Henry running away from the camera at Lakefront Airport - November, 1972.
Henry Masao Kingi Sr. was born on the 2nd of December, 1943, in Los Angeles, California.
He is a Native American stuntman, best known for his pioneering stunt work in Hollywood and for his co-founding of the Black Stuntmen’s Association.
His career began in the late 1960’s with minor supporting roles in film and television. Unfortunately much of his early work remains undocumented but a key point in his career came in 1967 when he co-founded the Black Stuntmen’s Association with Eddie Smith, Alex Brown, Joe Tilque, Willie Harris, Ernie Robinson and William Upton. From there, Henry was involved in the majority of films and television shows that Eddie worked on. He also achieved a minor part in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Topaz” in 1969, followed by action roles in “Halls of Anger”, “There Was a Crooked Man…” and an episode of “Daniel Boone” in 1970.
In November of 1972, Henry joined members of the BSA to star in the latest James Bond adventure “Live & Let Die”, where he was involved in a thrilling chase around Lakefront Airport in New Orleans while 007 is attempting to escape in an airplane with Mrs. Bell. This was followed by further roles in several blaxploitation films including “Black Girl” (1972), “Cleopatra Jones” (1973), “Fox Style” (1973), “Black Belt Jones” (1974) and “Truck Turner” (1974). In 1975 he starred alongside Yul Brynner and Max Von Sydow in the sci-fi thriller “The Ultimate Warrior”, and in the memorable comedy “Car Wash”, where he portrayed the character of Goody.
Following over a decade of experience as a stunt performer, Henry’s major break came in 1980 when he was contracted for six month’s work on the popular television show “The Dukes of Hazzard”. It was during this production that he showcased his incredible talent behind the wheel and this marked the beginning of his stunt driving career. Along with his unique long-haired appearance, his career went from strength to strength, and while remaining with the show until 1985, he also performed stunts with major stars like Al Pacino in “Scarface” (1983), with Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Predator” (1987) and “Predator 2” (1990), and as Hans Burhinger’s double and as a stunt driver in “Die Hard” (1988) and it’s three sequels. He also worked on 48 episodes of the hit show “The A-Team” between 1983 and 1986.
Moving forward into the 1990’s and 2000’s, he achieved his first stunt coordinator credit in the television movie “Body Bags” in 1993 and in several episodes of “In the Heat of the Night” (1994-95). By this point he had become one of the most prolific stunt performers in Hollywood, working on such major productions as “Thelma & Louise” (1991), “Batman Returns” (1992), “The Bodyguard” (1992), “The Mask” (1994), “Bad Boys” (1995), “Seven” (1995), “The Rock” (1996), “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” (1997), “Blade” (1998), “Gone in Sixty Seconds” (2000), “The Fast and the Furious” (2001), “The Matrix Reloaded” (2003) and “Wanted” (2008).
Having accumulated over 250 credits in a career lasting over five decades, Henry is still active in the film industry, often working alongside his son Henry ‘Hank’ Kingi Jr. who is also a highly respected stunt performer in Hollywood. Henry’s latest credits came in 2023 when he was a stunt driver in the film “Jawan”.
In "Live & Let Die", Henry Kingi was one of the stuntmen from the BSA (Black Stuntmen's Association).
He was involved with the stunts at Lakefront Airport in New Orleans and can specifically be seen as one of the henchman trying to stop James Bond from escaping.
Here, he can be seen trying to close the doors as Bond travels through the hangar with Mrs. Bell in her aircraft:
The autograph displayed below was signed by Henry Kingi for The Bond Archives on the 12th of February, 2024.
This is the first James Bond related photos he has ever signed.
Autographs of Henry are available following his appearance at the Hollywood Show several years ago. Any 007 related material is considered very rare though.
Please view Henry's cast page for further examples of his autograph!
A number of other BSA stuntmen were involved in "Live & Let Die" including Harold Jones, Ernie Robinson, Clifford Strong and Jophery C. Brown.
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