Donna Hall

Stuntwoman and actress Donna Hall was born on May 21, 1928 in Los Angeles, California. Hall came from a rodeo family and grew up around movie sets with her jockey and stuntman father 'Shorty' Hall. Donna decided she wanted to be a stuntwoman during her first job at the age of eight when she was recommended for a horse riding gig on "Little Miss Adventure." Hall went on to be the riding double for Virginia Weidler on the film The Women (1939). Donna's career as a stuntwoman began in earnest in the late 1940's following graduation from Burbank High School in 1946. Moreover, Hall worked with livestock supplier Clarence "Fat" Jones and was mentored by fellow stuntwoman Polly Burson, who showed Hall the ropes on how to do transfers to trains, wagons, and stagecoaches as well as saddle falls and jumps between teams. Among the notable actresses that Donna doubled for are Doris Day, Barbara Stanwyck, Gail Davis, Judy Garland, Jane Fonda, Joan Collins, Debbie Reynolds, Shirley Temple, and Ginger Rogers. In addition, Hall also taught hundred of actors and actresses how to ride horses. Outside of her work in films and TV shows, Donna performed trick riding at rodeos in both Detroit, Michigan and Boston, Massachusetts; in front of crowds of 110,000 people in the L.A. Coliseum; and at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. Hall was one of the founding members of the Stuntwomen's Association of Motion Pictures. Donna was the recipient of a Golden Boot Award for her outstanding contributions to the Western genre in 2000. Hall died at age 74 on August 7, 2002 in Burbank, California.