Western actor and stuntman Neil Summers, 81, died in Utah on Sept. 4. Born in England but raised in the US Southwest, Summers became a fan of westerns: “I grew up watching all the cowboys on TV,” he said. “I just wanted to be a cowboy in the movies. I had no interest in staying inside. I started working as an extra and they eased me up.” He began doing stuntwork—mostly on TV and movie westerns—in the 1960s, also playing small roles. Summers’s credits—more than 120 titles—include Death Valley Days, True Grit, Monte Walsh, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Little House on the Prairie, The Outlaw Josie Wales, The Fall Guy, Zapped!, Mars Attacks!, Howard the Duck, Robocop, Midnight Run, Quantum Leap, and Magnum, P.I. Summers wrote the books Candid Cowboys, Unsung Heroes, and TV Western Round Up,” and wrote for the Western Clippings site. “Neil is a great guy,” posted western interviewer Chris Casey. “Very friendly and always willing to talk about his career and westerns in general. Swell fellow all around.”
