Early life Kent was born on June 7, 1933, on a wheat ranch in
Walla Walla,
Washington, the son of Arthur E. and Iola Kent. He graduated from
Renton High School in
Renton, Washington, a suburb of
Seattle, and attended the
University of Washington, where he studied journalism, played football and pole-vaulted on the track team. In 1952, after one quarter at UW, he dropped out to join the
U.S. Navy. Stationed in Texas, he wrote promotion and publicity for the elite flying team,
The Blue Angels. He was honorably discharged in 1954.
Career In 1955 Kent moved to
Hollywood with his wife, Joyce, and son, Greg, and worked as a parking lot attendant while looking for acting jobs. He eventually worked primarily in drive-in
exploitation films. and
Rainy Day Friends (1983). Kent doubled
Jack Nicholson in stunts in the
Richard Rush films
Hells Angels on Wheels,
The Savage Seven and
Psych-Out, and also did his very first stunts in 1966 Nicholson films
Ride in the Whirlwind and
The Shooting, which shot back to back in Kanab, Utah, under the direction of
Monte Hellman. In his 2009 memoir
Shadows and Light, Kent wrote of an "outlaw" cinema aimed at breaking film taboos and barriers. In the book he talks of shooting at
Spahn Ranch when
Charles Manson and his followers were there. He retired from stunts in 2003 after an accident on
Don Coscarelli's film
Bubba Ho-Tep, for which Kent served as stunt coordinator, but continued to act in independent films.
Personal life Kent was married four times, to Joyce Peacock, 1953-1964 (divorce); Rosemary Galleghly, 1961-1968 (divorce); Sherry Lee Tilley, 1973 (divorce); and Shirley Willeford, 1977-2005 (her death). He had six children: Greg, Colleen, and Andrew with Joyce, and Chris, Alex, and Mike with Rosemary.
Later years As of 2018, Kent resided in
Austin, Texas. Kent is the subject of
Joe M. O'Connell's documentary
Danger God. Kent died in Austin on May 25, 2023, at the age of 89. ==Filmography==