Ronnie Rondell Jr., Hollywood Stuntman Set Ablaze for Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ Album Cover, Dies at 88

Ronald “Ronnie” Rondell Jr., the Hollywood stuntman who was set on fire while shaking hands for the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1975 album “Wish You Were Here,” died Tuesday, August 12. He was 88.

Rondell’s death was announced by his family.

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Rondell grew up in Hollywood, and his father worked as an extra and then an assistant director on “The Jack Benny Show” and “Around the World in 80 Days.” Rondell’s own career also included performing stunts in “The Matrix Reloaded” and “Twister.”

He’d been “doing a lot of fire work” when he was hired for the cover shoot, Rondell said in the 2012 documentary “Pink Floyd: The Story of Wish You Were Here,” and he “had the special suits and all this stuff for fully enveloped fire.”

The shoot itself was straightforward, he added. “But a partial is basically pretty safe, pretty easy one to do, in most cases.”

Having said that, Rondell, who wore a fire-retardant layer underneath his business suit, ended up losing half his mustache. “There’s a funny thing about fire,” he said. “When it gets in your face, you’re going to move.”

Ultimately, the shoot was just another day in the life of a stunt performer.

“It was pretty easy to do, not too life threatening, and paid well,” Rondell concluded.

He spent several years working as a stuntman and also as a stunt coordinator and a director before starting his own company, Stunts Unlimited, in 1970.

“Our hearts are heavy with the loss of the last of Stunts Unlimited’s 3 esteemed founding fathers, Ronnie Rondell,” the company wrote in a message shared on Facebook.

“In a class all his own, Ronnie was a generous mentor whose talents set the bar for every aspiring stunt person. He was deeply respected, admired and loved. Ronnie was not just a legend, he was legendary and will be deeply missed.”

“The family requests that we all respect their privacy at this time and hold off on phone calls or posts until they are able to share details for honoring his life and legacy. – RA Rondell and Family,” the message concluded.

He is survived by his wife Mary Rondell, his son R.A. Rondell; his grandchildren Brandon Rondell, Rachel Rondell, and Dalton Rondell, his great-grandchild Rocco Rondell, and his brother Ric Rondell.

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