This exclusive Mayberry club man was one of history's toughest stuntmen

George DeNormand was also twice a wanted man.

On The Andy Griffith Show, George DeNormand appeared once as a member of an exclusive gentleman’s club that Sheriff Taylor gets invited to join.

Although he was portraying a posh character, DeNormand’s history in Hollywood is as one of its toughest stuntmen – a member of the Stuntmen Hall of Fame.

In the 1930s and 1940s, DeNormand was big-screen stunt double to stars like Spencer Tracey, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. In the studio, he helped to train other stuntmen and stars to do their own fighting, too, and whenever he was needed to fill in to do a backflip or two, he was on call.

DeNormand was just always willing to go even harder than even the hardest stuntmen of his time.

In the book Classic Cliffhangers, author Hank Davis wrote how DeNormand could be depended on to cover "more demanding scenes." Davis also said that in interviews, DeNormand wouldn’t complain about the wear and tear on his body, but instead about how annoying it was when the costumes he had to wear got tangled up when he filled in for a hero’s fistfight.

"Nobody in real life would wear a cape if he planned on getting into a fistfight" was how DeNormand saw it, after doubling for characters like The Lone Ranger.

During this time, DeNormand didn’t just act tough in TV and movie productions. He also became a wanted man when in 1944 he was, according to The Times-News, held by police, suspected of diamond theft. The next year, The Daily News reported he was arrested as part of an illegal ring selling counterfeit meat stamps during World War II, when portions were rationed.

The whole time DeNormand faced these charges, he continued to work, both behind the scenes and onscreen.

On TV, DeNormand’s earliest stuntwork was on The Cisco Kid, where he also appeared in bit roles in 1950.

But in his career, as he got older, fewer stunt gigs came up that he could pull off.

He started doing more onscreen acting, appearing through the Fifties and Sixties in hit shows like Adventures of Superman, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, Perry Mason, Batman, and just about every Western you can think of.

By the end of the Sixties, he felt his time had passed as a stuntman, only pulled in rarely to do stunt work called "Whammys."

A "Whammy" is when a stunt is required that is not deemed hazardous enough to pay for a stuntman.

It’s noted on IMDb that one of DeNormand’s last Whammys happened on The Wild, Wild West where DeNormand stepped in for a murdered toymaker, whose body was written to fall out of a closet.

This would be one of the famed stuntman’s final tumbles.

DeNormand continued acting until 1976, when he passed away from cancer. He loved the motion picture business and once he found it, he literally fought to stay in it.

Two years before his passing, he and some of his best stuntmen buddies from the early days went to their first film convention. Of them all, DeNormand was not just the one with the toughest track record as a stuntman. He was also the one, according to the 2000 book Serials-ly Speaking, with the "most humorous yarns," keeping convention-goers "constantly entertained."

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32 Comments

JohnGibbons 29 months ago
How about saying man on far right or something lol
MBGun 30 months ago
You'd think that could find one solo photograph of the article's subject.
CaptainDunsel 32 months ago
[image=https://weigel-comments.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/dkgqy-1644603061-no-capes-edna.gif]
grannymac 32 months ago
Which man in photo w/ Andy & Barney are we calling George DeNormand?
CaptainDunsel grannymac 32 months ago
From the description of his career, I would infer that DeNormand is the gray haired gentleman on the right, shaking Barney's hand. No one else appears old enough to fit. (But the "MeTV Staff" definitely *should* have identified him.)
rwolf 32 months ago
Love reading these behind the scenes,, good stuff
Shatner1 32 months ago
We learned more in the title then we did in the article.
Stardoc 32 months ago
I enjoy reading about stunt men as they often turn to acting, ie, Terry Wilson and Frank McGrath of Wagon Train fame. However, which character in the pic is DeNormand and was he cleared of the crimes mentioned? A little more info would have made the article a more satisfying read.
majoco515 Stardoc 32 months ago
I, too am interested in the above info- which was he in the picture and did they resolve these 'crimes'.
RichLorn 32 months ago
Toughest stuntman ever? Pffft! Tom the cat from Tom & Jerry.... Now THERE was a stuntman.
cseeley90 RichLorn 32 months ago
Don't forget Wile E. Coyote.
VmcVmc 32 months ago
Thanks Sway that is exactly what I was thinking. They didn't tell us in detail which one was George DeNormand. Is he the one shaking Barney's hand?
CouchPotato19 VmcVmc 32 months ago
Here's a clue. He's the HOT one!!!
Sway 32 months ago
Interesting story. I was thinking what most of these comments say, which one is George DeNormand? Looked him up for photos and I believe he's the one Barney is shaking hand with.
MrsPhilHarris Sway 32 months ago
I agree. I had to look him up. The should have said the one on the right.
Runeshaper 32 months ago
George DeNormand sounds like 1 tough dude!
VanHalen 32 months ago
Yeah, which guy is it ? We are NOT mind readers or psychics.
Grizz 32 months ago
I assumed it was the guy shaking Barney's hand🤔
Connie 32 months ago
I looked up other George DeNormand photos, and apparently he's the one on the extreme right in the TAGS picture. ??? Please enlighten us!
Kenner 32 months ago
Soooo which one is George Deormand? Arrow might help. Thanks.
Rick Kenner 32 months ago
IMDB makes me think he's the one shaking hands with Barney: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0210600/
JHP 32 months ago
another TAGS ep where BARNAY was a 5 star dope
Connie 32 months ago
Which one is George DeNormand? I'm guessing he's the man next to Barney.
j Connie 32 months ago
I assumed that was DeNormand also, but judging from his pictures on IMDB, I'm pretty sure he's the guy with the mustache shaking Barney's hand.
Connie j 32 months ago
Yes, J. I guess several of us did our homework and made a positive ID without any help from MeTV.
TlorDagama 32 months ago
So which on is he in the photograph? there are 3 men there.
Michael 32 months ago
But was he convicted of diamond theft and counterfeit meat stamps?

Why bring it up without a followup? If he didn't do it, why bring it up?

It's good to look for old stories, but to rely just on them lacks dimension.
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