Hal Needham

Hal Brett Needham (March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013) was an American stuntman, film director, actor, writer, and NASCAR team owner. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Burt Reynolds, usually in films involving fast cars, such as Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Hooper (1978), The Cannonball Run (1981) and Stroker Ace (1983). In his later years, Needham moved out of stunt work, and focused his energy on the world land speed record project. In 2001, Needham received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Taurus World Stunt Awards, and in 2012, he was awarded a Governors Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Early years Needham was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Edith May (née Robinson) and Howard Needham. He was the youngest of three children. Raised in Arkansas and Missouri, Needham served in the United States Army as a paratrooper during the Korean War, worked as a treetopper (an arborist who performs tree topping services), and was a billboard model for Viceroy Cigarettes while beginning a career in Hollywood as a motion picture stuntman. Career Needham's first break was as the stunt double for actor Richard Boone on the popular TV western Have Gun, Will Travel. Needham trained under John Wayne's stunt double Chuck Roberson and quickly became one of the top stuntmen of the 1960s on such films as How the West Was Won, The Bridge at Remagen, McLintock!, The War Lord, and Little Big Man. He doubled regularly for Clint Walker and Burt Reynolds. He played a cowboy in an episode of the TV Western Gunsmoke (S8E36 - “The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner”). Needham moved into stunt coordinating and directing second unit action, while designing and introducing air bags and other innovative equipment to the industry. Needham at one time lived in Reynolds' guesthouse for the better part of 12 years.