Rodd Redwing

Roderic (Rodd) Redwing claimed to be a Chickasaw Indian, although recent data raises questions about his heritage. He was born on August 24, 1904 in New York City, New York, USA. His father, Ulysses Redwing, was a stage actor. He traveled with his family to England and attended London's Westminster Grammar School while they toured with a circus. His mother left the Chickasaw reservation in Oklahoma to study hair styling in New York City. She and her four sisters built up a chain of twenty-two beauty parlors from New York City to Miami. When they returned to New York he attended Herron High School in Hell's Kitchen, then graduated from New York University. He was a gifted athlete, excelling in football at both levels. Redwing had stage credits in the 1920's on Broadway, i.e., "Bad Man" with Holbrook Blynn and "Queen of Sheba with Greta Wilson. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army as a lieutenant. All during his acting, stunt double, and technical advisor years to the movie and television industries he was a gunsmith with Stembridge Gun Rentals, the largest and best known firearms rental company in Hollywood. Realistic shooting scenes were pioneered by Redwing. He first showed the violent impact of a .45 Colt cartridge. While filming Shane (1953), Redwing attached wires to a chest harness worn by Elisha Cook Jr., jerking him violently backward when he was shot down in the street by Jack Palance. He is known for his work on The Ten Commandments (1956), The Mole People (1956), and Shalako (1968). He had a publicity appearance at the Los Angeles Coliseum in the late 1950's as part of the first Los Angeles Dodgers baseball season. In 1961 he required abdominal surgery and half of his stomach was removed. In 1959 he married German-born Ericka Rosa (Nicki) Wagner. He was only married once. His mother died on the Cherokee Reservation in Oklahoma, USA in 1953. He died on May 30, 1971 in Los Angeles, California, USA as he was returning from Spain to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). After being stricken with a heart attack in flight he succumbed thirty-five minutes later.