Transcript
Lindsey Graham (0:00)
There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad free. Listen with Wondry plus in the Wondery app as a member of Noiser plus at noiser.com or in Apple Podcasts. Or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts@intohristory.com it's the middle of the night on July 23rd, 1982. On a movie set in Valencia, California. 30 miles north of Los Angeles, there's a hive of activity Keeping out of the way by the craft service table, 53 year old actor Vic Morrow sips on a cup of coffee. He needs the caffeine for these long night shoots, but it isn't helping him calm his anxiety. As a veteran television actor, Vic knows he can remember his lines, but he's being called to do much more than that. Tonight he'll be filming the biggest stunt of his career. This area is usually home to a quiet, shallow river in the California mountains, but tonight it's been transformed by Hollywood set directors into the jungles of Vietnam. The film in production is Twilight the Movie and Vic is playing a racist bigot who finds himself supernaturally transformed into the people that he hates. Tonight's big scene is when his character redeems himself by rescuing two small children from an American attack during the Vietnam War. A production assistant tells Vick the crew's almost ready to begin and then leads him to his mark as lighting and pyrotechnic experts make last minute adjustments. The air will be filled with explosions as the helicopter flies over Vic, who will be wading through water with two children tucked under his arms. Vic takes a moment to say hello to his two young co stars, Maika Din Lee and Renee Sin Yi Chen. The children are 6 and 7 and they like Vic. During last night's scene they were laughing at him, making funny faces between takes. Now, though, the mood on set is more serious. The helicopter moves into position for the scene as Vic helps Micah and Renee into the water, which is freezing cold even in the California summer. Finally, it's time to shoot the scene and and the director, John Landis, gets on his bullhorn as Vic hoists the kids into his arms. They've only got one take to get it right and there will be three cameras all shooting at once. Vic springs to life, hustling through the water with two children in tow. It's not easy, especially as Vic and the kids weren't given a chance to rehearse. And as the helicopter approaches, Vic stumbles and drops Renee. He slows down to pick her up. But then something goes wrong. The helicopter loses altitude, spins out of control and hurls straight into the river and the three actors, Vic Morrow, Micah Dinh Lee and Renee Shin Yi Chen, are all killed by the crashing helicopter. This is the worst on set accident in the history of filmmaking. In the aftermath, some will claim that the incident was unforeseeable, while others will accuse the filmmakers of reckless disregard for safety. Either way, Hollywood will never be the same after the tragedy on the set of Twilight, the movie on July 23, 1982 History Daily is sponsored by a Truby. Lately you may have been hearing about a serious but rare heart condition called attr Cardiac Amyloidosis, or attrcm. Because symptoms can be similar to other heart conditions, it may take time to be diagnosed, but learning more about attcr, ATRCM and a treatment called Atruby, also called Acharamatis, could be important for you or a loved one. Atruby is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with ATTRCM to reduce death and hospitalization due to heart issues. In one study, people taking Auby saw an impact on their health related quality of life and 50% fewer hospitalizations due to heart issues than people who didn't take Atruby, giving you more chances to do what you love with who you love. Tell your doctor if you're pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding and about the medications you take. The most common side effects were mild and included diarrhea and abdominal pain. If you have attrcm, talk to your cardiologist about a Truby or visit attruby.com that's a T T R U B Y.com to learn more.
