Overview
Albert Reinhold Carmichael (November 10, 1928 – September 7, 2019) was an American athlete and film stuntman whose career bridged professional sports and Hollywood. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Carmichael is remembered both for his years as a professional football player and for his long run as a movie and television stunt performer. He combined athletic skill with on-screen physicality, building a second career that followed his time in the professional game. For a concise overview of his role in sports history see this player profile.
Football career
Carmichael played in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers from 1953 through 1958 and later joined the newly formed American Football League with the Denver Broncos for the 1960 and 1961 seasons. His years in the NFL placed him among a generation of players who often balanced athletic careers with other work after the playing days ended. His time with the Packers put him in the professional ranks of the National Football League, and his move to Denver took place during the early years of the AFL, a period of growth and change in professional football.
Stunt-work and film highlights
Parallel to and after his football career, Carmichael established himself in Hollywood as a reliable stuntman. He is credited with participating in more than fifty films and numerous television productions, often called upon for sequences that required athleticism, combat choreography, or risky physical doubles. His film work spanned sports dramas, war pictures, westerns, comedies and major studio epics.
- Jim Thorpe – All-American (1951)
- Saturday's Hero (1951)
- All-American (1953)
- Pork Chop Hill (1959)
- It Started with a Kiss (1959)
- The Big Operator (1959)
- Elmer Gantry (1960)
- He served as one of the stunt doubles for Kirk Douglas in Spartacus (1960)
- Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
- Son of Flubber (1962)
- How the West Was Won (1962) and television series such as Rawhide
Nature of his stunt work
Carmichael's stunt assignments varied from athletic doubles and fight choreography to staged falls and crowd sequences. His background as a professional athlete made him a natural choice for sports scenes and high-energy physical work. Film credits and industry recollections note that he contributed to both credited stunt work and uncredited on-set doubling, a common practice for many professional stunt performers of his era.
Later life and legacy
After retiring from active stunt work and from athletics, Carmichael lived in California. He died on September 7, 2019, in Palm Desert, California, at the age of 90. His dual-career path—from the gridiron to film sets—illustrates a mid-20th-century pattern in which professional athletes transitioned into stunt and acting work. Today he is remembered by sports historians and film researchers for the breadth of his work in two demanding professions.
For additional context on teams, films and the era in which Carmichael worked, see resources linked above about the Green Bay Packers, the NFL, the Denver Broncos and the individual films cited. The combination of athletic accomplishment and screen craftsmanship makes Al Carmichael a notable figure in both American sports and classic Hollywood stunt history.