunt School to train performers and ran the production company Stunt Action & Safety Coordinator. He died in 2024.