A. J. Bakunas

Albert John Bakunas, Jr, a.k.a. A.J. Bakunas (October 23, 1950 – September 22, 1978) was a stunt performer who died doubling for George Kennedy in a fall from the Kincaid Towers in Lexington, Kentucky, for the film Steel.

Born in Fort Lee, New Jersey, Bakunas quit his job as a gym teacher at Tenafly (N.J.) High School in 1974 and set out to break into the film industry. He did his first stunt work for the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon. Bakunas became known for expertly performing falls from great heights. He was also an uncredited stuntman in Elliot Silverstein's 1977 movie The Car, falling from a bridge.

In 1978, Bakunas set a world record with a fall from a helicopter for the film Hooper, which was broken that same year by Dar Robinson's fall for a non-movie-related publicity stunt.

Bakunas, determined to retake the record, returned to Lexington to perform a jump from the 22nd floor of a construction site, where he had previously successfully fallen nine stories. On September 21, 1978, as his father and a crowd of about 1,000 watched, Bakunas performed the fall, reaching an estimated speed of . However, the airbag split on impact, and Bakunas died of his injuries the next day.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1979 The Warriors Punk #2 1979 The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again Henchman #1 1979 Steel 2nd Goon 1980 The Stunt Man Eli's Script Clerk (final film role)