Born Enos Edward Canutt on November 29 1894 in Washington state.
Yakima got his nickname from hanging around with rodeo riders from Yakima, Washington.
His career included being a nationally known rodeo star during the silent movie era which is how he first made his way into show business.It was his ability to handle horses and to take a fall that finally led to a job as a stuntman which he preffered to acting.
He became friends with a young actor by the name of John Wayne who patterned his 'cowboy' persona after him.
Yakima invented a style of fake punching for movies that is still in use today.With the camera P.O.V (point of view) from behind the receiving actors shoulder to conceal the fact that the punch never really connects.
His most famous stunts were those in which he would jump a horse off of a cliff or jump from a horse to a vehicle such as a stagecoach.
His many films include Stagecoach in 1939 as well as Gone with the Wind as well as Disney's Old Yeller and even a car chase scene in the 1967 Flim Flam Man.
Yakima Canutt died on May 24 1986.