The Finding Aid of the Chuck Waters Papers 0122
Beth McDonald and Katie Richardson
Pepperdine University. Special Collections and University Archives.
December 2013
24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu 90263-4786
kelsey.knox@pepperdine.edu
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
box 1-7
Series 1:
Scripts
1982-1998
Scope and Content
The series is comprised of scripts and script notes from movies and television shows that Waters worked on.
box 1
Mischief (
Heart and Soul)
1984
Scope and Content
The original title of this film was
Heart and Soul. The final title was
Mischief.
box 2
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color: Hero in the Family original script is titled
Astronaut and Son
1986
box 4
Ernest Scared Stupid
1991
box 5
The Thing Called Love
1992
box 6
Robin Cook's Terminal
1995-1996
box 7
Series 2:
Career
1970s-1990s
Scope and Content
The series is comprised of articles, stunt reels and other materials documenting Waters' career in stuntwork.
box 7
Stunt Reel
1970s-1990s
Physical Description: (1 DVD)
Thank You Letters from Actors and Producers
1983-1992
Physical Description: (waters00088.pdf - waters00099.pdf)
Series 3:
Photographs
1965-1996
Physical Description: (113 photographs, 5 article clippings, 2 photocopies, 1 postcard, and 1 sheet of production information)
Scope and Content
The series is comprised of photographs from movies and television shows that Waters worked on. Pepperdine has digital surrogates
of this series that can be accessed here: http://pepperdine.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15730coll12. Originals
have been kept by Chuck Waters.
The Russians are Coming the Russians are Coming
1965
Physical Description: (waters00101.tif - waters00103.tif)
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
1966
Physical Description: (waters00001.tif, waters00002.tif)
Batman
1966
Physical Description: (waters00003.tif, waters00004.tif)
The Time Tunnel
1966
Physical Description: (waters00005.tif, waters00104.tif)
Custer (The Legend of Custer)
1967
Physical Description: (waters00006.tif, waters00105.tif)
The Molly Maguires
1970
Physical Description: (waters00007.tif - waters00009.tif, waters00087.tif)
The Grissom Gang
1971
Physical Description: (waters00010.tif)
The Exorcist
1972
Physical Description: (waters00077.tif - waters00082.tif, waters131.jpg - waters132.jpg, waters00084.pdf, waters00085.pdf, waters130.pdf)
Now You See Him, Now You Don't
1972
Physical Description: (waters00011.tif)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
1972
Physical Description: (waters00012.tif - waters00013.tif)
High Plains Drifter
1972-1973
Physical Description: (waters00014.tif - waters00019.tif)
The Parallax View
1974
Physical Description: (waters00020.tif - waters00022.tif, waters00083.pdf)
The White Dawn
1974
Physical Description: (waters00023.tif)
Three for the Road
1975
Physical Description: (waters00107.tif - waters00109.tif)
Swashbuckler
1975 November
Physical Description: (waters00110.tif, waters00024.tif, waters00133.pdf)
The Ultimate Warrior
1975
Physical Description: (waters00111.tif)
The Deer Hunter
1977-1978
Physical Description: (waters00025.tif - waters00032.tif, waters00086.tif, waters00134.pdf)
Every Which Way But Loose
1978
Physical Description: (waters00033.tif - waters00036.tif)
Eagle's Wing
1978
Physical Description: (waters00037.tif - waters00039.tif)
The Fantastic Seven
1979
Physical Description: (waters00040.tif)
Melvin and Howard
1980
Physical Description: (waters00041.tif, waters00042.tif)
Honky Tonk Freeway
1981
Physical Description: (waters00043.tif, waters00044.tif)
Bad Boys
1983
Physical Description: (waters00045.tif - waters00054.tif)
Yellowbeard
1983
Physical Description: (waters00112.tif, waters00113.tif)
Sudden Impact
1983
Physical Description: (waters00055.tif)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
1984
Physical Description: (waters00114.tif)
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color Hero in the Family
1984
Physical Description: (waters00056.tif, waters00057, tifwaters00115.tif - waters00120.tif)
Scope and Content
The original title of this production was
Astronaut and Son.
American Dreamer
1984
Physical Description: (waters00058.tif - waters00060.tif)
At Close Range
1985
Physical Description: (waters00061.tif - waters00062.tif)
Colors
1987
Physical Description: (waters00063.tif)
Nichols and Dymes
1989
Physical Description: (waters00064.tif - waters00067.tif)
Stolen Woman: Captured Hearts
1996
Physical Description: (waters00068.tif, waters00121.tif)
The Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
1998
Physical Description: (waters00122.tif)
The Sky's on Fire
1999
Physical Description: (waters00123.tif)
Stills for Stuntman Association Book
1968-1969
Physical Description: (waters00124.tif - waters00126.tif)
Various Photos of Chuck Waters Training
1968-1990s
Physical Description: (waters00127.tif - waters00129.tif, waters00071.tif - waters00076.tif, waters00106.tif)