Hooker began as a young child actor on the television series
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin. Under the stage name, Buddy Hart, his acting career continued in shows such as
Gunsmoke,
Father Knows Best and
Twilight Zone. He also starred in the family feature that his stunt performer father, Hugh Hooker, produced called
The Littlest Hobo. That role led to a part on
Leave It to Beaver as one of Wally Cleaver’s best friends, Chester, from 1957 to 1960. Hooker pursued the stunt profession in Rock Hudson’s
Tobruk and Shirley MacLaine’s
Sweet Charity. Throughout the years, his reputation as an all around stuntman led to his regular employment as Disney’s premiere stunt coordinator for 8 years. Hooker’s reputation as the go-to coordinator for car chases grew with movies such as
To Live and Die in L.A.,
Jade, and
Death Proof. He was coordinator for
Harold And Maude,
The Outsiders,
Godfather III,
Close Encounters of the Third Kind,
Meet Joe Black, and
40 Year Old Virgin. In the 1977 film about the stunt business,
Hooper, Hooker broke industry records with a rocket powered car jump and many other stunts doubling Jan Michael Vincent’s character Ski. His career continued with the first motorcycle jump over a helicopter as it landed, and rolling a truck 17 times down a sand embankment in the 1971 action feature
Clay Pigeon. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences inducted Hooker into its membership during the first year it began a limited initiation of motion picture stunt coordinators. He is an original member of the stunt talent organization
Stunts Unlimited and has served five terms as its president. ==Personal life==