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Show The arts and people behind the scenes view Wednesday August 19, 1987 Freebie Wr-- xi tsfj H 1 ! 10 4702 MPii FROM THE N X,- - ROY Most people wouldnt fall from the sky at 120 mph for all the money in the world. But, there are others who would do it simply as an act of friendship. California journalist Richard Brooks and Beverly Hills bodyguard Mike Hall are such friends. Hall and Brooks, members of the Hollywood stunt union, are professional skydivers with more than 4,700 jumps between them. And last week at Roy Days Super Saturday they each added one more jump to the list, landing in Roys North Park an hour prior to the Roy Days conclusion of fireworks and cake. Other locals who shared their jumping time with the California duo in Roy included Tremon-ton- s jumping veteran Jerry Estep and Kelli Campbell and Jerry Goodsell from the six-ye- ar area. But though the fun of bailing out of a plane at 5,500 feet was provided free of charge, the time the professional skydivers have . I - ; .. 20-ye- ar . Brooks love of heights that took the court beat reporter from the it was boredesk to the sky dom and instinct. I started jumping because I became bored with things, he ,V s,4 Sttrl I Jlf ; rrl said. But that wasnt the only :t' sswiww'S'ET'T ' fV ,.'. s- i Yr - ' V J ;t : . Tfiiitffi Sailing in with smoke on his heels, Californian Mike Hall dives into Roys North Park (top photo) to celebrate Roy Days. Skydivers wait in plane (above) before their jump, while Hall (right) packs his chute. Richard Brooks gets a peck on the cheek from Miss Roy, Marcia Homer (far right) after his jump to earth. i rhti 4 ' " '& 1 , , VA 'A ; -- ZbLl : . . Im a compulsive jumper, Brooks said. I'm out there every weekend jumping. And this weekend both Brooks and his stunt friend counterpart Hall were in Roy. Brooks said he came to Roy and offered his services when his former jump-mat- e Roy Councilman Dale Willis gave him a call. Willis, who has also been . r &t3rV 0 Tt "V h the Stuntman's Hollywood Union. Hall, who has also done crackshot police work, said he participates in skydiving stunts for both motion pictures and major television productions, such as The Fall Guy. If something coms up and Im qualified to do it. Ill do it, he said. But the California resident didnt pick up his skydiving skill over the weekend. I was a military jumper workUnit ing in the Air in Vietnam, he said. My primary concern was recovering downed aircraft personnel and bringing them out. He said this included jumping into a number of isolated combat situations, which not only peaked his interest in skydiving, but made it possible for him to land safely in his toughest jump, Para-Resc- California ue amusement S.. ' ' ' f PfiM'ii yjzz park Knotts Berry Farm. Skydiving is exciting, Hall said. You have a certain amount of freedom that you get in no other sport. It's an individual and sport. Hall said when he steps out of a plane more than 5,000 feet above the earth and floats towards the ground, anywhere from 120 mph to 200 mph, nothing can replace the sensation he self-satisfyi- feels. It feels like youre floating, until you get ground rush, he said, which usually occurs for him at 1,500 feet. Hall said ground rush, which all skydivers experience at different altitudes, is the rush of body adrenalin a skydiver gets as he nears the ground. I have never, knock on wood, ever had a serious injury skydiving, Hall said. And after the dive was concluded, and the parachutes tucked away, the velocity the skydivers experienced when descending on Roys North Park will be remembered as freebie" jump number 4,702. i' " x 4mtt ' v ;..v ' V v 's bf ' o'' tffr (S . A, ' Story by Bryon Saxton - Photos by Robert Regan and g.. Mike Hall. rr h s a , - rea- son. Hall, besides serving as a professional bodyguard for a Beverly Hills family, is also a member of - - && 4' fXx' Hall. it i i v- - ' ' riTnrfyiinnr fj Jv - r! iw.S iX vp. ;f Hi a,.v. , Jjf , mV y 1 ," YV'-rls-t ; ;v get hurt. But getting hurt is something veteran has yet to exthe perience, except for a cracked heel he received when landing a little too hard years ago. Brooks, who started skydiving back in September of 1967, said he has now recorded more than 4,000 jumps, including a world record-settin- g jump with 1 19 other skydivers in Illinois. However, it wasnt lessons or ' 4 ' spent in jumping has been costly. Its difficult jumping in places youre not familiar with, said Brooks. You have to scope things out when youre in a different environment. You have to be careful, he said. You cant let your ego get in your way, or you're going to involved in a number of jumps including last years Roy Days skydiving exhibition, said this year he intended to sit it out because of his recent skydiving inactivity. However, one who has had to take his skydiving a little more seriously than either Brooks or Willis is their skydiving friend f v |