Yakima Canutt

He has been inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame. USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) was named in his honor. His autobiography "Stuntman" was published in 1979. He held as a Prisoner of War by the Viet Cong in the Republic of Vietnam from 31 December 1964 until his death. His sons Joe Canutt and Tap Canutt also worked as stuntmen. Cook was born in Brooklyn, New York. He staged some of the most memorable action scenes ever committed to film, including the heart-stopping chariot race segment in the 1959 film Ben-Hur. Donald Gilbert Cook (9 August 1934 - 8 December 1967) was a Colonel in the United States Marine Corps and a Medal of Honor recipient.

He had some success as an actor, primarily playing "heavies," but his real talent was as a stuntman and stunt coordinator. He met actor Tom Mix at a rodeo in Los Angeles, and was persuaded to work as a cowboy in films. There he gained fame as a very successful rodeo rider. Born Enos Edward Canutt in the rough ranchlands near Colfax, Washington, "Yak" Canutt moved as a young man to Yakima, Washington (the town from which he borrowed his nickname).

Yakima Canutt (November 29, 1896 - May 24, 1986) was an actor and stunt man in Hollywood movies of the 1920s through the 1950s.