It
was all in a day's work of Jean Malahni, stuntwoman
and new Kenwood resident.
Malahni
and her nine year old daughter Tren have bought a house
on Griswold, which they are busy renovating, and plan
to move in this month. They've been living most recently
at Duncan's Mill.
You
probably would not recognize her on the street, but
Malahni was the stunt double for Linda Hamilton in The
Terminator, Rebecca DeMornay in Runaway Train,
and Gina Gershon in Showgirls, to name just three
of her over thirty screen credits.
She
was a dead body in a hot tub in Dante's Peak,
a precision driver in True Crime, and jumped
off a bridge in Three On a Match.
"The
thing about stunt people," she says, "We can do all
these bad movies, as long as the stunts are good...
we get work."
Before
The Terminator, Malahni was making a living as
"Bronco Brandy," a female mud wrestler. She even wrestled
Regis Philbin on television. But after The Terminator
came out in 1984, the phone did not stop ringing, and
she gave up the mud wrestling circuit. (However, Malahni
has agreed to a rematch with Regis sometime in the near
future.)
Malahni
won a special award for her stunt in Runaway Train,
falling between two moving boxcars at fifty miles per
hour, and her footprints are in the Stuntman
Hall of Fame in Moab, Utah.
For
Malahni, being a stuntwoman came as naturally as, say,
falling off a building. Her total lack of fear of heights,
coupled with a background in gymnastics and judo, made
her a natural for the job.
"It's
nice to get paid for what you did clowning around in
high school," she says.
Despite
her wild background, Malahni is very calm and gentle
in person. She said she has recently lost a number of
friends and family, and turned forty.......
RUSSIAN
RIVER TIMES - LIGHT MY FIRE
May
7, 1998
I
couldn't resist the opportunity of interviewing her
for our readership.
RRT-
How long have you been in the area?
JM-
My 1st home was purchased in 1976 and then I built my
current home in 1980.
RRT-
How did you get started in the movies?
JM
As a kid (12 years old) I jumped off the Disneyland
Tram and got into a whole lot of trouble. I was a tomboy
and an attention seeker. Or so they labeled me at school.
My mother cop kept me out of serious trouble.
I
was talent-scouted, so to speak, out of grade school
for TV commerials and then I started appearing on the
Brady Bunch as one of Marsha Brady's girlfriends.
As a pre-teen and a young teenager, I really did not
want ot be an actress because I felt much more comfortable
working in the background. It was just great fun.
And
then I met a stunt man, Tommy Rosales, when I was 16
and he told me that I could get paid for all the things
I was doing for fun. Wow!!
But
I failed to grasp the important career decision and
moved to the Russian River shortly after and became
a young single mother, which I am proud to say that
I have a terrific 21 year old daughter, Honey.
In
1980 I returned to Los Angeles to start my stunt career.
I got an apartment out in the 'valley' and trained as
an acrobat and studied Judo with Gene Labell (4-time
Olympic Gold Medal Winner). Through these professionals
and others too numerous to mention, including my brother-in-law,
Ronnie Bruno, the fireman who taught me safety, safety,
safety.
RRT
What was your first big break?
JM
I did a fight scene on top of a galloping horse. I was
fighting with another galloping woman. At the end of
the scene she tore off my shirt and I rode off 'bareback',
so to speak.
The
parts and work got very active.
In
between movie roles, I had the opportunity to work as
a swimsuit model. I was 24.
Through
my ability at Judo and Wrestling, I went on a United
States and Japanese Wrestling Tour. We traveled and
staged wrestling events throughout the U.S. and 11 cities
in Japan.
When
I returned to the U.S., I got the call to double for
Linda Hamilton in The Terminator. While making
this film there was little or no indication as to how
popular the movie would be. So I took off and traveled
to the Middle East and Europe.
When
The Terminator proved to be the box office blockbuster
it became, my friends called me back the U.S. to continue
stunt work.
There
followed a period of activity which included stunt work
and acting roles in 20 movies, among the: Run Away
Train (I fell between a movingt train- doubling
Rebecca DeMorney), Clue (doubled Madelene Kahn),
Friday the 13th, and other B movies.
I
fell in love with a model (I will never do that again)
and had another child. Tren (who is now 8 years old
and very beautiful). She is a future stunt woman and
is already trained for movie work. Sometimes I think
that I fall off building better than I fall in love."
RRT
Any more movies?
KM
A month after Tren was born I signed a contract with
Paramount Studios as a stripper in teh Eddie Murphy
movie 48 hours. I truly loved working with Nick Nolte.
I found Eddie to be very difficult to work with, not
a lot of fun. In the movie Dante's Peak, I played
myself and was burned to death in a hot spring, if you
have seen the movie, the scene in the beginning shows
me getting cooked like a lobster. It took five hours
of makeup to prepare for that shoot. The makeup was
done by 'Industrial
Light Makeup and Special Effects'. They filmed the
whole application process for an advanced makeup training
seminar. It was pretty special.
RRT
Have you done anything outside of the movies that your
proud of?
KM
I did a Playboy spread in 1995, StuntWomen of Hollywood.
I was very flattered and proud to represent Hollywood
Stunt Women in Playboy Magazine.
RRT
Current projects?
KM
I am on call to be a stunt driver in a new movie (lots
of precision driving in San Francisco) and I am selling
my home in Guerneville, but I will probably build again
nearby. I own a small antique store in Duncans Mills
that keeps me up in this area. I am currently writing
a book that will have a lot of new Hollywood 'inside
information' that will be a lot more truthful and more
interesting that the Heidi Flisse story!
RRT
What is the greatest stunt you have done?
KM
Falling in between a moving at 55 miles per hour, but
the most exhilerating thing -- is to be set on fire!!!
