From the Author:
I hope you are a film fan, and that you are curious about the world of illusion that stunt players create for you. In my days and nights on sets, I rubbed elbows with the greats and the aspiring unknowns, along with the incredible crews and creators who make it all possible. Here are a few of my stories.
I have found, as I travel the world over, that a stunt person can strike up a conversation anywhere we go. Our stories are sometimes amusing, fluffy little things and sometimes deeply tragic. And they are always biased. Over the years, some become like “fish stories,” morphing into something greater than they were.
Other stories reveal little lessons we learned along the way. And sometimes, like mine, our stories are those of survivors who fight daily to live normal lives in the aftermath.
If you aren’t familiar with movie-set terms, I have written Dalton’s Dictionary to help you understand the stories. It is definitely biased. Similarly, the SCENE descriptions are purely from memory and are not intended to represent actual script excerpts. I hope you have fun with the crossword puzzle at the end with clues throughout the book.
I am occasionally prone to poems, weird as that may be. They pop up every once in a while. You can easily skip them if they aren’t your thing. A poem is risky for an author to do, yet stunt folks are always willing to risk, though we are not thrill seekers. We are, first and foremost, athletic artists working with skill, scientific precision and calculations.
The tales here cover a very special part of my forty-year career in entertainment, sometimes slipping in some key aspects of my larger aspirations toward Acting. And where my stunt stories conclude, I invite you to read Murder Of Talent: How Pop Culture Is Killing “IT” soon to be released. There you will discover the crazy world that I, and others, experience as performers. It isn’t necessarily safer. Surviving as a talented artist can be deadly too, as the title suggests.
I hope that you find your curiosity piqued, your ribs tickled a little, and your heart warmed with appreciation for what we do. Most of all, I hope that, as you read, you might reflect on what you have learned from your own adventures in life. I wish for you to grow in a less painful way than I did, because I was just too stubborn and scared to listen.
About the Book:
This Behind-the-Scenes Tell-All about doubling for celebrity superstars also reveals the compelling life story of an Insecure Hollywood arrival who rises to the top of her field, but pays a hefty price. Addiction, chauvinism and big egos collide with the surprising kindness of superstars. Discover the magic and the tragic stories of many great films & TV shows through the eyes of a stuntwoman. Dalton reveals what it took to hang over cliffs, get hit by a moving car, drop from five stories up, dodge an avenue full of speeding cars—and to ignore the Universe’s more gentle prompts that it was time to quit and follow her passion into acting full time or teaching acting. The resulting career-ending spinal injury has a story of its own, how she researched medical and alternative paths that form the heart of what she shares with the world today.
Stunt Gal Lisa Dalton tattles about humorous and harrowing tales culled from over 200 films, television shows and commercials including Ghostbusters, Money Pit, Crocodile Dundee, Married to the Mob, FX, Legal Eagles, The Last Dragon, Saturday Night Live & Splash, working with or doubling such superstars as Meryl Streep, Cher, Madonna, Grace Jones, Robert Redford, Katherine Hepburn, Sean Connery, Tom Hanks, Chevy Chase, Robin Williams, Ed O'Neill, Michelle Pfeiffer and more.
"What stands out in this book is the indomitable spirit the author has, despite the extraordinary price she paid for her stellar career—including misogyny, a miscarriage, and a life-long back injury. And each juicy story she relays in her fascinating chronicle, brings home an important life lesson for the reader—one that she learned the hard way." –J. Lapin
“Falling For The Stars: A Stunt Gal’s Tattle Tales inspires us to have an indomitable spirit that rises to learn and live life to the fullest. Pick up Falling For The Stars, strap on your safety gear and take the leap.” – Tom Bird, Best Selling Author of over 20 books including Write Right From God (2015)
“Falling For The Stars is like a “magic carpet ride”. Lisa seems to find the excitement, the mystery, the challenge and the art so fulfilling that there is almost an atmosphere of addiction in the daring and conquering of the unknown…. I find a woman to whom it is essential to find the core of her being. This search comes out in the amazing pictures of her doubling other actors. How far does she go when doubling? Feeling? Mannerisms? Thoughts?” – Patricia Wachter, ED.D., MFT
“Fun, entertaining and insightful true stories through the eyes of a stuntwoman, actress, teacher, and friend. I laughed and I cried. Be sure and look her up on YouTube.” – Delta Johnston, Avid Fiction Reader, Antique Dealer
“I’ve totally fallen for Falling for the Stars. Lisa Loving Dalton is an amazing storyteller. Any fan of movies and TV will love reading this book. It’s chock full of inside information about a crazy industry and lessons learned - often the hard way…” – David Thalberg, BrandStand
“Although complex and detailed, this book is very readable. I now appreciate so much more the effort and talent that goes into making the imaginary a reality…” –Patricia Young, M. ED, Certified Learning Therapist
“Falling For the Stars unveils Lisa Dalton’s life of no limits, jumping into dangerous experiences to try to make a story come alive on film, even when she was unknown through the process. That speaks to the life of a true artist – one who puts the story and its message to the world above her own personal needs for recognition, or safety…”
–– Charlie Bowles, Reviewer, The Column by John Garcia, Certified Mediator, Arbitrator
“The original and creative way she shares media vocabulary in her crossword puzzle at the end leaves the reader with a smile along with the information. What a joy…” –– Jan Kelly, Retired Teacher
About the Author
Beginning as a naïve, insecure actress, trying to use extra work and stunts as a way into the Hollywood firmament, Dalton rose to become a top stunt professional, ultimately reaping the economic rewards and the ego gratification—while denying her true desire to act full time and suffering a crippling injury.
Dalton appeared in more than 200 films, television shows and commercials in New York, Hollywood and Texas, including work in Ghostbusters, Money Pit, Crocodile Dundee, Married to the Mob, FX, Legal Eagles, and Splash on the big screen and ER, HBO’s Carnivale, Dr. Quinn and Melrose Place among her many TV credits.
From a bullied, dyslexic, messy, freckle-faced, klutzy pixie, Lisa Loving Dalton grew into a statuesque and skillful stuntwoman, actor, director, teacher, author, filmmaker, John Maxwell Team leadership and life coach, and ceremonial minister. Always seeking and finding the silver lining, she has made the most of whatever life threw at her. She says, “I spill stuff, trip and drip all of the time so I made a career out of it. My advice: Embrace what is as perfect.” You may see her cruising with her Shih Tzu Tibby on her Red BMW motorcycle. If you catch her eating, she will be wearing a bib.
Her career-ending crash led to researching medical and alternative paths that form the heart of what she shares with the world today. www.lisadalton.com She is now certified in NLP, Hypnosis, and Neurological Repatterning—ways she learned to heal and a Master Acting Teacher/President of the National Michael Chekhov Association (@michaelchekhov) and SAG-AFTRA DFW Board Member.
She will release Murder Of Talent: How Pop Culture Is Killing "IT" in February, 2017.
Lisa loves motorcycling, singing, art, hiking, scuba, travel, gettin' dirty diggin' the garden and meeting new folks like yourself. Look her up on Facebook and @lisadalto in Fort Worth, TX.
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