--- description: Terry Richards never did get to fight Indiana Jones with that giant sword title: Stuntman Terry Richards, Cairo Swordsman in Indiana Jones, Dead at 81 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [remembrance](/tag/remembrance/) ## remembrance Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Stuntman from Infamous Indiana Jones Swordfight Dies at 81 by [Aleksandra Gjorgievska](/author/aleksandra-gjorgievska/) ## Aleksandra Gjorgievska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 26, 2014 3:56 PM CUT by [Aleksandra Gjorgievska](/author/aleksandra-gjorgievska/) ## Aleksandra Gjorgievska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 26, 2014 3:56 PM CUT British stuntman Terry Richards, who starred in _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, _Star Wars_, and nine Bond movies, died Jun. 14\. at 81. Born David Terence Richards, the actor is most famous for his role as the Cairo Swordsman in the first Indiana Jones movie, whom the hero promptly shoots dead instead of attempting to battle him with a sword. Star Harrison Ford claims to have ad-libbed the scene because he was feeling unwell that day — preventing the stuntman from using his dexterity with a sword. But Richards had plenty of chances to show off his skills as a stuntman. In a career spanning five decades, he appeared in over 100 TV and movie productions. “He fought Indiana Jones, James Bond, Luke Skywalker and Rambo — there’s not many people who can say that,” Richards’ son, Terry Richards Junior, [told the BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27978446 "undefined"). \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27978446 "undefined")_\]_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2927851/terry-richards-indiana-jones-sword/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2927851/terry-richards-indiana-jones-sword/"},"headline":"Stuntman from Infamous Indiana Jones Swordfight Dies at 81","datePublished":"2014-06-26T15:56:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:39:06.695Z","description":"Terry Richards never did get to fight Indiana Jones with that giant sword","url":"https://time.com/2927851/terry-richards-indiana-jones-sword/","keywords":["remembrance"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aleksandra Gjorgievska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aleksandra-gjorgievska/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/remembrance/","name":"remembrance"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2927851/terry-richards-indiana-jones-sword/","name":"Stuntman from Infamous Indiana Jones Swordfight Dies at 81"}}]}] ```