Louie Elias

Louie Elias was an American actor and stunt performer.

Elias played Trooper Franklin on the first episode of F Troop, which aired in September 1965, and footage of his spectacular bailout — caused by a cannon mishap inside the fort — was reused for the opening of each show.

Elias doubled for Charles McGraw in Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, getting pushed into a giant vat by Kirk Douglas in a stunt that left a scar on his chin for life. He also served as Rod Taylor's double throughout the Australian actor's career.

On television, Elias stepped in for Robert Conrad on The Wild Wild West, for Michael Douglas on The Streets of San Francisco, and he was Swordfish, one of the henchmen working for The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), during a Batman first-season installment.

His résumé as a stuntman also includes work on such films as Planet of the Apes (1968), The Wild Bunch (1969), The Longest Yard (1974) and Dick Tracy (1990).

As an actor, Elias also showed up on 77 Sunset Strip, The Outer Limits, Gunsmoke, Combat!, Get Smart, Star Trek, M*A*S*H, Charlie's Angels and Simon & Simon, and he also wrote episodes of Dallas and Airwolf.

Elias died December 13, 2017, in Ventura County, California. He was 84.