Cast Member killed at Hollywood Studios

lucyanna girl

<font color=blue>My hair looks like Tigger spit ou
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Jan 16, 2005
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Oh my gosh, another death at WDW.

orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/disney/orl-bk-disney-death-081709,0,6075527.story

OrlandoSentinel.com
ID released of Disney performer fatally injured in Hollywood Studios accident
Willoughby Mariano

Sentinel Staff Writer

11:16 PM EDT, August 17, 2009

A Walt Disney World cast member is dead after an accident this evening at Hollywood Studios.

Stunt performer Anislav Varbanov, 30, was fatally injured during a rehearsal for the " Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular." He was doing a tumbling roll after 7 p.m. when he was hurt.

Disney workers dialed 911 at 7:34 p.m. reporting that a cast member sustained a head injury. Varbanov was rushed to Florida Hospital Celebration Health, where he was pronounced dead 8:53 p.m., Orange County sheriff's deputies said.

Monday's death was the third in less than two months.

On July 5, monorail driver Austin Wuennenberg, 21, died when another train backed into his own. He tried to back his train away, but it was too late. The Orange-Osceola medical examiner's office said there were no drugs in his system, and he died of multiple traumatic injuries.

On August 10, Mark Priest, 47, died from complications he experienced after a bad on-stage fall at the Magic Kingdom.

Priest was performing a mock sword fight during Captain Jack's Pirate Tutorial, an interactive show in which actors lead guests through a series of pirate-skills tests, when he stumbled on a wet spot on stage and banged into a wall, his best friend said. He appeared to be improving, but died four days later.

The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, known colloquially as "Epic" to Disney cast members, is performed several times each day at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Disney performers don't impersonate Harrison Ford and Karen Allen, the lead actors from the original Indy film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, but instead demonstrate the types of stunts used to film Indy and Marian's adventures.

The 30-minute show opens with a dramatic sequence in which the actor representing Indiana Jones dodges moving spikes and swings on a rope to get to a treasure. During the rest of the presentation, cast members perform acrobatics, stage fights, dodge moving aircraft and avoid pyrotechnics. The famous rolling-ball scene is also re-created.

The show has been performed at Disney since 1989.

Tuesday's performances were canceled because of Varbanov's death.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration as well and the Orange County Sheriff's Office have been contacted. The Sheriff's office is investigating.

"We lost a valued cast member and our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family as we mourn his passing," said Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez.
 
Was he the cast member who supposedly was chosen from the audience? If so, he was our favorite. This is so sad.
 
Was he the cast member who supposedly was chosen from the audience? If so, he was our favorite. This is so sad.

the CM picked from the audience rotates just like all the other roles.
 
the CM picked from the audience rotates just like all the other roles.

I didn't realize that the cast members rotated. He was not the cm I was thinking of but I do remember him. His poor family.:guilty:
 
So sad :sad1: I always feel badly when any theme park loses a cast member, they make such a huge impact on all the people who pass through enjoying all of their performances. It is so easy to forget that the stunts are dangerous even though these talented people make them look so easy. What a rough summer for Disney CM's, losing three colleagues in such a rapid succession.
 
My sympathies to his family and friends, I'm sure he'll be missed.

agnes!
 
It is so easy to forget that the stunts are dangerous even though these talented people make them look so easy. What a rough summer for Disney CM's, losing three colleagues in such a rapid succession.

Like the guys on Mythbusters always say, "Do not try this at home." Even the professionals can get hurt - or die - from doing stunts and such. It is a dangerous profession. :guilty:

I wonder if Disney will start cutting back on any stunt related shows now that they've had two deaths from them in the past two weeks? (Even though most of them have gone for years without any problems.)
 
When I read that deadline, I first thought that this must have been a rehash of the accident in the Pirate show, but then read the details. Three CMs losing their lives in two months is just mind-boggling. The son of the friend of ours just started the CP down there and I'm sure she's wondering what the heck's going on.
 
He was doing a "tumbling roll". What in the world happened during this roll (which if it is what I think it is, it is pretty innocuous) to cause an injury that led to death?

What role was he rehearsing when it happened?
 
I wonder if Disney will start cutting back on any stunt related shows now that they've had two deaths from them in the past two weeks? (Even though most of them have gone for years without any problems.)
I doubt it. It is an opportunity to review safety procedures, however.
He was doing a "tumbling roll". What in the world happened during this roll (which if it is what I think it is, it is pretty innocuous) to cause an injury that led to death?

What role was he rehearsing when it happened?
If it's what I think it is, it is a pretty basic move, but one that if done wrong could certainly lead to a serious head or neck injury.
 
Has anyone seen the video report of the latest accident at Disney on CNN.com? They show a youtube video of Anislav performing a hand balancing act with Albena Aleksandrova. I don't know if any of you recall, but Albena was part of the Kristos who used to perform at Epcot. Anislav was not part of this group, but apparently was a skilled acrobat.

Again, to repeat a phrase mentioned earlier in this thread, don't try this at home.

I believe that this is a photo of Anislav performing with Albena:
797402_968364.jpg
 
This is heartbreaking. :sad1:

I've been away from the boards and have not heard about the pirate accident. What happened?
 












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