Paul Baxley

Paul Reginald Baxley was a stuntman, stunt coordinator and director who worked as stunt coordinator and regular stuntman on Star Trek: The Original Series. He was one of the stunt doubles for leading actor William Shatner and also appeared in archive footage in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine tribute episode.

Baxley was born in Casper, Wyoming and is the father of stuntman Craig R. Baxley, Sr., the uncle of stuntman Gary Baxley, the great-uncle of Hunter Baxley, and the grandfather of Craig Baxley, Jr.. He is probably best remembered for his work on the action-comedy series The Dukes of Hazzard on which he worked on all seven seasons between 1979 and 1985. Beside being the stunt coordinator on over 120 episodes he also worked as stuntman on the series and was a regular second unit director and director on nine episodes. On this series he worked with fellow Trek stunt performers Bob Orrison, Steve Kelso, Doug Coleman, Hubie Kerns, Jr., Henry Kingi, Sr., Gene LeBell, and Jerry Summers. Baxley also worked as stunt coordinator on the television movie The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood in 2000. On his last known work in the stunt industry, Baxley worked with fellow stuntman Bret Davidson, Craig Baxley, Jr., Tom McComas, and Thom Williams.

Baxley grew up in Los Angeles and was a quarterback and track star at Eagle Rock High. Following his service as a marine, scout, and sniper in the 4th division in World War II he was awarded with two purple hearts, a bronze star, and a letter of commendation from the president. Following the war he went back to college and also became a quarterback again. In the late 1940s he met stuntman and stunt coordinator who brought him into the stunt community and Baxley soon performed stunts in films such as the drama Deep Valley (1947), the western Pirates of Monterey (1947), the drama The Lady from Shanghai (1947), the adventure The Black Arrow (1948), and the western Comanche Territory (1950, with Fred Carson, Dick Crockett, and Tom Steele), and doubled Robert Douglas in the romance The Adventures of Don Juan (1948) and  in the western Kansas Raiders (1950).

The following years he worked on films including the music comedy The West Point Story (1950), the horror film The Son of Dr. Jekyll (1951), the adventure The Crimson Pirate (1952), the western The Iron Mistress (1952), the western Shane (1953), as stunt double for in the adventure The Black Knight (1954), the drama Rebel Without a Cause (1955, with Chuck Hicks, Ron Burke, and Carey Loftin), the television series Mike Hammer (with Hal Needham and Ronnie Rondell, Jr.), the musical The Vagabond King (1956, with Bob Herron), the drama Giant (1956, with Troy Melton and Paul Stader), he adventure Around the World in Eighty Days (1956, with Max Kleven, Gil Perkins, Al Cavens, and Dick Crockett), the western Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957, with DeForest Kelley), the war drama The Deep Six (1958), the comedy Some Like It Hot (1959), and the western Guns of the Timberland (1960). Baxley also worked as stunt coordinator on the drama Hell Below Zero (1954), the crime drama Hell on Frisco Bay (1955), the adventure Santiago (1956, with Dick Crockett and Bob Herron), and the adventure Boy on a Dolphin (1957).

Baxley passed away on 4 March 2011 in Palmdale, California at the age of 87.