Toni Vaz, stuntwoman and NAACP Image Awards founder, dead at 101

Actress-activist Toni Vaz broke barriers in entertainment and created an enduring celebration of Black talent and achievement.

Toni Vaz reportedly wasn’t allowed to watch movies as a child, but that didn’t stop her from making an indelible impact on Hollywood. On Oct. 4, Van, a veteran stuntwoman who is credited with founding the NAACP Image Awards, died at the Motion Picture Fund campus in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, as reported by Deadline. Vaz was 101 years old.

Born to Barbadian émigrés and raised in New York City, Vaz’s fascination with the world of filmmaking led her to Hollywood as a young woman. She was eventually cast as an extra in the 1959 classic movie “Tarzan the Ape Man,” reportedly appearing opposite the MGM mascot Leo the Lion. Other film credits included minor parts in “Anna Lucasta,” “Lady Sings the Blues,” “The Towering Inferno,” “The Singing Nun” and “Mission” Impossible,” ultimately leading Vaz to a new facet of screen work, breaking ground as the first Black stuntwoman on record.  

During her decades-long career, Vaz amassed over 50 screen credits and more than 20,000 hours of performances. Standing in for the likes of Cecily Tyson and Eartha Kitt, among others, Vaz performed “all kinds of daring feats in front of the camera, including dangling from helicopters,” reports Deadline.

Breaking new ground for both race and gender in the stunt world, Vaz acknowledged the challenges of being an industry pioneer during a 2006 tribute to the Black Stuntmen’s Association. “Before they formed this great stuntmen association, I did a lot of the work,” she said, per Deadline. “…And we had very little pay for it. But today we’re doing much better.”

Vaz’s pioneering work transcended her work as a performer, as she became an industry activist. After joining the Hollywood branch of the NAACP, she prompted the founding of the NAACP Image Awards to provide a marquee awards ceremony for people of color in entertainment — and encourage both recognition and broader inclusion from the industry at large. Launching the first ceremony in 1967 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the annual ceremony continues today; in 2021, Vaz was honored with the event’s Founders Award.

“At a time when there were severely limited roles available to Black talent in Hollywood, a determined actress saw an opportunity to showcase our work and change the perception of African Americans in the entertainment industry,” said actress Yvette Nicole Brown as she introduced Vaz that evening. “That’s when the NAACP Image Awards was born. … It gave us a platform to see each other the way we see ourselves.”

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At the Image Awards’ 50th anniversary celebration, actor-comedian Anthony Anderson also heaped praise upon Vaz, noting, “We have a remarkable woman to thank for it all. … [Vaz] was saddened by the quality of roles given to Black actors. So she took action. … She and others fought to change our image, and thus the NAACP Image Awards were born.”

Remaining active in the industry for the remainder of her life, Vaz was honored in 2020 at the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s “Reel Stories, Real Lives” with a tribute voiced by Angela Bassett. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce recently also announced plans to award the industry pioneer with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2025.

Vaz is reportedly survived by her nephew, Errol Reed, niece, Janice Powell-Bowen, and extended family.

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