Leo J. McMahon

Biography

Stuntman and actor Leo J. McMahon was born on November 11, 1913 in Sonora, California. The son of an Irish father and a Mexican mother, McMahon grew up on a ranch. In 1936 Leo decided to go to Hollywood and pursue a career in the film business after producer Harry Sherman suggested that he do so. McMahon took a hiatus from the film industry in the mid-1940's; during this time he served as a tail gunner and bombardier with the U.S. Army Air Corps' Flying Fortresses in which he flew dozens of hazardous missions over Europe and eventually received a Purple Heart after being wounded in one of those missions. Leo returned to California, got married, bought a home in North Hollywood, and resumed his career as both an actor and stuntman in Westerns. His career as a stuntman was abruptly cut short in 1956 after McMahon suffered a severe injury when the shooting of a furious chase sequence involving horses went awry and resulted in McMahon running into a tree. Leo subsequently tried his hand at writing screenplays and wrote the story for the movie Madron (1970). McMahon died at age 81 on October 31, 1995 at a hospital in North Hollywood.