He’s been a deceptive handyman and he’s been Santa. He’s played – and kicked – Elvis Presley and traveled to faraway planets. But perhaps the most shocking thing to happen to Kurt Russell is from the time infamous serial killer Ted Bundy stole from him while escaping police custody.
Russell has been back front and center in the spotlight with his performance in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters alongside his son Wyatt. He’s been with Goldie Hawn since ‘83 and become a father figure to her kids, Kate and Oliver Hudson. It’s these siblings who shared details of the time Russell almost had a perilous encounter with notorious murderer Bundy.
Kurt Russell had an unexpected connection with Ted Bundy
Kate and Oliver Hudson had quite the stories to share on Monday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kurt makes it easy to have stories, because according to Kate, “He always finds himself in some sort of scenario.”
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The year was 1977 and Bundy escaped from police custody by jumping out of a second-story window at the Pitkin County Courthouse in Aspen, Colorado. It was June and, at the time, all Kurt had in mind was to enjoy the outdoors.
“This is a crazy story,” continued Oliver. “Kurt was camping, he had his plate of food, went to go get a beer or something, comes back and his plate of food is gone. Ted Bundy then gets caught and recounts sort of how he survived after escaping and said he found a guy camping in the woods with his friends, he leaves the thing, and he grabs and eats his food.”
Stranger than fiction
That summer of ‘77, Bundy had been on trial for the 1975 murder of 23-year-old nurse Caryn Campbell. After a decade of denials, Bundy eventually confessed to 30 murders across seven states between 1974 and 1978.
His flight that year was actually part of two escape attempts he made as Bundy faced increased charges in Colorado. Bundy hadn’t been required to wear an ankle bracelet because he was representing himself in his trial, and so was allowed access to the law library. After beelining for the mountains of Aspen, Bundy evaded police capture for six days before stealing a car. He was caught when a deputy saw his car weaving across the road.
Fortunately, heading off for that beer made sure Kurt Russell didn’t have an even more dangerous encounter with Ted Bundy – but it was a very close miss.
