Friends recall ‘Walking Dead’ stuntman fondly
Montverde Academy grad died after set fall
Chris Mitchell, a former classmate of John Bernecker’s at Montverde Academy, said Monday it made sense to him when Bernecker decided to go to stunt school.
“John was definitely the one that was the prankster — he would be down for anything,” said Mitchell, a 2002 graduate and now director of development at the international boarding school 25 miles west of downtown Orlando. “There wasn’t anything John wouldn’t do when you dared him.”
Bernecker, 33, went on to a successful career as a stuntman. Last week, he died after falling 22 feet on the Georgia set of “The Walking Dead,” an assistant director told authorities.
The New Orleans native was supposed to fall over a railing and onto a “pad made of 22-inch boxes,” when he tried to stop his fall by grabbing onto the railing, was turned upside down and hit the concrete ground inches from the pad, according to a Coweta County, Ga., Sheriff’s Office report.
It was the first on-set death in the United States in three years. Co-workers, schoolmates at Montverde Academy — where Bernecker graduated in 2003 — and those in the industry grieved for the “energetic” man who performed in big-ticket films such as “Logan” and “Get Out,” which came out this year, and several of “The Hunger Games” movies.
Actors from “The Walking Dead,” the popular AMC television series about a group of survivors living through a zombie
apocalypse, took to Twitter to express their condolences.
“Love and prayers to Johns family and friends today,” wrote Norman Reedus, who plays a crossbowwielding character on the series that has run seven seasons. “You will be missed.”
“No words can express my sadness for John Bernecker and his family,” tweeted “The Walking Dead” actress Lauren Cohan. “Thank you all for having them in your thoughts and prayers also.”
About noon Wednesday, Bernecker “seemed a little nervous,” actor Austin Amelio told authorities. Moments after giving a thumbs-up to signal he was ready, Bernecker appeared to try to grab the railing to stop his fall, the sheriff ’s report said.
He visited Montverde Academy near Lake Apopka last year to see his old stomping grounds and catch up with former dorm mates such as Mitchell.
“It was great,” Mitchell said. “We talked a lot about his job. I was really excited for him, because it seemed like his career had started to take off.”
When he was visiting, Mitchell noticed that Bernecker was injured.
“He was like, ‘Oh, that’s part of the job,’ ” Mitchell said.
Kim Kahana, a prominent Hollywood stuntman who lives in south Lake County, said he understands injuries occur in a dangerous profession but was at a loss to explain Bernecker’s death.
Kahana, who runs a stunt school in Groveland, has had broken bones, has been thrown from buildings, hit by a car and set on fire.
“I’m sad that something like this could happen, I can’t understand how it happened,” the 87-year-old said. “I’ve been in the business some 60 years, and I can’t understand unless it was something he accidentally did, or slipped.”
A statement from a union representing artists and stunt performers, SAGAFTRA, read, “We will work with the authorities and closely monitor their investigations into this tragic incident.”
The last on-set death was in August 2014. Audio technician Bryce Dion was killed while filming an attempted armed robbery at a fast-food restaurant in Omaha, Neb., for the show “Cops,” when an officer’s stray bullet struck him.
However the accident happened, Mitchell, 33, said he is left with good memories of Bernecker.
“John was always very energetic and excited about life,” he said. “He’s just the type of guy you would immediately be able to feed off his positive energy … He’d want us to be happy for the life he was able to live.”