Stuntman Bob Yerkes (rhymes with circus) was born on February 11, 1932 in Los Angeles County, California. Bob Yerkes began tumbling down at Santa Monica Muscle Beach when he was 11 and he ran away from home to join the Clyde Beatty Circus as part of an acrobatic act when he was only fifteen. Bob returned to Los Angeles in the late 1940’s and began performing stunts in movies. His career as a stuntman encompasses several decades. Bob Yerkes has stunt doubled for many notable people including Paul Newman, Robert Duvall, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Christopher Lloyd, and Della Reese. He trained numerous celebrity circus acts for various “Circus of the Stars” TV specials throughout the 1980’s as well as has numerous stunt performers in the backyard of his home in Los Angeles, California.
Bob Yerkes is a supporter of The United Stuntwomen’s Association (USA) and it’s members since the organization was first started. For more than 50 years Bob taught, trained, supported, and often housed stuntwomen and stuntmen at his home and training facility in the San Fernando Valley.
Bob Yerkes has performed extraordinary stunts in Touched by an Angel, the Batman movies, Poseidon Adventure, Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Back to the Future I, II, III, Remo Williams (Award for Best High work), Commando (Doubled for Schwarzenegger), Return of the Jedi & many more. Bob worked in Circus of the Starsfor 10 years and with American Gladiators for 6 years.
Bob Yerkes is one of the premier stuntman in the world. He has received the World Acrobatics Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award – Gallery of Acrobatic Legends.
His company, Bob Yerkes Circus Productions specialized in coordinating, circus and aerial production. Circus Productions taught acrobatics, offered supplies, equipment and rigging.
