Actor Martin Kove, perhaps best known for his role as John Kreese in the “Karate Kid” films and the Netflix series “Cobra Kai,” said many of his heroes had a saddle along the Walk of Western Stars in Old Town Newhall, including actors Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. When Kove was present during Bronson’s induction ceremony in 2014, he said he dreamed of getting a sidewalk saddle of his own one day.
Kove and stuntwomen Sammy Thurman-Brackenbury and Jeannie Epper are now the most recent inductees to the Walk of Western Stars on Main Street. They received their saddles Saturday afternoon near the plaza area of Newhall Crossings adjacent to Laemmle Theaters, and according to city of Santa Clarita Councilwoman Laurene Weste, all three are heroes in the city of Santa Clarita’s book.
“We’re very honored to have people that believe in leaving heroes for our children and creating a better world,” Weste said during the Walk of Western Stars ceremony. “We are honored to include these three artists, and I would just say to you that you are in a place in Newhall where a lot of the filming in this valley started. It became an amazing gift for the public, and we’re keeping it alive in the city.”
According to Weste, Kove, Thurman-Brackenbury and Epper mark the 100th, 101st and 102nd Walk of Western Stars inductees in Old Town Newhall.
“Past inductees,” Weste said, “have included Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Santa Clarita’s very own William S. Hart, and last year’s inductees, stuntmen Billy Burton and Walter Scott.”
Thurman-Brackenbury, 90, is a stuntwoman and actress, known for her role as Flo Smith in the 1967 film “In Cold Blood” and her stunt work in films like 1980’s “The Blues Brothers,” 1989’s “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 1990’s “Young Guns II,” 2001’s “American Outlaws” and 2007’s “Avenging Angel.”
“She (Thurman-Brackenbury) was a charter member of the United Stuntwomen’s Association,” Weste told a crowd of about 100 people made up of the public, industry professionals and friends and family of the inductees. Saturday afternoon, “where she helps support the next generations of stuntwomen.”
And Thurman-Brackenbury is also a Rodeo and ProRodeo Hall of Famer for her barrel racing career.
Stuntman and Castaic resident Billy Burton shared a few words about Thurman-Brackenbury.
“She whipped everybody from here to Hawaii and back,” he said. “She started out with (writer-director) Richard Brooks, playing Bobby Blake’s mother in ‘In Cold Blood’ — the Truman Capote thing. And then he (Brooks) wanted her to play the second female lead to Claudia Cardinale in ‘The Professionals,’ which she would’ve been perfect for. But she wanted to rodeo, so, she turned Richard down, and she went on to win the world that year.”
The year was 1965, Burton said, and Thurman-Brackenbury won the World Barrel Racing Championship.
Burton listed off other Thurman-Brackenbury feats and accomplishments, and then he asked her if she had anything else she wanted to add. Thurman-Brackenbury leaned toward the microphone and said, “I’ve been married eight times.”
The crowd erupted in laughter.
Jeannie Epper’s daughter Eurlyne Epper-Woldman and great nephew Nick Epper accepted the honor for her. Jeannie Epper, a stunt woman in a long line of stunt performers, who doubled for Lynda Carter in the 1970s TV series “Wonder Woman,” and who performed stunts in 1964’s “Cheyenne Autumn,” 1974’s “Blazing Saddles,” 1999’s “Wild Wild West,” 2004’s “Kill Bill: Vol. 2” and also in over 150 other movie and TV titles, died in May at age 83.
“Ms. Epper began learning stunt work from her father at the age of 9,” Weste said. “(It) led her to being one of the first children stunt doubles.”
Weste added that Epper was a founding member of the Stuntwomen’s Association of Motion Pictures, serving as the organization’s president in 1999, and in 2007, she became the first woman to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Taurus World Stunt Awards. Weste also said that Epper did get the joy of learning she’d be recognized in the Walk of Western Stars before she died.
Epper-Woldman thanked the city for honoring her mom, and she gave thanks to everyone for being there. Holding back tears, she said her mom was the best mom in the world.
Epper’s great nephew said, “For the people that don’t know who my aunt Jeannie was, she was a legendary stuntwoman. She was a pioneer in our business. She was a mentor to a lot of us, and especially the stuntwomen in our industry who are, in my opinion, very underappreciated for what they do. They do all the same ground pounding, all the same crazy stunts — we get hit by cars, we get thrown downstairs, but guess what? The women have to do all that in high heels and tight dresses.”
Kove, 77, in addition to the “Karate Kid” movies and series, has appeared in over 200 film and television projects, including 20 westerns. He played parts in TV series like “McCloud” in 1974, “Gunsmoke” in 1975, “Charlie’s Angels” in 1977, “Tales from the Crypt” in 1993, “Walker, Texas Ranger” in 1995, “Criminal Minds” in 2015 and “BloodLands” in 2017. In film, his credits include 1975’s “Capone,” 1985’s “Rambo: First Blood Part II,” 1994’s “Wyatt Earp” and 2019’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.”
According to Weste, Kove previously lived in the Newhall area. She listed some of his other credits and mentioned a particular TV movie that would get special attention later that evening and another project Kove has in the works.
“His appearance in ‘Gambler V: Playing for Keeps’ with Kenny Rogers will be featured at this evening’s reception event,” Weste said. “His next western project is currently in post-production and is titled ‘A Gun Fighter’s Deal.’ The film co-stars his son, Jesse.”
Of course, someone in the crowd shouted out Kove’s famous “Karate Kid” line, “Sweep the leg,” then Kove gave his thanks and spoke about what an honor it was to be recognized in the Walk of Western Stars, which includes the likes of McQueen and Bronson. Kove explained why it was significant to him.
“The most important genre to me is basically the western genre,” he said. “I think it’s the heritage of American cinema.”
He added that the western is the most important genre for the youth, particularly for today’s kids, because there aren’t enough heroes, he said, the way there were in the 1960s when there were, for example, “35 westerns on prime-time TV.”
“We had lots of heroes to choose from,” Kove said. “And now kids don’t, and I really think they need it … I think we’ve got a lot of big steps to take to get back into that world of heroes that we all had 25 years ago.”
Kove, Thurman-Brackenbury, the Epper family and the large group of people next made their way to Main Street. One by one, they revealed their saddles on the sidewalk. And with that, three new stars were added to the Walk of Western Stars.
