 hal brett needham (march 6, 1931 &ndash; october 25, 2013) was an american stuntman and film director. he is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor burt reynolds, usually in films involving fast cars, such as smokey and the bandit, hooper, the cannonball run, and stroker ace. ==early years== needham was born in memphis, tennessee, the son of edith may (nÃ©e robinson) and howard needham. he was raised in arkansas and missouri. needham was a paratrooper during the korean war, worked as a treetopper, 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. 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 burt reynolds' guesthouse for the better part of 12 years. in 1971, he and fellow stuntmen glenn wilder and ronnie rondell formed stunts unlimited. needham had written a screenplay titled smokey and the bandit and his friend reynolds offered him the chance to direct. the film was a huge hit, and the two followed it with [[hooper (film)|h
1931_births 2013_deaths American_film_directors American_male_film_actors American_screenwriters American_stunt_performers Deaths_from_cancer People_from_Arkansas People_from_Memphis,_Tennessee