“If a producer has 5 million bucks tied up in a picture, he's not about to let a guy like Burt Reynolds wreck a car when he can get a dummy like me to do it. But some stars would make good stuntmen. Reynolds is one of them. Bob Fuller and Doug McClure are strong, tough guys with plenty of courage, too.”

American stuntman, film director, actor, writer, and NASCAR team owner

Hal Needham was an American stuntman, film director, actor, writer, and NASCAR team owner. He became known for his long association with Burt Reynolds and for work on action comedies built around cars and speed. His best-known credits include Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper, The Cannonball Run, and Stroker Ace. Across those films, his reputation grew from stunt work into directing and other screen roles, often in projects centered on automobiles and high-energy action.