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Charles Bail

Charles Bail

Actor, director and writer, also producer · Died November 25, 2020, aged 85 · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Charles Bail had a very long, diverse and impressive show business career that spanned the 1950s to the 1990s and encompasses everything from acting to directing to performing and/or coordinating stunts in numerous motion pictures and television programs. Bail hailed from Pennsylvania. He quit school in the ninth grade and traveled the country prior to serving a stint in the Navy. After finishing high school and spending two years in college, he joined a "wild west show" that performed all over the Orient. He got his start in show business as an extra on the TV series Wagon Train (1957), and soon made the transition from extra to stuntman and guest star on such western series as The Texan (1958), Gunsmoke (1955), The Rough Riders (1958), The Big Valley (1965), Bonanza (1959), Laredo (1965), Bat Masterson (1958), Daniel Boone (1964), The High Chaparral (1967) and Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958). Bail handled stunt coordinator chores on Werewolves on Wheels (1971), The Last Movie (1971), Getting Straight (1970) and The Cycle Savages (1969), and performed stunts in such movies as The Jayhawkers! (1959), Hells Angels on Wheels (1967), The Green Berets (1968), The Scavengers (1969), The Devil's 8 (1969) and Cleopatra Jones (1973). Bail made his directorial debut with the funky blaxploitation item Black Samson (1974). He subsequently directed the outrageous sequel Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975), the immensely enjoyable cross-country road race romp The Gumball Rally (1976), the nifty sci-fi/action outing Choke Canyon (1986) and the lackluster urban vigilante opus Street Corner Justice (1996). In addition, he directed episodes of such TV shows as Conan the Adventurer (1992), Baywatch Nights (1995), The New Adam-12 (1990), Dragnet (1989), Knight Rider (1982), Manimal (1983), and CHiPs (1977). Charles worked for director Richard Rush on several projects in various capacities; he gives a fine performance as amiable stunt coordinator Chuck Barton in the terrific The Stunt Man (1980). Moreover, Bail was an uncredited second unit director for the features "Greased Lightning," "The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper," and "The Beastmaster." After retiring from show business, Charles settled down in Texas and raised horses. Bail died at age 85 from heart and gall bladder issues on November 25, 2020 in Tyler, Texas.

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Biography from IMDb.

Born
January 1, 1935
Died
November 25, 2020 (aged 85)
From
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Works as
Actor, director and writer, also producer
Titles
24 on MovieCove · 35 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Down 21% in 30 days

What are Charles Bail's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
25%
Morality
25%
Power
22%
Self
16%
Survival
8%
Society
5%
Justice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this themeOppression2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 1

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 5 · Intense 2

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 1 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 4 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

2 analyzed roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Thrilling
5
Tense
4
Absurd
4
Dread
1
Joyful
1
Other
2

How their films linger

Fun5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Charles Bail's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 24 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (9).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Charles Bail's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

35 credits, 24 with a MovieCove page.

  • Love and Other Stunts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Actor

  • The Sinister Saga of Making The Stunt Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Actor

  • Conan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Action Director

  • Street Corner Justice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Director · Writer

  • Choke Canyon(1986)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films

  • Rainy Day Friends (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    as Jack

  • Knight Rider(1982)

    Show 4 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows

  • The Beastmaster(1982)

    Second Unit Director

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper(1981)

    Second Unit Director

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films

  • The Stunt Man(1980)

    as Chuck Barton

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • CHiPs(1977)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all shows

  • Greased Lightning(1977)

    Second Unit Director

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • The Gumball Rally(1976)

    Director · Producer · Story

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold(1975)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Freebie and the Bean(1974)

    Stunt Coordinator · as Cadillac Salesman

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Black Samson(1974)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • The House of Seven Corpses(1973)

    as Jonathon Anthony Beal / Theodore Beal

    Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films

  • Get Christie Love! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Show 1 episode · as Louie

  • Cleopatra Jones(1973)

    Stunts

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Kung Fu(1972)

    Show 1 episode · as First Tough

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows

  • Werewolves on Wheels(1971)

    Stunt Coordinator

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • Getting Straight (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

    Stunt Coordinator

  • The Scavengers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Stunt Coordinator

  • The Savage Seven(1968)

    as Taggert

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • The Monkees(1965)

    Show 1 episode · as Jenkins

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all shows

  • Batman(1966)

    Show 1 episode · as Henchman (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows

  • The Hallelujah Trail(1965)

    Stunt Double

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Daniel Boone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    Show 1 episode · as Lutey · as Stephen

  • The Virginian (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Show 1 episode · as Burney's Henchman (uncredited)

  • Sweet Bird of Youth(1962)

    Stunts

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • The Jayhawkers!(1959)

    as Jayhawker

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Bonanza(1959)

    Show 1 episode · as Ike Kels · as Reese

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all shows

  • The Texan(1958)

    Show 1 episode · as Brawler (uncredited) · as Lou

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows

  • Perry Mason(1957)

    Show 1 episode · as Baker's Henchman (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • Gunsmoke (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Show 1 episode · as Townsman (uncredited) · as Withers

Career shape

A full career of 35 titles from 1955 to 2018.

Biggest box office

The Stunt Man (1980)

$7.1M worldwide

Highest rated

The Stunt Man (1980)

Midcredits 78th

Most popular right now

The Gumball Rally (1976)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting18 of 35: 17 only acting, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score69thDirecting7 of 35: 5 only directing, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score38thWriting2 of 35: 0 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing1 of 35: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleOther crew11 of 35: 10 only other crew, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score53rd

35 titles, 3 with more than one role — acting and other crew overlap on 1 of them.

By decade

1950s5 · acting1960s8 · 5 acting · 3 crew1970s12 · 4 acting · 9 crew1980s6 · 2 acting · 4 crew1990s2 · crew2000s1 · acting2010s1 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Charles Bail's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 46th percentile, the median of all 16; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 38th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

38thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

29thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

55thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 24 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th10
  • 25th to 49th6
  • Below 25th4

Shape of the crowd

13 of their 24 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Universally Panned1
  • Crowd Pleaser13
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed6

Most divisive · director

Choke Canyon (1986)

50th percentile spread · 33% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Stunt Man (1980)

Midcredits 78th · 69% liked

Reviewers score the acting 58/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles; fans 68, detractors 33. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Charles Bail work with?

People who share at least 2 of Charles Bail's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Dominic Frontiere shares the most, 3.

Directors

Actors

Composers

Producers

Mixed roles