Bud Ekins - the great escape jumper dead ?

[Freakshow]

Bud the man that actually jumped the bike over the fence in the movie, "The Great Escape" passed away in his sleep this week.   :'(

Bud explains that jump over in the "Movie"

"Well that was shot on a Monday and on Sunday, Steve, myself, an Australian motor-cross racer and Tim Gibbs, an excellent rider, we all went out to where they were going to do that scene and the effects man put a piece of string across at all these different heights. The first time I'd take a run at it and jump maybe two feet off the ground and then we would take a shovel and dig this natural ramp, changing the angles on it. And I'd jump 4, 6, 8 feet and then when we reached 10 feet we said that's it--we had the ramp and the speed. Nobody knew we were up there so when it comes to Monday nobody said we'd already done it. Finally when I went ahead and did it we did it in one take. It seemed I was up in air forever--10 or 12 feet high and 120 feet distance jumped. When I was in the air it was dead silent."

its interesting to note that an Aussie was on hand to see the jump happen ; Now  Name that Aussie mx racer  :O)

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[Hoony]

Could it have been Ray Fisher?

Ray was in europe in early 60's and i think the great escape was made in 1963?

[firko]

Tim Gibbes is the Aussie but now he's a Kiwi.Tim raced with Roy East, Ray Fisher and Kelvin Franks in those days on the GP trail. Tim moved to NZ and became an enduro legend in that country.
 Sorry to hear such a legend as Bud Ekins is dead. He also drove the Mustang in Bullit, and was the first American to race motocross GPs in Europe back in the sixties and got four golds in the Six Day.  He is also the man responsible for importing Rickman Metisse bikes into America back in the sixties.
If any of us do a sixteenth of what Bud Ekins did in his life we'd be legends ourselves. He's the type of bloke that movies are written about. It's sad he's dead but what a great life he had! Here's his Wikpedia entry.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Ekins

[Lozza]

Not a good week
I read an article where that bike along with the Brando "Wild One"(and maybe a few Elvis Harley's) remain the most valuable/collectable bikes today.
Remember the spoof Shell advert where he makes the jump? 

[Nathan S]

The Vinduro Egroup said that his death was reported from a reliable source, but unconfirmed.

IIRC, the article I read in US Dirt Bike said he was on a 1960 machine for the jump, not a 1930s/40s one.... Still impressive.

Unlike the Shell ad which was clearly on a long-travel bike.

[Freakshow]

The Vinduro Egroup said that his death was reported from a reliable source, but unconfirmed.

IIRC, the article I read in US Dirt Bike said he was on a 1960 machine for the jump, not a 1930s/40s one.... Still impressive.

Unlike the Shell ad which was clearly on a long-travel bike.

its funny you say that even as a kid i could tell the bike changed from a ridgid to one with suspention on the jump section. to like some MX machine, funny  how you remeber things from then,  must watch it again, maybe we can have a pick the MX bike that did the jump not the monster scences before it !

althougth Timbo was probally looking at the sidecars in the chase seen so he opinion wont count.

HE officially Passed on the 6th oct but was released as the 8th, regardless of the date he is with steve mQUEEN still FIGHTING over the stunts in the big play ground.

Actually FIRKO you reminded me of Bullit one of my favourite Car chase scenes, somthing about the part where yo can sit in the dark with the sound up full bore and all you can hear is the double clutching and fast changing on that big boss, even the side shots of the rubber chattering as they trye goes flat out of shape like and egg as it tears off.  Most be the best car chase/Motor sound grab.  Any you guys aint scene it for a while get to the big chase scene, turn the lights out and fire up the sound its truly one of the most awesome things in life !  good post firko.

[Freakshow]

JUst up !

"He usually rode a 650cc Triumph TR6 Trophy, as did Steve McQueen, and the pair were team-mates at various events. It was through his friendship with McQueen that Mr Ekins got his first movie job.
It was a standard model Triumph that Mr Ekins rode in The Great Escape, with no modifications except a slightly lighter front wheel. Describing the landing, he said it was "Hard! It just went bang and then it bounced."
He filmed the jump in one take, clearing 65 feet and reaching a height of 12 feet. At £1,000 it was the most expensive stunt filmed."

http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/famousperson/ekins/2651335

[Tim754]

 Sounds like a fine man and a loss to many not just the film industry.RIP> Godspeed to your new features.
Of course the fact that the "650  Triumph 6T" started production in late 1949 primarily for the USA as they wanted more power.(I own one of that year remember) sort of makes me think it may/should have been a Speedtwin 500/350.  ; They are also rigid frame models non of those pussy rear shockers as in the picture.
Also the one I have is the same model as the 6T Marlon Brando rode in the famous movie. My sadly missed mate Steve once rode it around Bendigo for a day, with a VMX trophy he had just won, mounted on the headlight! many people stopped and made reference to the Brando  The Wild One " movie. Tim

[VMX247]

He also drove the Mustang in Bullit, and was the first American to race motocross GPs in Europe back in the sixties and got four golds in the Six Day.  He is also the man responsible for importing Rickman Metisse bikes into America back in the sixties.
If any of us do a sixteenth of what Bud Ekins did in his life we'd be legends ourselves. He's the type of bloke that movies are written about. It's sad he's dead but what a great life he had! Here's his Wikpedia entry.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Ekins

Apparently Bud also par took in a bit of three wheeled activity too ,back in the day. 

[bazza]

any one looked closly at the face of the rider? Sure it was not Tim Gibbs jumping the bike?

[GD66]

Definitely never heard of Bud racing a "sidehack", and why would he run a rig with chair on the right ?

And Bazza, i was brought up believing that Tim Gibbes made the jump, but looking at the body shape of the jumper, I later came to believe it was indeed Bud. Without doubt, he was another of those "the longer ago, the better I was" types, but for sure he did a hell of a lot of mad stuff, could ride with the best, and had a great competition and bike development record.
A good soldier.

[firko]

Definitely never heard of Bud racing a "sidehack", and why would he run a rig with chair on the right

There's been a memory niggling away in my subconcious of Bud Ekins racing a Wasp outfit in the desert with his brother Dave on the chair. I'm almost sure I saw it in a movie on 60's/70's California desert racing. Ekins is definitely featured and he's being interviewed in the film while sitting on the outfit covered in dust.

And Bazza, i was brought up believing that Tim Gibbes made the jump

After Bud died and I believed the time was right, I emailed Tim Gibbes and asked him of his thoughts on "the jump" and his reaction to the rumour that it was him that had actually done the jump. Unfortunately I'm still waiting for his answer . However, when I was at the South Canterbury Motorcycle Club 100th anniversary meet at Timaru last year I got into a bench session with a bunch of old Kiwi racers including Ray Johnstone and one of the blokes reckons he knew the scoop on the jump. According to "my source" Ekins, Gibbes and McQueen all did the jump but it was Ekins attempt that looked best on film. I don't know what's true or not but it's another page in the myth. To me it looks like Ekins though.

[VMX247]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1963-Steve-McQueen-GREAT-ESCAPE-Bud-Ekins-stuntman-/370557902800?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5646f8dfd0

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1963-Steve-McQueen-GREAT-ESCAPE-practicing-photo-/370557909600?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5646f8fa60

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Steve-McQueen-1963-Great-Escape-practice-photo-film-set-still-photograph-/370557904066?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5646f8e4c2

[Freakshow]

I'd say those pictures are from a desert race, nothing to do with the shooting other than there out riding.   Even other racers and cars in the background and  the great escape was filmed on grass hills not Sandy flat.  So i think its a shit auction.  There i have said it.

[firko]

At CD8, with a couple of beers up, I decided to ask Tim Gibbes if he could finally settle the age old dilemna of who actually did the jump. He'd entered Kamp Kevlar with a smile on his face but as soon as I asked 'the question' it quickly turned to a frown, followed by "If that's all you want to talk about, I'm outa here". He later added that in a lifetime of racing all over the world, people keep asking him over and over about that one tiny period in his life, as if everything else he'd done meant nothing. He reckons the Great Eascape jump question's been done to death.

If I had my time with Tim over again, I'd surely avoid bringing up the subject, if looks could kill, I'd be dead now .