- Born
- Died
- Birth namePauline Shelton
- Nicknames
- Queen of Western Stuntwomen
- Aunt Polly
- Trick rider and stunt woman Polly Burson was born Pauline Shelton on December 24, 1919 in Ontario, Oregon. Born into a rodeo family, Polly spent her early years on her grandfather's ranch and started riding calves at the age of seven. Moreover, Burson rode relay and flat races as well as was a trick rider since she was a teenager (she even managed to ride ride at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1941). Following an outstanding career on the rodeo circuit, Polly moved to California to break into the film business. Although it took Burson three years to break into said business, her career as a stunt woman was off and running from the mid-1940's and onward. Among the notable actresses that Polly doubled for throughout her five decade career as a stunt woman are Betty Hutton, Julie Adams, Sophia Loren, Shelley Winters, Yvonne De Carlo, Barbara Stanwyck, Dorothy Malone, Betty Grable, Lucille Ball, and Kim Darby.
Burson was the recipient of a Golden Boot Award for her substantial and impressive contributions to the Western genre in 1991; said award was present to her by longtime friend and fellow stuntman Henry Wills. In addition, Polly was also inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall of Fame, and the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas in November, 2002. Burson was married and divorced three times. She died at age 86 on April 4, 2006 in Ventura, California.- IMDb Mini Biography By: woodyanders
- SpousesWayne Burson(1945 - 1956) (divorced)George Mills(1938 - 1944) (divorced)Jerry Gatlin (divorced)
- First recipient of the Tad Lucas Memorial Award of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1990.
- Her parents were rodeo riders.
- Toured France with a Wild West show, performed in the Far East in rodeos and sailed the Pacific Ocean in her own sailboat for three years.
- Trick riding at age 14 and relay riding at age 18.
- Grew up in Oxnard, California.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content