User:Stuntteam/sandbox

The Sunt Team (Inc) is an incorporated company, based on Toronto, Canada, that provided the film/television/commercial industry with stunt performers/actors, stunt coordinators and second unit directors, during the 1980's and 90's. It was founded by Marco Bianco, Ted Hanlan, T.J. Scott and Rob Watson.

HISTORY

The founders - Bianco, Hanlan, Scott and Watson met at Canada's Wonderland during it's inaugural year, 1981, where they performed over 475 live stunt shows - "Plight of the Landlocked Pirates." An action and slapstick comedy show that incorporated the "kidnapping" of a young boy (an audience plant), by a crew of pirates, who then fled back to their ship with their young captive. The boy would then be rescued when his "mother" and a "police officer" (both cast members), would board the ship and fight off the pirates. The show was high-lighed by swashbuckling sword play, staged combat fights and lots of high dives and falls into Arthurs Bay. By the end of the summer they had performed over 475 live shows and amassed hundreds of high falls, sword fights, and other "swashbuckling" antics. It was rumoured that the show was a personal favourite of Taft family members, the original owners of the park.

Following the close of the show at season's end, Scott approached Hanlan with the idea of forming a 'company ' of stunt performers, and offer their broad range of skills to the growing Canadian film industry that was emerging in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Soon after, Bianco and Watson joined the fold and the group agreed on the name - The Stunt Team - that they would concentrate their efforts in the growing Toronto film market. During these early, lean years, the four often augmented their income by working as waiters, bank teller, taxi driving. Their unique decision to pool all their earnings and put it back into the company to promote the group paid off as they used self-produced pictures, videos, and a wide range of publicity "stunts" to gain notoriety. Earliest gigs included, CBC's, The Wayne and Shuster Show, where national level trampolinist Rob Watson doubled for Johnny Wayne. Other local jobs soon followed, and in 1983, the group received their "big break" with the filming of "Police Academy" in Toronto. In the past, American films had generally brought in American stunt performers, however the decision by Stunt Coordinator, Joe Dunne to use local based talent allowed the Team to work along side other established local stunt performers from competitive groups - The Stunt Company and The Stunters. Their work in Police Academy, where they were cast as "toughs", was well received and helped to cement their reputation as reliable and talented local stunt performers. Work on other high profile productions such as, Strange Brew, Mrs. Souffel and Dead Zone, among others, soon followed.

As the film industry grew in Toronto, so did The Stunt Team. In 1984, as the demand for performers increased, new members were brought in, as the team took on a defacto agency role and the rooster of male and female stunt performers grew. Around this time following the departure of Rob Watson from the group, Montreal stunt driver Dave Rigby joined the group, and added his stunt driving skills and introduced the Team to the Montreal market. Over the next decade, Stunt Team members worked steadily, in Toronto, Montreal and on occasion in Vancouver, with Stunts Canada.

Star Status

While filming in Montreal, Hanlan and Scott were approached by producer Roger Heroux, with the idea of building a "honeywagon" - mobile dressing rooms - that could be rented out to local productions. As had been the case with performers, many of the production vehicles were brought in from the United States. Heroux's idea was novel, in that was one of the earliest forays into local investment into dedicated service vehicles. Hence, during the cold winter months of 1984/85, Star Status was born and the flagship "honeywagon" was constructed from scratch in a rural barn/warehouse outside Granby, Quebec. Heroux left the cpmany and it became the sole ownership of Hanl, Scott and Bianco.The 75 foot truck and trailer housed a mobile production office, crew washrooms and 4-6 dressing rooms. The finished unit made it's debut on the set of, The Park Is Mine and MOW on which the Stunt Team also co-ordonated and performed the stunts. Initial reactions to the unit were mixed, but due largely to the enthusiastic support from local transport Coordinators like Fred Ionson, Nick Sweetman and Norm Johnson, the unit kept busy enough to justify the subsequent construction of four more units. Throughout this time, the growing demands of coordinating and performing stunts on the now dozens of film, television and commercial projects, made it necessary to bring, Steven Clerk a high school friend of Ted Hanlan's, as an equal partner and took over day to day operations of the growing fleet of Star Status vehicles.

Later Years

By The early 1990's, The success of Stunt Team and Star Status, allowed Hanlan, Scoot and Bianco to pursue other areas of the film business - including, second unit action directing and film and television directing. Inevitably, the partners drifted apart. Clerk bought out Bianco Hanlan and Scott, from Star Status and the three remaining founding members of the team called it a day and went thei seperat ways