May 16, 2003

Robert Young, 51

Freestyle champ, movie stuntman dies of cancer

Obituary from the Ogden Standard-Examiner

April 10, 2003 -- Robert Knight Young died on April 7, 2003 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at the age of 51 after fighting cancer for several years.

He was born in Brigham City, Utah in 1951, but grew up in Ogden. He graduated from Ogden High School and was an honor student at Weber State College.

Robert was well known as an extreme skier and was a pioneer in the sport of freestyle skiing. He was the World Grand Prix aerial champion and the US National Aerial Champion in 1975. That same year Skiing Magazine called Robert "One of the most well liked and highly respected competitors on the pro tour."

During his professional career, he won 6 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medals in World Cup competition. Robert performed stunts in dozens of movies including as James Bond's double in the famous ski scene in The Spy Who Loved Me; he was featured in six Warren Miller films. He frequently appeared on ABC"s Wide World of Sports and other national sports programs. He was the freestyle skiing winner of the 1976 CBS television Superstars Challenge of the Sexes.

Robert was known to ski off balconies, over rooftops and across crevasses. He outskied avalanches, skied down the Swiss Olympic bobsled course, and jumped out of the aerial tram at Snowbird.

He was a member of the Utah Ski Demonstration Team, a member of the Snowbird pro team and Director of Skiing at Brianhead. When he retired from skiing Robert sold resort real estate all over the world including at ski resorts in Utah, Colorado and New Mexico and vacation properties in Hawaii, the Canary Islands, the Virgin Islands and Mexico.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Wilford S. Young and Ruth K. Young of Ogden. He is survived by his sister, Carolyn Young of Portland, Oregon. A memorial service will be held in Puerto Vallarta and Snowbird, Utah.