Kurt Yaeger

Kurt Yaeger
Born Kurt Yaeger
(1977-01-03) January 3, 1977
San Francisco, California
Occupation Actor, professional BMX rider, director
Years active 2002–present

Kurt Yaeger (born January 3, 1977) is an American actor, director and professional athlete, who is also a below-the-knee amputee. His recent work includes roles on the CBS hit show NCIS and the much anticipated HBO/Cinemax series Quarry. Kurt is notable for appearing in season five of the FX series Sons of Anarchy as Greg "the Peg" and in the Rudimental music video for the UK hit single "Waiting All Night" featuring vocals from Ella Eyre.

Early life

Kurt Yaeger was born in San Francisco, California, United States (US), and was raised in South San Francisco. He currently resides in the Los Angeles area.

As a BMX rider, Yaeger gained the nickname "Crowbar" and acquired sponsors for his BMX riding, participating in tours and competing in events.[1]

As an actor, Yaeger auditioned for a Nickelodeon/Clear Channel Communications live tour based on the popular cartoon show Rocket Power. What he thought to be an acting role turned out to be an athletic/stunt role. He was given the part. At the first day of rehearsals, the director found out that his BMX talent was at a professional level and incorporated it into the show. The show briefly toured the US Midwest in spring 2002 before being canceled due to low ticket sales. It had originally been scheduled to tour about 40 cities all over the US for about six months. After experiencing many BMX-related injuries, he decided to go back to college to pursue a master's degree in hydrogeology. In 2006, while attending school in San Francisco, he was in a motorcycle crash that resulted in multiple injuries.[2][3] He hit a pole and went over a 40-foot embankment, crashing on the side of the freeway.[3]

His left leg was amputated, his right anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament were torn, his pelvis was torn in half along with his bladder, seven vertebra were broken, his lungs collapsed, multiple ribs were broken, and he suffered a severe concussion.[4] One year later, Yaeger made a full recovery, returning to his acting career.[5]

Career

Kurt Yaeger at the UCP – Women Who Care Event 2011

Yaeger started taking acting courses and began acquiring role after role.[6] He starred in Michael Anderson's Tenderloin, a film about one of the most infamous neighborhoods in San Francisco. The film premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October 2009.[7] Some of his recent work includes Dolphin Tale with Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd and Harry Connick, Jr.;[8] Knife Fight with Rob Lowe; War Flowers with Christina Ricci, Tom Berenger and Jason Gedrick; and the Syfy feature film Piranhaconda with Michael Madsen and Rachel Hunter. In 2012, he appeared in a recurring role in six episodes of the FX television series Sons of Anarchy.[9] The list of Television and Movie credits continue.

Along with his business partner Josh Gillick, Yaeger created the production company ArtistFilm.[10] It has produced 9 short films and one feature, Sedona's Rule, distributed by Green Apple Entertainment, Inc.. They are currently working on several features in the early pre-production stages and a reality TV project which has been optioned. Yaeger is also involved with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), and the Actors' Equity Association (AEA) Tri-Union global disability rights campaign called IAMPWD – Inclusion in the Arts & Media of People with Disabilities. He sits as the Chairperson on the AFTRA Los Angeles Local Performers with Disabilities Committee.[11]

Yaeger has also volunteered his time with several organizations. He has attended several Big Sunday events for the Wounded Warrior Project[12] and participated in the American300 Warrior Tour.[13] Yaeger spoke at the 10th and 11th annual United Cerebral Palsy of NYC event called Women Who Care, sharing the stage with Ivanka Trump, Michelle Bachelet and many others.[14] Yaeger was invited as a keynote speaker to the 2014 Adobe Summit in London with the subject of reinvention. On May 14, 2014 he spoke to an abundance of tech specialists and business entrepreneurs, and introduced Rudimental during the Summit Fest that followed.[15]

Sports and affiliations

Kurt Yaeger at the X Games 17

His comeback in sports came not long after in the Extreme Sports genre of BMX. He is currently the number one Adaptive BMXer in the world[16] and participated in X Games 16[17] and X Games 17. Yaeger was showcased along with other adaptive athletes thanks to Adaptive Action Sports, a non-profit organization promoting Action Sports camps, events and programs for youth and young adults living with permanent physical disabilities.

In 2012, the US Paralympics Bobsled & Skeleton Team invited him to train with them in Park City in early January.[18] They asked him back to train with them in Innsbruck, Austria in early March.

2013 had Yaeger participating in a promotional BMX tour of the United Kingdom.[19] Followed immediately by a Motorcycle tour of Africa with Touratech-USA.[20]

BMX sponsors

When Yaeger first began training again, Etnies signed up to sponsor him, supplying shoes that allowed for an expanded experimentation with a new magnetic pedal from ProTonLocks. After he figured out how to stay on the pedals, Solid Bikes and Odyssey helped him by supplying a new bike. The last obstacle was to figure out how to keep his knee from hyper-extending from the repeated impact pressures, so he turned to Ossur, who built him a CTi custom knee brace for his prosthetic leg. His other current sponsors include Freestyle Watches, Stussy, Bern Helmets, Alpine Stars, Challenged Athletes Foundation and Fox Racing. In April 2012, ZICO Coconut Water became a sponsor.[21]

Yaeger has also become one of the owners of ProTonLocks, Inc., a company that makes magnetic bicycle pedals.[22]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Quarry Suggs TV Series – Recurring character
2014 NCIS Freddie Linn TV series – Episode title: Bulletproof
2012 Sons of Anarchy Greg The Peg TV series – Recurring character
2010 The Bold and the Beautiful Photographer TV soap opera – Episode #1.5887
2010 General Hospital Mike – Prison Guard TV soap opera – Episode #1.12083
2008 Without a Trace Kevin TV series – Episode title: Article 32
2007 The World's Astonishing News Steve – Father TV series – Episode title: Poor Family's Christmas Miracle
2002 Rocket Power Live Tour

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Rudimental – Waiting All Night feat. Ella Eyre As Himself YouTube Official Video
2013 The Man Of The House Dad Post-Production
2012 Honor Killing Steven Post-Production
2012 Knife Fight Oliver Kennedy Release Date: June 11, 2013
2012 Alien Hunger Brian Post-Production
2011 Piranhaconda Gunner 2012 Premiere on SYFY TV Channel
2011 Dolphin Tale Veteran Tim Release date: September 23, 2011 (USA)
2011 War Flowers Rufus Release Date: August 31, 2012 (USA)
2011 Camel Spiders Joe Release Date: March 4, 2011 (USA)
2010 Sedona's Rule Erick Release Date: November 20, 2011 (USA)
2009 The Real Deal Bob Derdowski Video
2009 Every Other Week Jude Short
2009 The Tenderloin Ben Keegan Release Date: October 19, 2009 (USA)
2009 The Hell Patrol Pvt. Steven McWatt Release Date: September 26, 2009 (USA)
2008 Asshole of the West Levi Short
2007 Charlie Wilson's War Afghani Refugee Not Credited
2007 The Lost Coast Video Short

Producer/director

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Kurt Yaeger's UK Tour Executive Producer & Co-Star Release Date: February 27, 2014 (Worldwide)
2010 Sedona's Rule Executive Producer Release Date: November 22, 2011 (USA)
2008 Misunderstood[23] Director & Actor Short – Screening Date: June 1, 2008 (USA)

Model

Year Title Notes
2007 Porn for Women A humor or "spoof book", calendar and confectionery cards.[24]

References

  1. ↑ Fudger, Ryan "Kurt Yaeger – Athlete", Ride BMX Transworld, August 30, 2010. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  2. ↑ Vigil, Delfin "Actor brings a little extra to the job", SF Gate, November 15, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Kurt Yaeger — 'Son of Anarchy'". ABILITY Magazine (Kurt Yaeger Issue). Dec 2012 – Jan 2013.
  4. ↑ "Give it up for BMX Pro Kurt Yaeger. That’s a direct order.", Action Recon. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  5. ↑ Vetter, Pam "Kurt Yaeger: Actor reaches beyond label of amputee", Disaboom, April 8, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  6. ↑ Tunney, Brian "Pro BMXers Make the Jump to Television (9 of 11)", ESPN Action Sports, September 28, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  7. ↑ Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  8. ↑ Vetter, Pam "2011 Media Access Awards Honor Efforts in Promoting Awareness of People With Disabilities", American Chronicle, October 7, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Kurt Yeager – Filmography by TV series", IMDB.com Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  10. ↑ "ArtistFilm, Cast & Crew". Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Members of the SAG/AFTRA/AEA Tri-Union Performers with Disabilities Committee, Kurt Yaeger", I AM PWD. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  12. ↑ Deegan, Peachy "Movers And Shakers: Kurt Yaeger, Actor", Whom You Know, June 30, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  13. ↑ Deegan, Peachy "Getting Back Up Tour – Kurt Yaeger and Erin Simmons Nemec – May 2012 "American300 NEVER QUIT Series – Air Force Global Strike Command", American300 Warrior Tours, May 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Celebrities & VIPs Attend the Star-Studded 11th Annual Women Who Care Luncheon". United Cerebral Palsy of New York. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  15. ↑ Parry, Adam "The Full Effect Pull Out All The Stops For The Adobe Summit EMEA Party". Event Industry News UK. May 16, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  16. ↑ Shepherd, Wendy "Interview With Actor Kurt Yaeger", Officially Plugged In, November 9, 2011.
  17. ↑ Tunney, Brian "Getting Back Up: The Kurt Yaeger Story", ESPN Action Sports. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  18. ↑ Tunney, Brian "Kurt Yaeger, BMXer turned Bobsledder", ESPN Action Sports, February 17, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Rudimental's Waiting All Night BMX-Star Kurt Yaeger On UK Tour", Drift. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Kurt Yaeger, BMXer Turned Actor, Shares His Story Of Recovery". Interview with Kaj Goldberg. October 24, 2013. CBS Los Angeles. KCAL-TV. Los Angeles. External link in |title= (help);
  21. ↑ TeamZico
  22. ↑ Ostegard, Jan "Dream Role with Kurt Yaeger" MovieVine, April 18, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Misunderstood", Scary Cow – The Indie Film Co-op, June 1, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
  24. ↑ Anderson, Susan "Porn for Women". Cambridge Women's Pornography Cooperative, Chronicle Books 2007. ISBN 9780811855518. Retrieved July 26, 2011.

External links

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