Toni Vaz Dies: NAACP Image Awards Founder, Stunt Performer & Actor Was 101

Toni Vaz, an actor-turned-pioneering stunt performer who went on to found the NAACP Image Awards, had died. She was 101. Her reps at Katie Kornfield Communications told Deadline that Vaz died October 4 at the Motion Picture Fund campus in Woodland Hills but did not provide other details.

Growing up in New York City, Vaz’s Barbados-native mother wouldn’t let her watch movies. But when she came of age, Vaz headed to Hollywood. She was cast as an extra in the 1959 feature Tarzan the Ape Man, doing a scene opposite MGM’s Leo the Lion. She later had small roles in Anna Lucasta and 1966’s The Singing Nun, which led to a new career in stunt work — a first for a Black woman.

Vaz performed stunts for such groundbreaking actors as Cecily Tyson — standing in for the star on Mission: Impossible — Eartha Kitt and Juanita Moore. Soon she was traveling the world performing all kinds of daring feats in front of the camera, including dangling from helicopters, and amassed more than 50 screen credits and 20,000-plus hours of performance

During a 2006 tribute to the Black Stuntmen’s Association by the Las Vegas City Council, Vaz said: “Before they formed this great stuntmen association, I did a lot of the work. … And we had very little pay for it. But today we’re doing much better.”

Eager to begin a prestigious awards ceremony for people of color, she founded the NAACP Image Awards to honor her peers and encourage studios and producers to hire and honor a wider range of talent. The first ceremony was held in 1967 at the Beverly Hills Hotel’s International Ballroom, and she would receive the Image Awards’ Founders Award in 2021.

Introducing Vaz’s Founder Award, Yvette Nicole Brown called her “a true Black innovator.” “At a time when there were severely limited roles available to Black talent in Hollywood, a determined actress saw an opportunity to showcase our work and change the perception of African Americans in the entertainment industry,” she said. “That’s when the NAACP Image Awards was born. .. It gave us a platform to see each other the way we see ourselves.”

Anthony Anderson introduced Vaz at the 50th anniversary Image Awards by saying: “We have a remarkable woman to thank for it all. … [Vaz] was saddened by the quality of roles given to Black actors. So she took action. She joined the NAACP’s Hollywood branch and helped to develop an idea for an awards show that would feature us in best way possible. She and other fought to change our image, and thus the NAACP Image Award were born.”

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Later in life, Vaz remained very active and participated in many MPTF Studios productions, including an episode of Behind the Silver Screen devoted to her career. In 2020, she was featured in MPTF’s “Reel Stories, Real Lives” event, with her story told by Oscar nominee and multiple Image Award winner Angela Bassett. Vaz also appeared prominently in the organization’s 100th anniversary promotional campaign across Los Angeles.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said recently that it will honor Vaz with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2025.

She is survived by a nephew, Errol Reed; a niece, Janice Powell-Bowen; and a host of extended family.