Charles Bail had a very long, diverse and impressive show business
career that spanned the 1950s to the 1990s and encompasses
everything from acting to directing to performing and/or
coordinating stunts in numerous motion pictures and television
programs.
Bail hailed from Pennsylvania. He quit school in the ninth grade
and traveled the country prior to serving a stint in the Navy. After
finishing high school and spending two years in college, he joined
a "wild west show" that performed all over the Orient. He got his start
in show business as an extra on the TV series Wagon Train (1957), and soon made the transition from extra to stuntman and guest star
on such western series as Der Mann aus Texas (1958), Rauchende Colts (1955), The Rough Riders (1958), Big Valley (1965), Bonanza (1959), Laredo (1965), Bat Masterson (1958), Daniel Boone (1964), The High Chaparral (1967) and Der Kopfgeldjäger (1958). Bail
handled stunt coordinator chores on Blutnacht des Teufels (1971), The Last Movie (1971), Getting Straight (1970) and Rocker kennen kein Erbarmen (1969), and
performed stunts in such movies as Der Herrscher von Kansas (1959), Die wilden Schläger von San Francisco (1967), Die grünen Teufel (1968), Scavengers (1969), Die teuflischen Acht (1969) and
Ein Fall für Cleopatra Jones (1973).
Bail made his directorial debut with the funky
blaxploitation item Black Samson (1974). He subsequently directed the
outrageous sequel Cleopatra Jones gegen die Drachenlady (1975), the
immensely enjoyable cross-country road race romp Die verrückteste Rallye der Welt (1976), the nifty sci-fi/action outing Der einsame Kämpfer (1986) and the lackluster urban
vigilante opus Street Corner Justice - Sie schlagen zurück (1996). In addition, he directed
episodes of such TV shows as Conan, der Abenteurer (1992), Baywatch Nights (1995), The New Adam-12 (1990), Polizeibericht (1989), Knight Rider (1982), Ein Fall für Professor Chase (1983), and CHiPs (1977). Charles
worked for director Richard Rush on several projects in various
capacities; he gives a fine performance as amiable stunt coordinator
Chuck Barton in the terrific Der lange Tod des Stuntmans Cameron (1980). Moreover, Bail was an
uncredited second unit director for the features "Greased Lightning,"
"The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper," and "The Beastmaster." After retiring from
show business, Charles settled down in Texas and raised horses. Bail died at age 85 from heart and gall bladder issues on November 25, 2020 in Tyler, Texas.
