Bill Catching

Jerome P. Catching, better known as Bill Catching, was a stuntman on several episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, including (doubling for Lazarus),  and  (both times doubling Spock).

Catching was also a stuntman on a number of Western television series, including Death Valley Days, Gunsmoke, and The Rifleman. Other series on which he performed stunts include The F.B.I. and The Streets of San Francisco. Additionally, he was stunt coordinator on McCloud, Wonder Woman, and The Fall Guy, among other shows.

He also performed stunts on a number of films, including North by Northwest (1959), Spartacus (1960), Seven Days in May (1964), The Great Race (1965), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Westworld (1973), and Blazing Saddles (1974). He was also the stunt coordinator for Martin Scorsese's 1973 crime drama Mean Streets and Oliver Stone's 1986 Oscar-nominated war thriller Salvador.

Catching also acted on occasion, generally in those projects for which he was performing stunts. He made frequent appearances on The Cisco Kid, The Roy Rogers Show, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, and Gunsmoke, among others. Besides these, he appeared with several Star Trek regualars in non-Trek shows. He appeared in two episodes of Zane Grey Theater featuring DeForest Kelley (as well as George D. Wallace) in 1957 and 1958. In the latter year, he was also seen in an episode of Sea Hunt with Leonard Nimoy (for whom he doubled on TOS) playing one of his brothers. A 1962 episode Burke's Law teamed Catching with William Shatner and Michael Ansara. Catching later appeared with Ansara in the 1973 TV movie Ordeal, along with Diana Muldaur and Arch Whiting.

Catching retired in 1983. He died in Yuma, Arizona, on 24 August 2007 at the age of 81.