Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Preferred Citation
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Biographical note
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Related Archival Materials
Processing Information note
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Pepperdine University. Special Collections and University Archives.
Title: Chuck Waters Papers
Identifier/Call Number: 0122
Physical Description:
2.92 Linear Feet
(7 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1965-1998
Abstract: Chuck Waters is an American stuntman and actor who has worked on more than 130 films, including
The Deer Hunter,
Apocalypse Now,
The Exorcist, the Indiana Jones trilogy, and
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The collection includes scripts, notes, photographs, stunt reels, articles, and ephemera relating to Waters' career in the
stunt industry.
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access. Pepperdine has digital surrogates of Series 3. Photographs, and the last file in Series
2. Career, "Thank You Letters from Actors and Producers." The file name for each of these items is located following the item's
title in parentheses. The originals have been retained by Chuck Waters. The rest of the materials are housed in Pepperdine
University Special Collections and University Archives. The digital surrogates can be accessed through Pepperdine's Digital
Collection: http://pepperdine.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15730coll12.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder# or item name], Chuck Waters Papers, Collection no. 0122, Special Collections and University Archives, University
Libraries, Pepperdine University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was given to Pepperdine University by Chuck Waters on November 25, 2013.
Biographical note
Chuck Waters is an American stuntman and actor who has worked on more than 130 films. Waters was born on September 14, 1934,
in Libertyville, Illinois and grew up in Waukegan, Illinois. Even as a child, he was known for his adventurous nature: as
early as five years old, he could be found climbing on the roof of his house and jumping to a nearby tree to get down. In
high school, Waters could often be found scaling fire escapes or hopping trains. At 17, Waters and a friend hitchhiked to
California and back, then Waters hitchhiked to New Jersey and back on his own, just for the adventure of it.
After high school, Waters joined the Marine Corps for a short tour of duty. When he returned from the military, Waters enrolled
in a plumbing apprenticeship school and spent 10 years in the plumbing business. In 1955, Waters married his first wife, Carol.
The couple had four children.
Waters decided to move to Hollywood in the early 1960s. Shortly after arriving in California, he read an article about stuntmen
in the
TV Guide. He found the challenges and excitement of a stuntman's career appealing and decided to try and make a name for himself in
the stunt industry. Waters eventually connected with well-known stuntman, Paul Stader, who owned a boxing gym in Santa Monica
where he trained up and coming stuntmen. Chuck began training with Stader and in 1965, after only 9 months of training, was
recommended to take Stader's place on a job as a scuba diver on the TV series
Honey West starring Ann Francis.
In the 1970s, Waters' career took off. He performed stunts in major films such as
High Plains Drifter,
The Exorcist (crashing through a window and down 75 steps as Jason Miller's stunt double),
The Deer Hunter, and
Apocalypse Now. In 1973, on the set of the Clint Eastwood film
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
, Waters met his second wife, Charlotte Peterson. The two were married in 1975. In the 1980s, Waters began receiving jobs
as a stunt coordinator and he has alternated between orchestrating the stunts and performing them ever since. All of the stunts
that Waters has performed have been live action stunts and have not been computerized in any way.
Over the course of his career, Waters has worked with many of the top names in Hollywood, including George Lucas, Steven Spielberg,
William Friedkin, Francis Ford Coppola and noted 2nd Unit Director Micky Moore. He has worked with actors such as Harrison
Ford, Martin Sheen, Sean Penn, Robert De Niro, and Sean Connery. One of his longest working relationships is with actor/director
Clint Eastwood, with whom Waters has done 13 films.
Additional movies Waters has worked on include:
Raiders of the Lost Ark,
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,
National Lampoon's European Vacation,
Flubber,
Every Which Way But Loose,
Flags of Our Fathers, and
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Waters has been a member of the Stuntmen's Association of Motion Pictures and Television since 1966 and in 2001, received
a Lifetime Member Award.
Scope and Content
The collection includes scripts, notes, photographs, stunt reels, articles, and ephemera relating to Waters' career in the
stunt industry.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into three series: 1. Scripts; 2. Career; and 3. Photographs. Files within each series are organized
chronologically.
Related Archival Materials
Michael D. (Micky) Moore Papers, 0117, Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, Pepperdine University.
Processing Information note
The collection was arranged and described by Beth McDonald, Pepperdine Special Collections and University Archives Intern,
under the supervision of Katie Richardson in December, 2013.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Television scripts
Motion pictures, American
Actors and actresses -- United States
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History
Feature films -- United States
Screenplays
Stunt performers
Photographs
Lucas, George
Waters, Chuck
Spielberg, Steven
Eastwood, Clint
Moore, Michael