David Hardin Sharpe (February 2, 1910 – March 30, 1980) was an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

, sometimes billed as ''Davy Sharpe''.

Biography

Sharpe's father was Harry Sharpe, a fight referee in St. Louis. Sharpe won the US National Tumbling Championship in 1925 and 1926. He began his film career as a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...

in the 1920s. Eventually he became the "Ramrod" (stunt coordinator) for

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

from 1939 until mid-1942 when the USA entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was replaced in this role by Tom Steele while Sharpe joined the Army Air Corps in 1943.

Personal life and death

Sharpe married film actress

Gertrude Messinger Gertrude Dolores Messinger (April 28, 1911 – November 8, 1995) was an American film actress known for her B-movie roles from the 1930s through the 1950s. She began as a child actor in silent films, but found her greatest fame in talkies of ...

in 1932. He died in 1980, aged 70, of

Lou Gehrig's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and lo ...

(some sources cited

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

).David Sharpe biography
B-Westerns.com. Accessed November 28, 2022.

Recognition

In 1979, Sharpe received the Yakima Canutt Award, which honors stuntmen. Sharpe was inducted into the Stuntman's Hall of Fame in 1980.

Selected filmography

* ''Air Tight'' (1931) * ''Call a Cop!'' (1931) * ''Too Many Women'' (1932) * ''

Social Error ''Social Error'' is a 1935 American crime film directed by Harry L. Fraser and starring David Sharpe, Gertrude Messinger and Monte Blue.Pitts p.129-30 It was re-released by Astor Pictures in 1948. Plot Cast * David Sharpe as Edward 'Eddie' ...

'' (1935) * '' Adventurous Knights'' (1935) * ''

Ghost Town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

'' (1936) * '' Idaho Kid'' (1936) * ''

Desert Justice ''Desert Justice'' is a 1936 American western film directed by William Berke and starring Jack Perrin, Warren Hymer and David Sharpe.Pitts p.50 Plot When the police commissioner orders all police horses to be sold off, officer Jack Rankin is di ...

'' (1936) * '' Santa Fe Rides'' (1937) * '' Melody of the Plains'' (1937) * '' Galloping Dynamite'' (1937) * ''

Where Trails Divide ''Where Trails Divide'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring Tom Keene, Warner Richmond Warner Richmond (born Werner Paul Otto Raetzmann; January 11, 1886 – June 19, 1948) was an American stage and ...

'' (1937) * ''

Young Dynamite ''Young Dynamite'' is a 1937 American crime film directed by Leslie Goodwins from a screenplay by Joseph O'Donnell and Stanley Roberts, adaptation by Arthur G. Durlam. The film stars Frankie Darro, Kane Richmond, and Charlotte Henry. Plot C ...

'' (1937) * ''

Daredevils of the Red Circle ''Daredevils of the Red Circle'' (1939) is a 12-chapter Republic Movie Serial starring Charles Quigley, David Sharpe, Herman Brix (better known under his subsequent stage name, Bruce Bennett), Carole Landis, Miles Mander (in a dual role) a ...

'' (1939) * ''

Dick Tracy Returns ''Dick Tracy Returns'' (1938) is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was the eleventh of the sixty-six serials Republic produced and a sequel to the 1937 serial ''Dick Tracy'', with Ralph Byrd reprising his role as t ...

'' (1938) * '' Man's Country'' (1938) * ''

Covered Wagon Trails ''Covered Wagon Trails'' is a 1940 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Raymond K. Johnson, starring Jack Randall (actor), Jack Randall, Sally Cairns and Lafe McKee. Plot When Jack Cameron's brother, Ed, is killed on his way to ...

'' (1940) * ''

Mutiny in the Arctic ''Mutiny in the Arctic'' is a 1941 American action adventure film directed by John Rawlins and starring Richard Arlen, Andy Devine and Anne Nagel. It was part of their Aces of Action series produced and released by Universal Pictures. It was als ...

'' (1941) * '' Silver Stallion'' (1941) * ''

Texas to Bataan ''Texas to Bataan'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey. The film is the seventeenth in Monogram Pictures' " Range Busters" series, and it stars John "Dusty" King as Dusty, "Davy" Sharpe and Max "Alibi" Terhune, ...

'' (1942) * ''

Trail Riders ''Trail Riders'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey. The film is the eighteenth in Monogram Pictures' " Range Busters" series, and it stars John "Dusty" King as Dusty, "Davy" Sharpe and Max "Alibi" Terhune, wi ...

'' (1942) * '' Two Fisted Justice'' (1943) * ''

Haunted Ranch ''Haunted Ranch'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey. The film is the twentieth in Monogram Pictures' "Range Busters" series, and it stars John "Dusty" King as Dusty, "Davy" Sharpe and Max "Alibi" Terhune, with ...

'' (1943) * '' The Good Humor Man'' (1950)

References

External links

*
Dave Sharpe at B-Westerns
1910 births 1980 deaths Male actors from St. Louis American stunt performers American male film actors Male film serial actors Male Western (genre) film actors American male child actors Deaths from motor neuron disease in California United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century American male actors {{US-film-actor-1910s-stub