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Longtime Hollywood stuntman Ronnie Rondell Jr., who was best known for being engulfed in flames<\/a> for the cover of Pink Floyd\u2019s \u201cWish You Were Here\u201d album, has died at the age of 88. <\/p>\n The famed stuntman passed away on Tuesday at a senior living facility in Osage Beach, Missouri, according to Rondell\u2019s family, per The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>. <\/p>\n A cause of death has yet to be disclosed. <\/p>\n Rondell Jr.\u2019s decades-long career saw the star appearing in several films, including \u201cHow the West Was Won\u201d (1962), \u201cLethal Weapon\u201d (1987), and \u201cThe Matrix Reloaded\u201d (2003). But to music fans, he was most remembered as the man who was set on fire on the cover of Pink Floyd\u2019s 1975 album, \u201cWish You Were Here.\u201d <\/p>\n The memorable image was shot on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California, and features a half burning Rondell Jr. shaking hands with fellow stuntman Danny Rogers, with both dressed in business suits. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d been doing a lot of fire work in those days, and I had the special suits and all this stuff for fully enveloped fire,\u201d Rondell Jr. recalled in the documentary \u201cPink Floyd: The Story of Wish You Were Here\u201d (via Rolling Stone<\/a>). \u201cIt was pretty easy to do, not too life-threatening, and paid well.\u201d<\/p>\n The legendary photo took around 15 attempts to shoot due to wind and other factors \u2014 and even resulted in Rondell Jr. having part of his eyebrow and mustache burned off.<\/p>\n \u201cWe repeated the process 14 times, took the shot, and then on the 15th a gust of wind blew up and wrapped the fire around his face and burnt him,\u201d Aubrey Powell, of the English art design group Hipgnosis, told The Guardian<\/a> in 2020. \u201cHe threw himself to the ground and his whole team piled on blankets to put him out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI knew I had got a special picture,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt took a long time to persuade Ronnie to stand exactly as I wanted but in the end he was very brave and it was a perfect composition.\u201d<\/p>\n His other credits includes \u201cKings of the Sun\u201d<\/i> (1963), \u201cShenandoah\u201d (1965), \u201cGrand Prix\u201d (1966), \u201cDiamonds Are Forever\u201d (1971), \u201cBlazing Saddles\u201d (1974), \u201cTo Live and Die in L.A.\u201d (1985), \u201cThey Live\u201d (1988), \u201cThe Hunt for Red October\u201d (1990), \u201cThelma & Louise\u201d (1991), \u201cLast Action Hero\u201d (1993), \u201cSpeed\u201d (1994) and \u201cThe Crow\u201d (1994).<\/p>\n Rondell Jr. also worked as a stunt coordinator on multiple Aaron Spelling-produced television series such as \u201cThe Rookies,\u201d \u201cS.W.A.T.,\u201d \u201cCharlie\u2019s Angels,\u201d \u201cFantasy Island,\u201d \u201cDynasty,\u201d \u201cVegas,\u201d \u201cHart to Hart\u201d and \u201cT.J. Hooker,\u201d according to The Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n Rondell Jr. retired from the profession in 2000 but returned to perform in a chase scene for \u201cThe Matrix Reloaded\u201d (2003), where his son, R.A. Rondell, was the supervising stunt coordinator. <\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n