burt reynolds smokey and the bandit and jerry reed

#Burt reynolds smokey and the bandit and jerry reed movie

“It was incredible stunt work, but I think he brought something else to the picture.

#Burt reynolds smokey and the bandit and jerry reed movie

But Williams asserts that Needham made the film memorable for the stunts in the film – but also the friendship displayed between Reynolds and Jerry Reed, which mirrored Needham’s own relationship with the movie star. Justice, while others might recall the chemistry between Reynolds and co-star Sally Field. Some might remember Jackie Gleason’s magnificent portrayal of Texas lawman Buford T. Of course, the mastermind behind the movie was its director and writer, Hal Needham. “It was a great stroke of luck,” Williams says of the first film. “The later movies were not the piece of art the first one was, but it’s been a lovely part of my past that has been a great surprise that has remained in people’s hearts all these years.” He looked at the two of us and said he had something that would be great for us. Pat was a comedy writer for Johnny Carson for years. He was standing over me, and said ‘You know what, little guy? You look like an aerial photograph of a human being.'” We were great buddies and always hanging together. He had the funniest line ever the first time he saw me in the daylight. Pat and I were actually drinking buddies. I’m not sure of the exact timeline, but I had met Burt, and he saw Pat and I backstage at The Tonight Show. “I had met Burt, and had been a revolving co-host on The Dinah Shore Show – myself and three other guys, Don Meredith, Fernando Lamas, and Charles Nelson Reilly. “The beginning of it happened at The Tonight Show,” Williams recalls.

Williams has nothing but fond memories of his time spent playing the son of Georgia businessman ?”Big Enos” Burdette, played by close friend Pat McCormick. TCM is in the midst of celebrating the 40th anniversary of the original film with a re-release that started Sunday, May 21, and will happen again on Wednesday, May 24. It’s amazing to see that forty years later, it’s still resonating with people.” The production costs were cut, and it was originally going to be released only in the South.

“It’s really wonderful because when we made the movie, those films were made almost against all odds. All of Burt’s friends supposedly begged him not to do it. Williams, now president of ASCAP, says he still gets a kick out of that recognition. In all those highs and lows, there is one thing I noticed - especially in the South - when I walk through an airport, it’s almost inevitable that somebody will come up and say ‘Oh, my God! It’s Little Enos Burdette,'” he says in reference to his role in the Smokey and the Bandit trilogy (1977, 1980, and 1983). I’m 27 years sober, so that tells you why I disappeared for those years. “There were the salad days of when you are just trying to make it, then all of a sudden you are doing ok, you’re doing The Tonight Show all the time, and then there’s the ’80s, when I kind of disappeared for a time.

“There have been highs and lows in my career,” Williams tells Billboard. He’s written hits for Barbra Streisand, The Carpenters, and Three Dog Night among others, but Paul Williams will tell you that fans who encounter him today will invariably bring up another chapter in his career.