Did Steve McQueen do his own stunt in Great Escape?

Ekins, acting as stunt double for Steve McQueen while filming The Great Escape, was the rider who performed what is considered to be one of the most famous motorcycle stunts ever performed in a movie….

Did Steve McQueen really jump the fence in The Great Escape?

FILM buffs have voted Steve McQueen’s dramatic fence-jump in the 1963 classic The Great Escape the greatest movie motorcycle scene ever. The high-speed leap was made on a Triumph TR6 Trophy by stunt double Bud Ekins, after McQueen crashed attempting the stunt himself.

How true was the film The Great Escape?

The film is accurate in showing that only three escapees made home runs, although the people who made them differed from those in the film. The escape of Danny and Willie in the film is based on two Norwegians who escaped by boat to Sweden, Per Bergsland and Jens Müller.

How many prisoners survived the Great Escape?

76
Editor’s Note: On the night of March 24-25, 1944, 76 Allied prisoners of Stalag Luft III, a German prison camp in Sagan, 100 miles southeast of Berlin, escaped through a tunnel named “Harry.” Within days most were recaptured.

What was Steve McQueen’s bike in The Great Escape?

Triumph TR6 Trophy models
The motorcycles used during chase scene in film The Great Escape were 1961 Triumph TR6 Trophy models disguised as German BMW R75 motorcycles. The star of the movie, Steve McQueen, did much of the riding for the film himself, although Bud Ekins performed the famous jump scene as McQueen’s stunt double.

Are any of The Great Escape actors still alive?

The plan took shape in the spring of 1943 when Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, who had been a lawyer, hatched a strategy for a major breakout. The plan was for the escapees to come out at the other end with civilian clothes, forged papers and escape equipment.

What happened Bill Hickman?

Bill Hickman died of cancer in 1986 at the age of 65 in Indio, California.