Donna Garrett: Difference between revisions

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'''Donna Lee Garrett''', neé Funk (born 17 November 1942) is a stunt performer and actress, doubling for [[Robyn Douglass]] in the ''[[Galactica 1980]]'' television series<ref name="robyn">{{cite_book|last=Douglass|first=Robyn|authorlink=Robyn Douglass|authorlinkurl=|year=2020|title=Messages for the Future: The ''Galactica 1980'' Memoirs|url=Messages for the Future: The Galactica 1980 Memoirs|publisher= Explore Multimedia |location=Chapter 8: Special Effects|id=}}</ref>.  
'''Donna Lee Garrett''', neé Funk (born 17 November 1942) is a stunt performer and actress, doubling for [[Robyn Douglass]] in the ''[[Galactica 1980]]'' television series<ref name="robyn">{{cite_book|last=Douglass|first=Robyn|authorlink=Robyn Douglass|authorlinkurl=|year=2020|title=Messages for the Future: The ''Galactica 1980'' Memoirs|url=Messages for the Future: The Galactica 1980 Memoirs|publisher= Explore Multimedia |location=Chapter 8: Special Effects|id=}}</ref>.  


Garrett has also performed stunts in a variety of other genre productions between the 1960s through the 1990s, including ''[[w:Lost in Space|Lost in Space]]'' (for [[w:June Lockhart|June Lockhart]]<ref name="hspbook">{{cite_book|last=Freese |first=Gene Scott |authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|year=1 April 2014|title= Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary, 2d ed. |publisher=McFarland|pages=101-102|url=https://amzn.to/2ODdLoA}}</ref>, the mother of [[Anne Lockhart]]; [[Sheba]] from ''{{TOS|Battlestar Galactica}}''), ''[[memoryalpha:Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', ''[[memoryalpha:Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', ''[[w:TRON|TRON]]'', and ''[[w:Ghostbusters II|Ghostbusters II]]''.
Garrett performed stunts in a variety of other genre productions from the 1960s through the 1990s, including ''[[w:Lost in Space|Lost in Space]]'' (for [[w:June Lockhart|June Lockhart]]<ref name="hspbook">{{cite_book|last=Freese |first=Gene Scott |authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|year=1 April 2014|title= Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary, 2d ed. |publisher=McFarland|pages=101-102|url=https://amzn.to/2ODdLoA}}</ref>, the mother of [[Anne Lockhart]]; [[Sheba]] from ''{{TOS|Battlestar Galactica}}''), ''[[memoryalpha:Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', ''[[memoryalpha:Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', ''[[w:TRON|TRON]]'', and ''[[w:Ghostbusters II|Ghostbusters II]]''.


== Personal Life ==
== Personal Life ==
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== Career ==
== Career ==


[[File:Donna Garrett, Yesterdays Enterprise.jpg|thumb|Garrett performing the stunt leading to the death of "Yesterday's Enterprise" character with a similar name (Rachel Garrett). ]]
[[File:Donna Garrett, Yesterdays Enterprise.jpg|thumb|Garrett performing the stunt leading to the death of the "Yesterday's Enterprise" character with a similar name (Rachel Garrett). ]]


Following the Garretts' marriage ceremony, Ralph Garrett received a job offer to work on [[w:Raquel Welch|Raquel Welch]]'s ''[[w:The Swinging Summer|The Swinging Summer]]'' &mdash; at 6 A.M. on the first day of their honeymoon. While initially shocked at this, Donna Garrett was recruited the following day as a background performer. This kickstarted her career as a stunt performer, where her husband taught her about stunt work, while using her own training as a gymnast and diver.<ref name="people1974"/>  
Following the Garretts' marriage ceremony, Ralph Garrett received a job offer to work on [[w:Raquel Welch|Raquel Welch]]'s ''[[w:The Swinging Summer|The Swinging Summer]]'' &mdash; at 6 A.M. on the first day of their honeymoon. While initially shocked at this, Donna Garrett was recruited the following day as a background performer. This kickstarted her career as a stunt performer, where her husband taught her about stunt work, while using her own training as a gymnast and diver.<ref name="people1974"/>  

Revision as of 17:46, 9 February 2020

Donna Garrett
Donna Garrett
{{{credit}}}
Portrays: Jamie Hamilton (stunts)
Date of Birth: November 17, 1942
Date of Death: Missing required parameter 1=month! ,
Age: 81
Nationality: USA USA
Related Media
@ BW Media


Donna Lee Garrett, neé Funk (born 17 November 1942) is a stunt performer and actress, doubling for Robyn Douglass in the Galactica 1980 television series[1].

Garrett performed stunts in a variety of other genre productions from the 1960s through the 1990s, including Lost in Space (for June Lockhart[2], the mother of Anne Lockhart; Sheba from Battlestar Galactica), Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, TRON, and Ghostbusters II.

Personal Life[edit]

While studying for her major in physical education at L.A. Valley Junior College, Donna Funk met her future husband, Ralph Garrett at a rehearsal of "Homer Garrett's Why-Knot Twirlers" (Homer Garrett was Ralph's father). Ralph had been on leave from the U.S. Army at the time, and was coincidentally in attendance to the rehearsal: "I picked Donna out of a crowd of 40 and walked right up to her to dance." The future Mrs. Garrett also recalls that "The moment he walked in, I couldn't take my eyes off him. I thought I couldn't possibly catch a man like that."[3]

They married on 14 September 1964[4], and have two children, Damon (born 25 January 1971[5]) and Nicole (born 10 July 1973[6]).[3]

Their careers in Hollywood afforded them a five-bedroom house worth $75,000 USD, a motor-home, a camper, a speedboat and four motorcycles, per a December 1974 People magazine article. They reportedly invested in apartment buildings.[3]

Career[edit]

Garrett performing the stunt leading to the death of the "Yesterday's Enterprise" character with a similar name (Rachel Garrett).

Following the Garretts' marriage ceremony, Ralph Garrett received a job offer to work on Raquel Welch's The Swinging Summer — at 6 A.M. on the first day of their honeymoon. While initially shocked at this, Donna Garrett was recruited the following day as a background performer. This kickstarted her career as a stunt performer, where her husband taught her about stunt work, while using her own training as a gymnast and diver.[3]

She quickly surpassed her husband as a performer; in 1974, she averaged six months worth of work a year, while her husband averaged only half that.[3]

Her career lead to parts into films of note, particularly Earthquake (1974) along side 141 stunt performers[7], The Poseidon Adventure (1972) alongside 41 stunt performers[8], Logan's Run (1976) as well as a variety of films doubling for Raquel Welch[2].

In Galactica 1980, Garrett worked as the stunt double for Robyn Douglass, and Douglass' contracts later stipulated that Garrett perform any stunts in her productions[1], including the TV movie "Her Life as a Man."

She is also known for her stunt work portraying "Bambi" in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds are Forever, a role portrayed by Lola Larson. While both performers were uncredited in the film, Garrett is believed to be responsible for the stunts where Bambi fights Sean Connery's Bond.[2]

Garrett's career concluded in 1995, having worked in two different Star Trek's as a stunt performer that nearly bookend her credits of over 30 years: the Original Series' "The Cloud Miners" and The Next Generation's "Yesterday's Enterprise". For "Yesterday's Enterprise," she performed the stunts for the character of "Rachel Garrett," and can be seen when the bridge explodes leading to that character's death.

External Links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Douglass, Robyn (2020). Messages for the Future: The Galactica 1980 Memoirs. Chapter 8: Special Effects: Explore Multimedia.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Freese, Gene Scott (1 April 2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary, 2d ed.. McFarland, p. 101-102.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Boorstin, Paul (23 December 1974). People Magazine - A Hollywood Stunt Pair Enjoys Many Happy Landings—so Far (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). Retrieved on 08 February 2020.
  4. "California Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V6NJ-88Q : 27 November 2014), Ralph L Garrett and Donna L Funk, 19 Sep 1964; from "California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2007); citing Los Angeles, California, Center of Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento.
  5. "California Birth Index, 1905-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VLSW-7VV : 27 November 2014), Damon A Garrett, 25 Jan 1971; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento.
  6. "California Birth Index, 1905-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGX7-YHH : 27 November 2014), Nicole L Garrett, 10 Jul 1973; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento.
  7. Gregory, Mollie (20 October 2015). Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story (Screen Classics) Hardcover. University Press of Kentucky, p. 296.
  8. Gregory, Mollie (20 October 2015). Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story (Screen Classics) Hardcover. University Press of Kentucky, p. 295.