Bob Anderson (1922 – 2012): Sword Master, Mentor and Hollywood Legend
January 12, 2012
by Mike Elliott, Kettle River Canoes
Bob Anderson died on January 1, 2012 at the age of 89. He was not a movie star, but his work in TV and films is world-famous. Bob was a sword master, fencing coach, stunt double and fight choreographer. Some of his fight scenes have generated a cult following – I’m sure many of you can quote lines from the duel between The Man-In-Black and Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride. However, to me, he was the mentor who took me under his wing, championed my dreams of becoming a sword master and turned them into reality.
I first met Bob at the 1980 Canadian National Fencing Championships in Ottawa, Ontario. He had just been hired as Technical Director of the Canadian Fencing Association. Bob Anderson had been a National Coach in Britain for 25 years and was a key figure in their National Coaching Scheme for fencing that introduced the sport to thousands of students across Britain through the use of large group lessons. That was impressive, but we were buzzing with excitement because we could hardly wait to meet Darth Vader. Bob had worked in movies and TV as a stunt man and fight director since 1953 when he fenced with Errol Flynn in The Master of Ballantrae. Bob arrived in Ottawa having just finished filming light-saber duels with Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back.
Bob came into the gymnasium at Carleton University (the venue for the National Championships) wearing a bright blue winter parka. It was a little out of place in the beautiful spring day in May but was a topic of conversation with the Star Wars logo featuring prominently. All of the cast and crew in The Empire Strikes Back wore these jackets while filming in Norway. Bob certainly knew how to make an entrance.
I introduced myself to Bob and explained that I had just returned from Poland where I was hoping to be accepted to study at the AZS AWF Warszawa (the sport college in Warsaw) to become a Fencing Master. It had a reputation as one of the best schools in the world having trained several fencing masters that were now working as National Coaches all around the world. Bob insisted that I train in Canada. I told him there was no training program for Fencing Masters in Canada. His response was definite, “Then you will be the first Fencing Master trained in Canada. I’ll see to it.”
True to his word, Bob helped me apply for and receive a coaching scholarship called the National Team Coaching Apprenticeship Program. Offered by the Coaching Association of Canada to potential National Team Coaches, the scholarship paid all of my living and traveling expenses for two years while I trained with some of the best Fencing Masters in the world. Ironically, my primary instructor for the majority of the program was Zbigniew Skrudlik. He had been the director of the Fencing Master School at the AZS AWF Warszawa and was responsible for developing all of those National Coaches around the world that I had heard so much about.
Bob Anderson supported my dream to become a Fencing Master. I extend my deepest condolences to his wife Pearl and the rest of the family. My heart is heavy with the news of his passing.
