Tuesday, August 19, 2025
On August 12, Ronnie Rondell Jr., the stunt performer best known for appearing as the man set ablaze on the front cover artwork of English rock band Pink Floyd‘s 1975 studio album Wish You Were Here, died at an assisted living facility in Osage Beach, Missouri. His death was announced by his family on a funeral home website on August 17. His cause of death was not specified. He was 88 years old.
Rondell was born in 1937. He graduated North Hollywood High School before enlisting in the US Navy, where he excelled at scuba diving and mining. He later began working as a stunt double for films and television. Some of his stunts included gymnastics and hang gliding.
Most notably in 1975, he appeared engulfed in flames on Pink Floyd’s album cover alongside another stunt performer. The photo was to give the interpretation of one music business executive getting “burned” by another executive in a business dealing. The photoshoot was done in the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. Fifteen pictures were taken in total. Despite wearing fire-retardant underneath his business suit, on the final picture Rondell’s mustache was disintegrated during the photoshoot, and his face was burned due to the wind. He reportedly “threw himself on the ground” and require the crew to throw blankets on him. Aubrey Powell, the photographer hired for the shoot, recalled in 2020 that Rondell said: “That’s it! I’m done!” Powell said: “I knew I had got a special picture. It 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.”
He sustained numerous injuries throughout his career, including but not limited to broken ribs and concussions. He was quoted saying: “You never told anyone you were hurt because they always had another guy that could fit the clothes.” He retired in 2000.
Other films he was involved with include Lethal Weapon, Thelma And Louise, Batman & Robin, Twister and Star Trek: First Contact. His final credit was in 2003’s The Matrix Reloaded, in which he came out of retirement to film a car chase scene.
Rondell left behind a wife of 56 years and a son. Another son of his, who also worked as a stunt double, died in 1985 aged 22 in a helicopter accident while attempting an aviation stunt.
Sources
- Mitchell Peters. Ronnie Rondell Jr., Stuntman Set on Fire for Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ Cover, Dies at 88 — Billboard, August 17, 2025
- Mike Barnes. Ronnie Rondell Jr., Hollywood Stuntman Set on Fire for a Pink Floyd Album, Dies at 88 — Hollywood Reporter, August 17, 2025
- Ronnie Rondell Jr: Veteran Hollywood stuntman set on fire for Pink Floyd album cover dies — Sky News, August 17, 2025
- Damien Jones. Ronnie Rondell Jr, Hollywood stuntman set on fire for Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ album cover, has died — NME, August 17, 2025
- Matthew Wilkening. Stuntman Set on Fire for Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ Cover Dead at 88 — Ultimate Classic Rock, August 17, 2025
- Scoop Harrison. Ronnie Rondell Jr., Stuntman Ablaze on Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here Cover, Dead at 88 — Consequence, August 17, 2025
