H. B. Halicki

H. B. Halicki
Halicki in Gone in 60 Seconds, 1974
Born	Henry Blight Halicki (1940-10-18)October 18, 1940 Dunkirk, New York
Died	August 20, 1989(1989-08-20) (aged 48) Tonawanda, Buffalo, New York, United States
Other names	Hank Halicki The Car Crash King The Junkman Toby Halicki Tony Halicki
Years active	1972–1989
Spouse(s)	​ ​ (m. 1989)​
Website	gonein60seconds.com

Henry Blight "Toby" Halicki (October 18, 1940 – August 20, 1989) was an American director, writer, stunt driver, actor, and filmmaker. Halicki directed the 1974 film Gone in 60 Seconds as well as producing and starring in several other action films. He was killed in an accident while filming Gone in 60 Seconds 2 in 1989. His widow, Denice Shakarian Halicki, produced a remake of Gone in 60 Seconds in 2000 with Jerry Bruckheimer.

Biography[]

Halicki was born in Dunkirk, New York, on October 18, 1940, the son of John Halicki and his second wife, Angeline Blazejewicz, both Polish Americans.^[1] His father, originally from Austria, was an auto mechanic and automobile salesman, and opened his own automobile repair shop, Halicki Garage, in 1919, which remains both in operation and a family-run business as of October 2020.^[2][3] Halicki was one of thirteen children, some of whom were half-siblings from his father's first marriage to Caroline Turek; his brothers were Rudolph, Frank, Bud, Ron, Edward, Joseph, and John and his sisters were Angeline, Allegra, Helen, Caroline, and Tara.^[4]

Career[]

Halicki moved from New York to California and worked on vehicles, eventually owning his own impound and towing business. H.B. Halicki Mercantile Co. & Junk Yard was known for its extensive antique automobile and toy collections.^[5]

Gone in 60 Seconds[]

Halicki wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the film Gone in 60 Seconds in 1974.^[6] There was no official script for the movie, apart from several pages outlining main dialog sequences. Halicki supplied most of the cars and used repeated footage of the same vehicles and shots of public incidents to increase the footage. The scene in which a train derailment is observed was not part of the original shooting script; it is in fact a real train that derailed. When the director heard about the wreck, he wanted to incorporate it into the film.^{[citation needed]}

Halicki compacted 10 vertebrae performing the film's 128-foot-long (39 m) jump finale and walked with a limp afterwards.^[7]

Marriage, Gone in 60 Seconds 2 and death[]

Halicki married Denice Shakarian, an Armenian American, in 1989, shortly before he began filming his 1989 sequel, Gone in 60 Seconds 2, in which both of them would star. After Halicki's death, Shakarian began dating her third cousin, Robert Kardashian, best known for representing O. J. Simpson.^[8]

Halicki bought over 400 automobiles to destroy in the film, which was to feature improved car chases and storyline.

On August 20, 1989, while filming in Dunkirk and Buffalo, New York, Halicki was preparing for the most dramatic stunt sequence in the film, during which a 160-foot-tall (49 m) water tower was supposed to topple to the ground. When a cable attached to the tower snapped unexpectedly, it sheared off a telephone pole, which fell on Halicki, killing him instantaneously. The accident occurred in an area behind the former J.H. Williams Tool factory at 400 Vulcan Street in Buffalo.

2000 Gone in 60 Seconds remake[]

In 1995, Denice Shakarian Halicki began work with Jerry Bruckheimer and Touchstone Pictures to produce a 2000 remake of the original 1974 film.^[9] The remake included the Fastback Mustang "Eleanor".^{[citation needed]}

1967 custom Fastback Mustang Eleanor from the 2000 Gone in 60 Seconds

In its opening weekend, the remake grossed $25,336,048 from 3,006 US theaters, leading all films that weekend. By the end of the film's theatrical run, it had grossed $101,648,571 domestically and $135,553,728 internationally, comprising a total gross revenue for the film of $237,202,299 worldwide.^[10]

"Eleanor" legal controversies[]

The popularity of the 2000 remake has resulted in numerous tributes of the Eleanor Mustang. However, in 2004, Denice Halicki sued Carroll Shelby and for "trademark and copyright infringement," citing Shelby's attempt to trademark the Eleanor name and produce replicas through the Unique Motorcars establishment.^{[11][12][13][14]}

More recently, Denise Halicki's company , won a case against YouTube content creator Chris Steinbacher, who - under his monetized YouTube channel - had named a 1967 Mustang Eleanor as part of a video series. The videos were removed and the car was relinquished as part of the settlement.^[15]

These lawsuits have sparked controversy among many in the car community, given that the Ninth Circuit Court decision^[16] proportedly gives "Halicki...the rights to any Mustang named Eleanor or purportedly tied to the Gone in 60 Seconds franchise." It has not been established by the existing cases whether this also applies to privately-created, non-commercial replicas.^[15]

Filmography[]

References[]

External links[]

• H. B. Halicki at IMDb