# Conrad Palmisano

Conrad Earl Palmisano (May 1, 1948 – January 10, 2024) was an American film stuntman and film director.

## Career

His career began in 1970 on TV's The Young Rebels. In 1972, he was stunt coordinator for The Final Comedown. In 1980, he became president of the Stuntmen's Association of Motion Pictures for four seasons. He was one of the first engineers toward integrating Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1984.
Palmisano became known mainly for integrating committee established filmmakers like First Blood (1982), Robocop 2 (1990), Batman Forever (1995), Free Willy 2 (1995), Assassins (1995) with Sylvester Stallone, Rush Hour 2 (2001) with Jackie Chan; After the Sunset (2004) with Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek, The Other Guys (2010) with Will Ferrell, among others. He was nominated for a Taurus Award for both Rush Hour 2 (2001) and Rush Hour 3 (2007).

## Personal life and death

Palmisano was married to singer and actress Irene Cara from 1986 to 1991. They met while filming Certain Fury (1985). They also worked together on Busted Up (1986), his second and last feature film as executive director. That marriage ended in divorce. In 2000, Palmisano married actress Kathryn Anderson, who died in 2019.
Palmisano died on January 10, 2024, at the age of 75.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Stunts | Second unit director | Director |
| 1980 | Smokey and the Bandit II | Yes | No | Hal Needham |
| 1982 | Rambo: First Blood | Yes | Yes | Ted Kotcheff |
| 1983 | Cujo | Yes | No | Lewis Teague |
| 1983 | Uncommon Valor | Yes | Yes | Ted Kotcheff |
| 1984 | The Natural | Yes | No | Barry Levinson |
| 1985 | Space Rage | No | No | Himself |
| 1986 | Busted Up | No | No | Himself |
| 1988 | She's Having a Baby | Yes | Yes | John Hughes |
| 1989 | Weekend at Bernie's | Yes | Yes | Ted Kotcheff |
| 1989 | Turner & Hooch | Yes | No | Roger Spottiswoode |
| 1990 | Robocop 2 | Yes | Yes | Irvin Kershner |
| 1992 | Under Siege | Yes | Yes | Andrew Davis |
| 1993 | Weekend at Bernie's II | Yes | Yes | Robert Klane |
| 1993 | Robocop 3 | Yes | Yes | Fred Dekker |
| 1994 | On Deadly Ground | Yes | No | Steven Seagal |
| 1994 | The Cowboy Way | Yes | Yes | Gregg Champion |
| 1995 | Batman Forever | Yes | Yes | Joel Schumacher |
| 1995 | Assassins | Yes | Yes | Richard Donner |
| 1995 | Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | Yes | Yes | Dwight Little |
| 1998 | Six Days, Seven Nights | Yes | Yes | Ivan Reitman |
| 1998 | Lethal Weapon 4 | Yes | Yes | Richard Donner |
| 1999 | Bringing Out the Dead | Yes | No | Martin Scorsese |
| 2000 | X-Men | No | Yes | Bryan Singer |
| 2001 | Rush Hour 2 | Yes | Yes | Brett Ratner |
| 2003 | Peter Pan | Yes | Yes | P.J. Hogan |
| 2004 | After the Sunset | Yes | Yes | Brett Ratner |
| 2004 | New York Minute | Yes | Action unit director | Dennie Gordon |
| 2005 | Into the Blue | No | Yes | John Stockwell |
| 2006 | X-Men: The Last Stand | Yes | Yes | Brett Ratner |
| 2007 | Rush Hour 3 | Yes | Yes | Brett Ratner |
| 2007 | Disturbia | Yes | Yes | D.J. Caruso |
| 2008 | Seven Pounds | No | Yes | Gabriele Muccino |
| 2010 | The Other Guys | Yes | Yes | Adam McKay |
| 2011 | No Strings Attached | Yes | Yes | Ivan Reitman |
| 2011 | Transformers: Dark of the Moon | Yes | No | Michael Bay |
| 2012 | 21 Jump Street | Yes | No | Phil Lord and Christopher Miller |
| 2014 | 22 Jump Street | Yes | No | Phil Lord and Christopher Miller |
| 2015 | Texas Rising | Yes | Yes | Roland Joffe |
| 2016 | Rules Don't Apply | Yes | No | Warren Beatty |