Stunt performers are seriously injured due to stunts gone wrong more often than you’d think, and they rarely receive the recognition they deserve. We tend to praise an actor who “does his own stunts,” though we ignore the stuntmen and stuntwomen themselves, doing the stunts every day for a living. Whether it’s being the stunt performer for an actor in a major motion film or doing background work, working in the field takes skill and training.
Unfortunately, most injuries end up being pretty serious, with the stunt performers even dying during a stunt. The artist and stunt performer in the following story was filming a music video when things went terribly wrong.
Extreme Stunts
Jon James McMurray was born in Calgary, Alberta in Canada and he began his career as a professional athlete during high school. He competed in free-skiing and extreme stunts. He filmed internationally throughout North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and was featured in several action sports movies.
Musician
McMurray was also the owner and founder of Loose Canon Productions, a film company that released the sports action lifestyle film Without A Cause. Known for combining free-skiing and extreme stunts, McMurray was the first action sports personality to successfully land a back-flip transferring from rail to rail.
Surgeries
As his popularity increased, McMurray received sponsorships from companies including Oakley, Rossignol, Rip Curl, and Smith Optics. His tendency to perform dangerous stunts led to several serious injuries including a fractured neck and a broken back on two occasions, requiring seven surgeries.
Musician
After he broke his back, McMurray began rapping and producing music, performing under the name Jon James. He even released a record in 2016 called “Rex Leo.” Even though his sports action career proved risky, McMurray’s rap career wasn’t nearly as dangerous. That was, until, he was performing a music video stunt that involved rapping while walking on the wing of a plane.
Stunt
McMurray had been training intensively to complete the stunt on a small Cessna plane. It was a project he had been working on for months, and his final act involved walking on the wing of the plane. A statement from his rep told People.com, “As Jon got further out onto the wing of the plane, it caused the small Cessna to go into a downward spiral that the pilot couldn’t correct.”
Wing
“Jon held onto the wing until it was too late, and by the time he let go, he didn’t have time to pull his chute. He impacted and died instantly,” the statement continued. The plane reportedly landed safely and no one was else was injured in the accident, which took place in Vernon, British Columbia.
Passionate
“Jon was an incredibly passionate person and was always smiling. He filled everyone around him with positivity, and never spoke poorly about another person. He truly had a heart of gold,” a rep from McMurray’s management said.
Music Videos
McMurray’s music videos frequently featured him performing stunts like flip and base jumping to skydiving. A 2015 video for “Hello” opened with the rapper admitting that he broke a parachute while prepping for the shoot. “His passion for making music videos and performing stunts were combined, and Jon pushed music in a new direction that was unchartered territory,” the statement said.
Investigating His Death
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, coroner’s office, and Transportation Safety Board have all begun an investigation into McMurray’s death. A GoFundMe page has also been set up for him to “get his stuff out there to the world in the right way.” The GoFundMe announced his death saying “Canadian music artist Jon James McMurray died performing an airplane stunt in Vernon BC on October 20, 2018, just outside the town of West Wold between Vernon and Kamloops.”
World-Renowned Skier
The GoGundMe also noted his accomplished describing McMurray as a “world-renowned skier with multiple world firsts under his belt.” “He was the first skier ever to backflip onto and off of a rail in addition to garnering a reputation known as one of the most innovative and well-respected skiers in the world. After sustaining multiple injuries including a broken back … Jon decided to pursue his growing passion for music.”
Center of Gravity
After pouring his ambition for life into his music and working relentlessly toward “advancement in the music industry,” McMurray earned his way onto the stage. He loved to perform at large events like the Center of Gravity alongside some of the biggest names in Hip Hop. “Jon continually pushed his music into unchartered territory by merging his passion for performing incredible stunts with his groundbreaking music video production.”
The Jon James Team
McMurray’s company, The Jon James team described him as an incredibly motivated person, always smiling, encouraging everyone around him to follow their passion and to live life to the fullest. They explained that “Jon would want to be remembered as a beacon of light to follow your dreams.”
Celebration of Life
A portion of McMurray’s GoFundMe page which has a $100,000 goal will be used to help his family with the costs associated of his Celebration of Life, which the family will be having instead of a traditional funeral. The rest of the fund is dedicated to releasing all of McMurray’s remaining music and video content for the world “to see, hear, spread, and enjoy.”
Funds
“The funds raised on GoFundMe will be completely dedicated to production of Jon’s music and video content specifically to be made into a series, which had been planned in the event of his tragic ending. He had a favorite producer and close friend Adium with whom he has a large amount of previously unreleased content that we will be publishing to honor his legacy,” his team said.
Close Friends And Family
McMurray’s GoFundMe will be controlled by his brother Jarred as well as his closest friends Rory Bushfield and Chris Biollo. “The extremely tight team that he built around his brand, that has been working together for the last 5 years, will continue to work together to market and release Jon’s groundbreaking music and video content.”
Future Content
Lastly, all money generated from the sale of McMurray’s future content will be donated to a foundation dedicated to helping kids realize their dreams and teach them to capitalize on their “limitless potential.” Since his tragic death, McMurray’s story has been covered by several magazines.
Publications
Time Magazine, People Magazine, US magazine, Yahoo, Newsweek, Access Hollywood, XXL Magazine, Global, Billboard Magazine, and Hotnewhiphop are among the publications. McMurray’s team explained that he knew how dangerous his job was and that he was “prepared” for this.
Prepared
“Jon was always prepared for this event as he knew it was a real possibility with each new stunt he intended to conquer. He was documenting his life from the time he was 12 until the moment of his death. He had hundreds of tracks and new albums that he recorded and prepared for us to release in the event of his death,” his team said.
Harry Potter
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time a daredevil died or was seriously injured while performing a stunt. While working on a flying scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double David Holmes was on the receiving end of a staged explosion. After hitting the wall with such force, he became paralyzed.
xXx
In the 2002 film xXx, Vin Diesel’s stunt double Harry O’Connor was killed instantly during filming while doing aerial stunts. O’Connor was attempting to rappel down a parasailing line, with a goal to land on a submarine. But, instead, he hit a bridge while going down at high speed. Countless others stuntmen have been injured throughout the years. McMurray’s death, though tragic, shows how dangerous and underappreciated this line of work can be.
