Carl Ciarfalio, a veteran stuntman, stunt coordinator, and character actor whose career spanned four decades, has died at the age of 72. His wife, Teri Ryan, confirmed the news in an emotional post on her Facebook page, saying he "passed peacefully" surrounded by loved ones. "Our Carl has passed on," she wrote. "And by 'our' I mean all of us. He was so special to everyone. We will celebrate his special life and light. No idea how yet, but I know the laughter will flow with the tears. He went peacefully, and we were all there."
Born November 12, 1953, in Alhambra, California, Ciarfalio went from college wrestler to theme-park stunt performer at Knott's Berry Farm and Universal Studios before breaking into TV in the early '80s.
From there, he became one of the industry's most reliable stunt pros, working with icons including Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Ron Howard, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh.
His early credits included The Fall Guy, MacGyver, Magnum, P.I., and Sledge Hammer!, before moving into films such as the James Bond film Licence to Kill, RoboCop 2 and 3, Wayne's World, Beverly Hills Cop III, and Batman & Robin. He continued to land roles and stunt gigs well into recent years, appearing in projects like Justified, Meet the Blacks, and the Sharknado franchise.
Across hundreds of titles, his résumé stretched from Beetlejuice and Total Recall to Glory, Get Shorty, Mallrats, Romy & Michele's High School Reunion, Bruce Almighty, After the Sunset and Wedding Crashers.
Ciarfalio also coordinated stunts on dozens of productions, including The Expendables, Meet the Blacks and Rock, Paper, Scissors.
In 1985, he won the Best Fight Sequence award at the inaugural Stuntman Awards for Knight Rider and later earned a SAG Award nomination as part of the stunt ensemble for The Amazing Spider-Man.
A key figure in industry advocacy, he joined the Stuntmen's Association in 1985, served as its president from 1992-96, and helped establish the TV Academy's Stunt Peer Group in 2000. His efforts were instrumental in creating the Emmy Award for Outstanding Stunt Coordination the following year.
