Hollywood Stuntman. Though he was a pioneer off road motorcyclist, he was best known for his stunt work on numerous films. His most famous stunt was his first, when he doubled for Steve McQueen in the 1963 World War II epic "The Great Escape". It is Ekin on a Triumph motorcycle that is seen jumping over a high barbed-wire fence. Over the years, his stunt credits included the TV series "ChiPs" and films such as "Diamonds Are Forever," "Earthquake," "The Towering Inferno," "Animal House" and "The Blues Brothers." A 1999 inductee of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, Ekins was one of the first Americans to compete in the World Championship Motocross Grand Prix circuit in Europe during the 1950s. By the mid-'50s, he was the top scrambles and desert rider in Southern California and had been district champion seven times. In 1955, he won the Catalina Grand Prix, one of America's most prestigious off-road motorcycle races. During the same decade, he won the Big Bear Endurance Run three times. His most prestigious accomplishments on the international level came in the 1960s when he won four gold medals and one silver medal during seven years of competing in the International Six Day Trial. He owned two motorcycle shops in the San Fernando Valley over the years, and later became one of the country's leading collectors of vintage and rare motorcycles. At one time his collection included more than 150 motorcycles. He taught most of the movie stars in Hollywood how to ride motorcycles, and if somebody wanted to buy a great motorcycle they'd go to Bud Ekins.
Hollywood Stuntman. Though he was a pioneer off road motorcyclist, he was best known for his stunt work on numerous films. His most famous stunt was his first, when he doubled for Steve McQueen in the 1963 World War II epic "The Great Escape". It is Ekin on a Triumph motorcycle that is seen jumping over a high barbed-wire fence. Over the years, his stunt credits included the TV series "ChiPs" and films such as "Diamonds Are Forever," "Earthquake," "The Towering Inferno," "Animal House" and "The Blues Brothers." A 1999 inductee of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, Ekins was one of the first Americans to compete in the World Championship Motocross Grand Prix circuit in Europe during the 1950s. By the mid-'50s, he was the top scrambles and desert rider in Southern California and had been district champion seven times. In 1955, he won the Catalina Grand Prix, one of America's most prestigious off-road motorcycle races. During the same decade, he won the Big Bear Endurance Run three times. His most prestigious accomplishments on the international level came in the 1960s when he won four gold medals and one silver medal during seven years of competing in the International Six Day Trial. He owned two motorcycle shops in the San Fernando Valley over the years, and later became one of the country's leading collectors of vintage and rare motorcycles. At one time his collection included more than 150 motorcycles. He taught most of the movie stars in Hollywood how to ride motorcycles, and if somebody wanted to buy a great motorcycle they'd go to Bud Ekins.
Bio by: Ron Moody
