Hollywood stuntman Dave Lea who has helped stars such as Michael Keaton and Sylvester Stallone has died at the age of 67 following a short illness.
Dave became a household name in the movie industry after being Keaton's stunt and fight double in 1989 hit film Batman and 1992 Batman Returns. The news of his death was announced on his official Facebook page, which has more than 2,900 followers.
The post read: "It is with deep sorrow, that we announce the passing of Dave Lea on 6th August 2022 at 17:55 following a short illness. He passed on surrounded by his loved ones.
"Your kind words and wishes are appreciated at this time. Dave, you were a fighter to the end. R.I.P."
According to his biography on IMDB, where extracts were taken from his website DaveLea.com, said the stuntman began training in martial arts during his early teens. As a result, Dave ended up travelling around the world to learn from some of the greatest martial arts teachers including Dan Inosanto, who trained under Bruce Lee, and Joseph Cheng of Wing Chun fame.
He opened three successful martial arts schools in London teaching his students kung fu, kickboxing and weaponry, before embarking on a career in television and films. Dave's first role on TV came on soap EastEnders, where he had a recurring role despite never taking an acting class in his career up to this point.
His first movie in the United States saw him work alongside Hollywood heavyweights Stallone and Kurt Russell in Tango & Cash, where he was hired to train and choreograph fight scenes for the Rocky star. His big break in Hollywood came in 1989 when he auditioned for Tim Burton's Batman. He became the stunt and fight double for Michael Keaton and his career took off after that.
He was hired to work alongside Keaton again for Batman Returns three years later and stayed with the franchise when Val Kilmer took over the role in Batman Forever in 1995. He continued to work A-list stars over the next 25 years, including the likes of Ben Affleck. Tom Cruise, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Scarlett Johansson and Will Smith among many others.
Although the post calls his death the result of a short illness, TMZ has quoted a source who said the cause of death was cancer.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct at 0207 29 33033
