The 4th Annual Celebrity and Stuntwomen’s Awards Luncheon honored past and present black stuntwomen, individuals who have excelled and built productive careers living life on the edge. The stuntwomen awards banquet recognizes and honors the achievements of extraordinary women in the stunt community, and benefits the Diamond in the RAW Foundation.
The Diamond in the RAW Foundation, founded by stuntwoman LaFaye Baker, is a non-profit organization that transforms and empowers the lives of at-risk teenage girls between the ages of 12-18.is devoted to edifying and educating these young girls who are rarely exposed to careers in the entertainment industry. Many of those young ladies were present to see their heroes and mentors receive their kudos for their pioneering efforts and philanthropic deeds.
Actress Vivica A. Fox (Independence Day, Kill Bill, Set It off) is known and has received acclaim for her kick-butt action roles. But the woman behind those breath-taking action shots doubling Fox was longtime stuntwoman Angela Meryl. Meryl, attending the event, said what Baker has done to reach out to young women, many of whom live in urban communities, is nothing short of remarkable.
“What she is doing is helping inner city kids, mentoring them, giving them ideas of what to do in life and she kind of molds them,” Meryl said. “She gives them direction to go, as far as film is concerned…for editing, for camera, for everything.”
Becoming a professional stuntwoman almost came to Meryl naturally. She grew up active, even calling herself a tomboy, girl who didn’t mind roughing it up with the boys playing football and basketball. Long before Meryl got her career bump by driving a car in the movie, “Dead Presidents,” she had to deal with battling with her brother and neighbors.
“They used always tackle me and put me in chokeholds and stuff,” Meryl said. “When I did karate that kind of did it for me. After getting in and being able to fight and being instructed on how to throw a punch and how to throw a kick, and riding my bike and crashing into cars, flipping over it and hitting the ground…I didn’t know back then that was an actual career until I got older.”
Besides Fox, who was honored with the Action Icon Award for Film, actors Phil Morris, Chad Coleman (“I Hate My Teenage Daughter”), Ronn Moss and Katherine Kelly Lang (“The Bold and the Beautiful”), Rolonda Watts, (Judge Joe Brown), Michael Cudlitz (“SouthLAnd”), Cassie Scerbo (Make It or Break It), all participated in the event.
Meryl isn’t the only stuntwoman who has a caveat for risk-taking. Kym Washington (Diamond in the Raw Award) and April Weeden (Mentorship Award) have been taking risks for a long time. These unsung heroines risk their lives every day in order to help create some of the most memorable moments in film, television and commercials. Their noteworthy contributions are integral to ensuring the success of projects in the entertainment industry.
The Stuntwoman of the Year Award went to Melissa Barker and the Special Achievement Award went to Gale Anne Hurd.
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com