Ronnie Rondell Jr., the legendary Hollywood stuntman best known for his fiery pose on an iconic Pink Floyd album cover, has died at age 88.
Rondell Jr. died at a senior living facility in Missouri on Aug. 12, per The Hollywood Reporter. A post shared on the Instagram page for his company, Stunts Unlimited, featured a photo of Rondell with fellow founders Glenn Wilder and Hal Needham.
“Our hearts are heavy with the loss of the last of Stunts Unlimited’s 3 esteemed founding fathers, Ronnie Rondell,” the post read. “In a class all his own, Ronnie was a generous mentor whose talents set the bar for every aspiring stunt person. He was deeply respected, admired and loved. Ronnie was not just a legend, he was legendary and will be deeply missed. “
The loss of Rondell is being deeply felt in the stunt community.
“We lost a legend today. My heart and thoughts are with his family and close friends . What a massive dent Ronnie made to our industry. May be gone but his legacy and memory lives on,” wrote director and stunt coordinator Melissa Stubbs.
Ronnie Rondell Was Best Known as the ‘Burning Man’ on Pink Floyd’s 1975 ‘Wish You Were Here’ Album Cover
Rondell’s career as a stunt coordinator spanned 50 years. He appeared in films such as The Karate Kid, Batman & Robin, and Twister, as well as the TV shows Mod Squad, Baretta, and Charlie’s Angels. His final credit was in 2003’s The Matrix Reloaded, per IMDb.
While he logged dozens of movie and TV credits, Rondell was best known for his portrayal of a businessman on fire on the cover for Pink Floyd’s 1975 album, Wish You Were Here. Decades before computer special effects were in place, Rondell bravely played with real fire for the photoshoot on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, CA, and ended up with a burning mustache.
To capture the photo, creative team Hipgnosis’ Storm Thorgesen and Audrey Powell, lit Rondell Jr. on fire 15 times.
In a 2020 interview with The Guardian, Powell recalled, “I had a suit and wig made that were soaked in flame retardant, Ronnie was covered in this gel… and his team set him on fire. We repeated the process 14 times, took the shot, and then on the 15th a gust of wind blew up and wrapped the fire around his face and burnt him. He threw himself to the ground and his whole team piled on blankets to put him out. He said: ‘That’s it! I’m done!’”
“Ronnie was very gracious about it considering he had lost an eyebrow and some of his moustache, but as far as he was concerned as a professional in the movie industry, it was all in a day’s work,” Powell added.
While the finished photo, which featured a fiery Rondell shaking hands with fellow stuntman Danny Rogers, is still considered one of the greatest rock album covers of all time, Rondell was reluctant to do it. Powell said Rondell told him “it’s dangerous for a man to stand still on fire.”
“He was very reluctant, but eventually agreed,” Powell said. “It took a long time to persuade Ronnie to stand exactly as I wanted but, in the end, he was very brave and it was a perfect composition. Years afterwards Ronnie said his only regret was most people know him more for the Pink Floyd album cover than the famous fire stunts he had performed in movies such as The Towering Inferno.”
“Wish You Were Here” was released on Sept. 12, 1975. The album featured the title track as well as the radio hits “Have a Cigar” and “Welcome to the Machine.” The bulk of the album was devoted to the 10-part “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.”
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