On the weekened I had the chance to meet Dale Bensch, mad max stunt man. What a guy, he was so enthusiastic and giving of his time that you could have mistaken him for being one of the crazy fans. Dale was responsible for the donut at Clunes.
Dale was also the stunt man who "died" during filming the Kirk's Bridge stunt when the bike tyre hit him in the back ofthe head, rumour had it. Having seen and spoken to the man I assure you all he appeared alive and well, lol. He spent some time on Kirk's Brigde telling the story of the stunt. Here he is pointing to the spot where the bike hit him, he has kindly given permission to post the pic.
Dale had several photos he took whilst making the movie, one of them was him sitting in the interceptor pulling a funny face. He asked could he recreate the photo 30 years later.
I'm just learning too. Looked for dates in the call sheets I kept, and for a start I'd got confused as to the years. Filming was from October '77 to January '78.
And the more incredible part that I never realised (or forgot?), is that the Kirks Bridge crash stunt was done in January 1978 ....
on FRIDAY the 13TH!!!!
Wow!!! Massive thanks for posting those pics Dale. I know replica builders like me love seeing new pics of the car and it seems that 30 year on there is more interest in the movie than when it came out and more pictures and stories getting around than ever before. You presence here is very much appreciated and thanks to Scott Smith and Peter Barton for the years of goodwill they put into people like you so you could feel comfortable at the event. Photo like these ones are gold to us fans.
Over the weekend I heard from a work mate of Byron's dad that people from the film where living in the caravan up until they drove through it and that was why they filmed that last according to that person.
How are you? Have you recovered yet? (I haven't). lol
Yeah, I must also add my sincere thanks to Scott Smith and Peter Barton. Although I haven't had much contact with Scott over the 10 years since we met, he has always demonstrated a respectful and professional approach to this Mad Max phenomenon that I am lucky enough to now feel a part of, thanks to all you guys.
A good excuse for another pic ... this is for you Dave (thanks for the "trade mark" idea which is on your t shirt)
(who's that scag in the background?)
Dale
Last edited by Donut Dale on Tue Oct 29, 2013 2:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
Thanks for the pics Dale, i just cant belive there is still new pics out ther for us to see from 30 yrs ago, also thanks for the stories and the autograph while on kirks bridge.
I was the guy with the charger by the way.
I can't belive i did not get a pick of my car on kirks bridge while i was there.
Thanks so much for posting the pics up for us.... if you have anymore or have any anecdotes from that time, I'm sure I speak for all of us here when I say we'd LOVE to see/hear them......
This is the sort of stuff that us fans dream of seeing on the forum, thanks so so much for sharing.
