{{Short description|English-American actor and stuntman (1944–2025)}} {{Infobox person | name = Neil Summers | birth_date = {{birth date|1944|04|28|df=y}} | birth_place = London, England | death_date = {{death date and age|2025|9|4|1944|04|28|df=y}} | death_place = Kanab, Utah, United States | occupation = {{Hlist|Actor|stuntman}} | years_active = 1963–2025 }}
'''Neil Summers''' (28 April 1944 – 4 September 2025) was an English-American actor and stuntman. He was best known for playing the Rodent in the 1990 film ''Dick Tracy''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K-OCBcT1O4UC|title=Dick Tracy and American Culture: Morality and Mythology, Text and Context|page=282|first=Garyn|last=G. Roberts|publisher=McFarland|date=2003|isbn=9780786416981|via=Google Books}}</ref>
== Life and career == Summers was born in London, England on 28 April 1944.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Neil Summers |url=https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Neil+Summers-51261 |access-date=2025-09-09 |website=Filmweb |language=pl}}</ref><ref name="a">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=10dXAwAAQBAJ|title=Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary, 2d Ed.|page=275|first=Gene|last=Scott Freese|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786476435|date=April 24, 2014|via=Google Books}}</ref> He began his screen career in 1963, traveling to Tucson, Arizona to appear in the film ''McLintock!'' as a stunt extra.<ref name="a" /> During his screen career, he was a stunt double for several actors including Warren Oates, Roddy McDowall, Michael Anderson Jr. and Michael J. Pollard.<ref name="a" />
Summers appeared in numerous television programs including ''Gunsmoke'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/289167112/|title=Baby Boomers grew up with Westerns|work=The Newark Advocate|location=Newark, Ohio|date=February 21, 1993|access-date=February 17, 2024|page=25|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Closed access}}</ref> ''Bonanza'', ''Barnaby Jones'', ''Death Valley Days'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/637767399/|title=Summers latest stunt-settling in Kanab|work=Southern Utah News|location=Kanab, Utah|date=July 11, 2001|access-date=February 17, 2024|page=17|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Closed access}}</ref> ''The High Chaparral'', ''The Fall Guy'', ''Petrocelli'' and ''Daniel Boone''. He also appeared in numerous films including ''Duel at Diablo'', ''Heaven with a Gun'', ''El Dorado'', ''True Grit'', ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'',<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yw9eCgAAQBAJ|title=The John Wayne Filmography|page=126|first=Fred|last=Landesman|publisher=McFarland|date=August 13, 2015|isbn=9781476609225|via=Google Books}}</ref> ''Rio Lobo'', ''RoboCop'', '' Wild At Heart'', ''Rough Night in Jericho'', ''The Shawshank Redemption'' and ''Guns of a Stranger''.<ref name="a" />
Summers died in Kanab, Utah, on 4 September 2025, at the age of 81.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=T. M. Z. |date=2025-09-10 |title='Dick Tracy' and 'RoboCop' Actor Neil Summers Dead at 81 |url=https://www.tmz.com/2025/09/10/neil-summers-dead/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=TMZ |language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb name|0838612}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Neil}} Category:1944 births Category:2025 deaths Category:Male actors from London Category:English emigrants to the United States Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:American stunt performers Category:Western (genre) television actors Category:Male Western (genre) film actors