Kim Kahana, born in 1929 is a mentor to many of his students at the age of 94. An incredible 72-year storied Hollywood career from 1950 to 2022, Kahana is an American stunt coordinator, stunt performer, actor and action choreographer, who transformed the art of stunt performance into a highly respected and valued occupation within the film and television industries.
He performed stunts, sometimes life-threatening, in over 300 films including The Wild One (1953), Cool Hand Luke (1963), Patton (1970) and the Smokey and the Bandit franchise, and tv shows including Mission Impossible, The Six Million Dollar Man and Kung Fu. He had a starring role in the TV Series Danger Island. Kahana has been a stunt-double for Burt Reynolds, Paul Newman, Charles Bronson, and many other leading actors. He is the recipient of two Purple Hearts and a Silver Star from his service time in the Korean War. Kahana studied martial arts in Japan earning six black belts in karate, aikido and jujutsu.
In 1972, he established Kahana's Stunt School in Chatsworth California and later relocated it to Groveland Florida, where he trains performers in stunt work, martial arts, hand-to-hand combat and weapons safety. Kim Kahana's legacy lives on as an indomitable force in the world of stunt performance, leaving an enduring mark on cinema history.
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