Welcome to the Evolving Man Project’s “Evolved Man of the Week” profile. Each week, we will highlight an individual who embodies what it means to be an evolved, famous, and non-famous man. The world needs to know their stories and deeds. This week’s honor goes to an American stuntman and actor, Henry Kingi Sr.
Henry Kingi Sr. was born in Los Angeles on December 2, 1943. He is of Native American, African American, European, and Japanese descent. He has a son, Henry Kingi Jr., who was born in 1970 and is also a stuntman
He and actress Lindsay Wagner tied the knot in May 1981, but their marriage ended in divorce in 1984. Their sons include Dorian (1982) and Alexander (1986). Both sons have careers as stuntmen. Kirstie Alley hailed him as the ultimate cool-looking stuntman in her book, Art of Men (I Prefer Mine Al dente).
Kingi has over 300 films and television credits as an actor and stuntman. Kingi is a co-founder of the Black Stuntmen’s Association. Henry has received four Taurus World Stunt Awards for his outstanding work with a vehicle in Bad Boys II (2004), his exceptional specialty stunt in Taxi (2005), his impressive specialty stunt in Fast Five (2012), and his remarkable work with a vehicle in Furious 7 (2016).
Here is Henry Kingi Sr. in his own words about the events that led to the creation of the Black Stuntmen’s Association:
In 1967, the few of us who wound up landing spot work started the Black Stuntmen’s Association. About ten years later, Marge [Ryan Kreeger], a lawyer who Clarence Thomas [Ed note: Yes, the Supreme Court justice and former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission chief] sent to us, filed a bunch of lawsuits for us—we sued Warner Bros. We ended up getting more freedom to go to the studios ourselves—but they called us troublemakers, and so it was hard and they gave work to other Black stuntmen not in the BSA. Eventually we started getting more work, and we also helped get Black hairdressers and makeup artists into the business, too.
Today, we honor Henry Kingi Sr. as our Evolved Man of the Week.
Evolving Folks Project 