The original 1986 cult classic Top Gun is dedicated to Art Scholl, but who was he and why is the film in his memory? Released in 1986, Top Gun was a phenomenally successful star vehicle for a young Tom Cruise and an ideal cinematic recruitment tool for the real-life Air Force and Navy.
The tale of the feckless young Maverick, a recruit with an infamous need for speed, Top Gun became a campy cult classic thanks to the peerless direction of The Last Boy Scout helmer/action cinema legend Tony Scott. But the movie wouldn’t have been possible without its plethora of aerial stunts which remain impressive even to this day, and which didn’t have the help of CGI to assist them. As such, it’s fitting that Top Gun is dedicated to a rarely recognized figure who was a legend in the world of aerobatics.
The action of Top Gun ends with a dedication to Art Scholl, but not every viewer will be familiar with the name unless they are a fan of aerobatics (the art of pulling off incredible airborne maneuvers for film, television, and air shows). An icon of aerobatic flying, Scholl was a pilot and flight instructor who operated cameras while pulling off high-flying stunts for a variety of TV series and movies. The pilot represented the U.S. in international aerobatics events for almost a decade before entering the entertainment industry, where his aerial camerawork cropped up in everything from Top Gun to The Right Stuff, to the underrated Robert Redford vehicle The Great Waldo Pepper, to TV’s recently-remade 80s staples CHiPs and The A-Team. Scholl’s work with camera planes was extraordinary, and as a result, the creators of Top Gun reached out to the aerobatic performer to work on Scott’s movie.
Unfortunately, the reason Top Gun was dedicated to Scholl’s memory is that the legendary pilot passed away while filming the movie. Scholl was attempting a risky stunt in a camera plane while capturing footage for one of Top Gun’s many ambitious stunt sequences, but when the pilot found himself unable to pull out of an intentional spin, his plane plunged into the Pacific without a trace. The finished Top Gun was dedicated to Scholl to commemorate the performer’s incredible decades of pioneering aerobatics, as well as the tragic accident that occurred during its filming.
Scholl’s work in film and television remains influential to this day, and his skill as a pilot saw him pull off jaw-dropping stunts in planes such as Top Gun’s Tomcat which have long since been decommissioned due to their high crash rates and safety issues. The fearless stunt performer’s work gave Top Gun many of the movie's most memorable sequences, so here’s hoping that the upcoming long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick will be able to do justice to Scholl’s contributions with its groundbreaking stunt work.
