Hal Needham

Hal Needham

Birth : 1931-03-06, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Death : 2013-10-25

History

Hal Brett Needham (March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013) was an American stuntman, film director, actor and writer. 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Hal Needham, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Profile

Hal Needham
Hal Needham

Movies

The Bandit
Self (archive footage)
THE BANDIT is a film about 70s superstar Burt Reynolds, his best friend, roommate and stunt-double Hal Needham, and the making of their unlikely smash-hit SMOKEY & THE BANDIT. The film tells the action-packed story of the making of SMOKEY, while tracing the vivid personal journeys of Reynolds and Needham from obscurity to stardom and highlighting one of the most extraordinary relationships in Hollywood history. Featuring new interviews with Reynolds, rare archive material, including footage from Reynolds’ personal archive, as well as candid interviews with the late Hal Needham, the documentary tells an exhilarating and moving story about loyalty, friendship and creative risk.
Hard Time: Hostage Hotel
Director
A California congressman's wife and daughter are abducted and held hostage in a historic hotel. Logan McQueen is rushed to the scene to assist his former partner, Charlie Duffy, who has been taken captive trying to broker the ransom deal. McQueen must risk his life to face the cunning killer and save the hostages and his long-time friend.
Jackie Chan - From Stuntman to Superstar
Himself
Jackie Chan - From Stuntman to Superstar is a documentary on Jackie Chan.
The Sunchaser
Stunts
A young half-Navajo convict dying of cancer forces a yuppie doctor to drive him to a magic healing lake.
Charlie Sheen's Stunts Spectacular
Self
The first behind the scenes look revealing the movie magic of the men and women of the stunt profession, Hollywood's unsung heroes. Charlie Sheen and Stuntman Hall of Famer BJ Davis host.
Bandit's Silver Angel
Executive Producer
Bandit (Brian Bloom) gets an unexpected and unwelcome visit from his eccentric Uncle Cyrus.
Bandit's Silver Angel
Director
Bandit (Brian Bloom) gets an unexpected and unwelcome visit from his eccentric Uncle Cyrus.
Beauty and the Bandit
Director
Bandit, always willing to help a lady, bites off more than he can chew when he helps a lady who is on the run from the mob. Nuns and nudists cross paths with a trucker hijacked by a beauty on the run from a mobster.
Bandit Bandit
Director
Assigned to deliver a prototype car to a press conference for the Governor, things are complicated by a fraudulent Bandit who ends up stealing Bandit's rig AND the prototype. Now Bandit has to find out who's out to ruin his life and recover the car before the Governor's career is crucified by Big Bob on his radio show and while avoiding a determined Sheriff Buford Enright.
Bandit Goes Country
Executive Producer
Bandit returns home for a family reunion. Mel Tillis, forced to make an emergency landing when his plane malfunctions, joins in on the fun
Bandit Goes Country
Story
Bandit returns home for a family reunion. Mel Tillis, forced to make an emergency landing when his plane malfunctions, joins in on the fun
Bandit Goes Country
Characters
Bandit returns home for a family reunion. Mel Tillis, forced to make an emergency landing when his plane malfunctions, joins in on the fun
Bandit Goes Country
Director
Bandit returns home for a family reunion. Mel Tillis, forced to make an emergency landing when his plane malfunctions, joins in on the fun
Body Slam
Director
M. Harry Smilac is a down-on-his-luck music manager who is having a hard time attracting talent and booking gigs for his band, Kicks (The most recent of the gigs is a Dairy Queen opening!!). When making arrangements for a campaign fund-raiser, he mistakes Rick Roberts, a professional wrestler, for a musician and hires him. At that moment he becomes a wrestling manager and starts to book matches for him and his teammate Tonga Tom. The team is a success, and Harry decides to take his wrestlers and his band on a "Rock n' Wrestling" tour. The tour is a success, and Harry feels what it is like to be a winner again.
Rad
Director
A BMX racer, who lives in a small town with his mother and sister, is faced with a tough decision, qualify for Helltrack or take his SATs in order to attend college.
Cannonball Run II
Screenplay
When a wealthy sheikh puts up $1 million in prize money for a cross-country car race, there is one person crazy enough to hit the road hard with wheels spinning fast. Legendary driver J.J McClure enters the competition along with his friend Victor and together they set off across the American landscape in a madcap action-adventure destined to test their wits and automobile skills.
Cannonball Run II
Porsche 928 Driver with Cowboy Hat (uncredited)
When a wealthy sheikh puts up $1 million in prize money for a cross-country car race, there is one person crazy enough to hit the road hard with wheels spinning fast. Legendary driver J.J McClure enters the competition along with his friend Victor and together they set off across the American landscape in a madcap action-adventure destined to test their wits and automobile skills.
Cannonball Run II
Director
When a wealthy sheikh puts up $1 million in prize money for a cross-country car race, there is one person crazy enough to hit the road hard with wheels spinning fast. Legendary driver J.J McClure enters the competition along with his friend Victor and together they set off across the American landscape in a madcap action-adventure destined to test their wits and automobile skills.
Smokey and the Bandit Part 3
Characters
The Enos duo convince Cletus, aka The Bandit, to come out of hiding and help them promote their new restaurant. With a little coaxing, he agrees, producing an almost-creaky Trigger as his mode of transport. But his nemesis, Sheriff Buford T. Justice, is on the hunt, forcing Cletus and Trigger to hit the road. Can they steer clear of the vengeful sheriff?
Stroker Ace
Man Punching Stroker Into Ladies Room (uncredited)
Stroker Ace, a champion NASCAR driver, is standing at the top of his career, but is getting fed up with having to do as he's told. In between rebelling against his sponsor (a fried chicken chain)'s promotion gimmicks (like making him dress up in giant chicken suit) he spends the rest of the movie trying to bed the buxom Pembrook.
Stroker Ace
Screenplay
Stroker Ace, a champion NASCAR driver, is standing at the top of his career, but is getting fed up with having to do as he's told. In between rebelling against his sponsor (a fried chicken chain)'s promotion gimmicks (like making him dress up in giant chicken suit) he spends the rest of the movie trying to bed the buxom Pembrook.
Stroker Ace
Director
Stroker Ace, a champion NASCAR driver, is standing at the top of his career, but is getting fed up with having to do as he's told. In between rebelling against his sponsor (a fried chicken chain)'s promotion gimmicks (like making him dress up in giant chicken suit) he spends the rest of the movie trying to bed the buxom Pembrook.
Megaforce
Screenplay
Megaforce is an elite multi-national military unit that does the jobs that individual governments wont. When the peaceful Republic of Sardun in under threat from their more aggressive neighbour the beautiful Major Zara and General Byrne-White see the help of Ace Hunter and Megaforce.
Megaforce
Technician (uncredited)
Megaforce is an elite multi-national military unit that does the jobs that individual governments wont. When the peaceful Republic of Sardun in under threat from their more aggressive neighbour the beautiful Major Zara and General Byrne-White see the help of Ace Hunter and Megaforce.
Megaforce
Director
Megaforce is an elite multi-national military unit that does the jobs that individual governments wont. When the peaceful Republic of Sardun in under threat from their more aggressive neighbour the beautiful Major Zara and General Byrne-White see the help of Ace Hunter and Megaforce.
The Cannonball Run
Ambulance EMT (uncredited)
A cross-country road race is based on an actual event, the Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, organized by Brock Yates to protest the 55 mph speed limit then in effect in the U.S. The Cannonball was named for Erwin G. "Cannonball" Baker, who in the roaring 20's rode his motorcycle across the country. Many of the characters are based on ruses developed by real Cannonball racers over the several years that the event was run.
The Cannonball Run
Director
A cross-country road race is based on an actual event, the Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, organized by Brock Yates to protest the 55 mph speed limit then in effect in the U.S. The Cannonball was named for Erwin G. "Cannonball" Baker, who in the roaring 20's rode his motorcycle across the country. Many of the characters are based on ruses developed by real Cannonball racers over the several years that the event was run.
Smokey and the Bandit II
Characters
The Bandit goes on another cross-country run, transporting an elephant from Florida to Texas. And, once again, Sheriff Buford T. Justice is on his tail.
Smokey and the Bandit II
Director
The Bandit goes on another cross-country run, transporting an elephant from Florida to Texas. And, once again, Sheriff Buford T. Justice is on his tail.
Stunts Unlimited
H.N. (uncredited)
A group of Hollywood stunt performers are recruited by former U.S. Intelligence agent Dirk Macauley to retrieve a stolen laser gun from a notorious arms dealer in this pilot to a proposed TV series.
Stunts Unlimited
Director
A group of Hollywood stunt performers are recruited by former U.S. Intelligence agent Dirk Macauley to retrieve a stolen laser gun from a notorious arms dealer in this pilot to a proposed TV series.
Death Car on the Freeway
Mr. Blanchard
A determined TV reporter is out to find a maniac who is methodically attacking lone women drivers on the Los Angeles Freeway by pushing them off the road with his powerful van.
Death Car on the Freeway
Director
A determined TV reporter is out to find a maniac who is methodically attacking lone women drivers on the Los Angeles Freeway by pushing them off the road with his powerful van.
The Villain
Director
Handsome Stranger has agreed to escort Charming Jones to collect her inheritance from her father. But Avery Jones wants the money, and hires notorious outlaw Cactus Jack to ambush Charming. However, Cactus Jack is not very good at robbing people.
Hooper
Director
Legendary stunt man, Sonny Hooper remains one of the top men in his field, but due to too many stressful impacts to the spine and the need to pop pain killers several times a day, he knows he should get out of the industry before he ends up permanently disabled.
Smokey and the Bandit
Story
A race car driver tries to transport an illegal beer shipment from Texas to Atlanta in under 28 hours, picking up a reluctant bride-to-be on the way.
Smokey and the Bandit
Director
A race car driver tries to transport an illegal beer shipment from Texas to Atlanta in under 28 hours, picking up a reluctant bride-to-be on the way.
Nickelodeon
Stunt Coordinator
In the silent film era, attorney Leo Harrigan and gunslinger Buck Greenway are hired to stop an illegal film production. However, they soon team up with the filmmakers and become important players in the show business industry. Leo learns he has a talent for directing, and Buck's cowboy persona quickly earns him leading-man status — but both men fall for beautiful starlet Kathleen Cooke, leading to a heated personal rivalry.
Gator
Second Unit Director
After his release from prison, notorious ex-con and moonshine distiller Gator McKlusky moves in with his father in a cabin in the Okefenokee Swamp. His bootlegging plans are cut short, however, when a federal agent tells McKlusky that he will lose custody of his 9-year-old daughter unless he helps bring down local crime lord Bama McCall. McKlusky enlists the help of reporter Aggie Maybank and a few local eccentrics to bring down McCall's empire.
Jackson County Jail
Chief of Fallsburg Police
A young woman stumbles into a nightmare land of hijacking and humiliation while driving cross-country from California to New York.
Peeper
Stunt Coordinator
A detective is hired to locate a girl adopted 30 years earlier whose birth father wants to bequeath her his fortune.
Take a Hard Ride
Garmes (uncredited)
After his cattle rancher boss dies, right-hand man Pike is given the job of returning $86,000 to some families who live across the border in Senora, Mexico. Honest Pike is joined on the trip through the wilderness by a dishonest gambler named Tyree.
Take a Hard Ride
Second Unit
After his cattle rancher boss dies, right-hand man Pike is given the job of returning $86,000 to some families who live across the border in Senora, Mexico. Honest Pike is joined on the trip through the wilderness by a dishonest gambler named Tyree.
Take a Hard Ride
Stunt Coordinator
After his cattle rancher boss dies, right-hand man Pike is given the job of returning $86,000 to some families who live across the border in Senora, Mexico. Honest Pike is joined on the trip through the wilderness by a dishonest gambler named Tyree.
W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings
Stunt Coordinator
W.W. Bright is a robber with a heart of gold who travels the South knocking off banks and gas stations owned by a corrupt businessman. When he hijacks a car, he meets an aspiring country band, the Dixie Dancekings, led by Dixie. The two sides eventually take a liking to one another, especially after the Dancekings realize the size of Bright's thefts. Trailed by religious zealot cop Deacon Gore, Bright helps the band make it big while on the run.
W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings
Trooper Carson
W.W. Bright is a robber with a heart of gold who travels the South knocking off banks and gas stations owned by a corrupt businessman. When he hijacks a car, he meets an aspiring country band, the Dixie Dancekings, led by Dixie. The two sides eventually take a liking to one another, especially after the Dancekings realize the size of Bright's thefts. Trailed by religious zealot cop Deacon Gore, Bright helps the band make it big while on the run.
French Connection II
Doyle Kidnapper (uncredited)
"Popeye" Doyle travels to Marseilles to find Alain Charnier, the drug smuggler that eluded him in New York.
French Connection II
Stunt Coordinator
"Popeye" Doyle travels to Marseilles to find Alain Charnier, the drug smuggler that eluded him in New York.
Three the Hard Way
Stunt Coordinator
A record producer, a PR man, and a black belt in karate foil a white supremacist plot to poison the water supply.
Blazing Saddles
Outlaw (uncredited)
A town—where everyone seems to be named Johnson—stands in the way of the railroad. In order to grab their land, robber baron Hedley Lamarr sends his henchmen to make life in the town unbearable. After the sheriff is killed, the town demands a new sheriff from the Governor, so Hedley convinces him to send the town the first black sheriff in the west.
McQ
Santiago Henchman (uncredited)
Police Lieutenant Lon McQ investigates the killing of his best friend and uncovers corrupt elements of the police department dealing in confiscated drugs.
Call to Danger
Stunts
A federal agent recruits a computer whiz to try to free a Mafia witness who has been kidnapped and held in a heavily fortified compound.
The Bounty Man
Pike
Kinkaid is a rugged, hard-driving bounty hunter, determined to find outlaw Billy Riddle. He tracks Billy, takes him captive, and starts the long trek to justice. However, this journey may lead him to dire consequences... a gang of cut-throats headed by Angus Keough is pursuing them, after the bounty for themselves.
Goodnight, My Love
Stunt Coordinator
Gruff gumshoe Francis Hogan is hired by a mysterious woman to find her boyfriend who has gone missing. With his perpetually hungry partner in tow, Hogan must untangle a web of intrigue involving the criminal underworld and a dead courier. One double-cross follows another as Hogan investigates the whole sordid affair.
The Culpepper Cattle Co.
Burgess
Working as an assistant on a long cattle drive, the young Ben Mockridge contends between his dream of being a cowboy and the harsh truth of the Old West.
Hardcase
Stunt Coordinator
A man thought-dead comes home to find that his wife has sold their ranch and married a Mexican revolutionary.
Sometimes a Great Notion
Man at Racetrack
Hank Stamper and his father, Henry, own and operate the family business by cutting and shipping logs in Oregon. The town is furious when they continue working despite the town going broke and the other loggers go on strike ordering the Stampers to stop, however Hank continues to push his family on cutting more trees. Hank's wife wishes he would stop and hopes that they can spend more time together. When Hank's half brother Leland comes to work for them, more trouble starts.
Something Big
Stunt Coordinator
Joe Baker has a dream. He wants to do 'something big.' When he needs a Gatling gun to accomplish this, he seeks out a black marketeer. The price he wants for the gun? A woman! So Baker kidnaps a woman off of the stagecoach, only to find that she is the wife of the commandant of the local Cavalry detachment. Things get further complicated when a girl named Dover McBride shows up. She has come to force Baker to marry her and return east, as he promised to do four years earlier
The Animals
Stunts
A woman tracks down the three men who raped her, helped by an Apache. Traveling through the Old West to her new home, young schoolteacher Alice McAndrew is abducted by five outlaws headed by robber Pudge Elliott. The thugs rape Alice before leaving her for dead, but she is rescued by Chatto, an Apache chief. He restores her health and aids her in her bloodthirsty quest for revenge. With her sanity wavering, will Alice be able to find the men who tortured her?
One More Train to Rob
Bert Gant
Harker Flet and compatriots Timothy X. Nolan and Katy, along with three other men, steal $40,000 in money and jewelry from a California train in the gold-mining country of the 1880's. The six split up and while they are hiding out awaiting the rendezvous to divide the loot, Hark is cornered, framed and sent to prison. He is released after two-and-a-half years and sets out to find Katy and Nolan and get his share of the loot.
The Undefeated
Yankee Corporal at River Crossing (uncredited)
After the Civil War, ex-Union Colonel John Henry Thomas and ex-Confederate Colonel James Langdon are leading two disparate groups of people through strife-torn Mexico. John Henry and company are bringing horses to the unpopular Mexican government for $35 a head while Langdon is leading a contingent of displaced southerners, who are looking for a new life in Mexico after losing their property to carpetbaggers. The two men are eventually forced to mend their differences in order to fight off both bandits and revolutionaries, as they try to lead their friends and kin to safety.
Bandolero!
Stunt Coordinator
Posing as a hangman, Mace Bishop arrives in town with the intention of freeing a gang of outlaws, including his brother, from the gallows. Mace urges his younger brother to give up crime. The sheriff chases the brothers to Mexico. They join forces, however, against a group of Mexican bandits.
The Devil's Brigade
The Sergeant
At the onset of World War II, American Lt. Col. Robert Frederick is put in charge of a unit called the 1st Special Service Force, composed of elite Canadian commandos and undisciplined American soldiers. With Maj. Alan Crown leading the Canadians and Maj. Cliff Bricker the acting head of the American contingent, there is initial tension -- but the team comes together when given a daunting mission that few would dare to attempt.
The War Wagon
Stunts
An ex-con seeks revenge on the man who put him in prison by planning a robbery of the latter's stagecoach, which is transporting gold. He enlists the help of a partner, who could be working for his nemesis.
The War Wagon
Hite
An ex-con seeks revenge on the man who put him in prison by planning a robbery of the latter's stagecoach, which is transporting gold. He enlists the help of a partner, who could be working for his nemesis.
The Rare Breed
Stunt Coordinator
When her husband dies en route to America, Martha Price and her daughter Hilary are left to carry out his dream: the introduction of Hereford cattle into the American West. They enlist Sam "Bulldog" Burnett in their efforts to transport their lone bull, a Hereford named Vindicator, to a breeder in Texas, but the trail is fraught with danger and even Burnett doubts the survival potential of this "rare breed" of cattle.
The Great Race
Saloon Brawler (uncredited)
Professional daredevil and white-suited hero, The Great Leslie, convinces turn-of-the-century auto makers that a race from New York to Paris (westward across America, the Bering Straight and Russia) will help to promote automobile sales. Leslie's arch-rival, the mustached and black-attired Professor Fate vows to beat Leslie to the finish line in a car of Fate's own invention.
In Harm's Way
Airman in the Blue Lagoon (uncredited)
A naval officer reprimanded after Pearl Harbor is later promoted to rear admiral and gets a second chance to prove himself against the Japanese.
4 for Texas
Thomas Worker (uncredited)
In the 1870s, two rival businessmen, Zack Thomas and Joe Jarrett, on a stagecoach heading to Galveston, Texas, must pull together to protect $100,000 from an outlaw named Matson. Once in Galveston, however, their rivalry continues, as Thomas joins up with Elya Carlson and Jarret with Maxine Richter. But Matson is still on the loose, and a scheming banker threatens both Thomas and Jarrett.
McLintock!
Carter (uncredited)
Ageing, wealthy, rancher and self-made man, George Washington McLintock is forced to deal with numerous personal and professional problems. Seemingly everyone wants a piece of his enormous farmstead, including high-ranking government men, McLintock's own sons and nearby Native Americans. As McLintock tries to juggle his various adversaries, his wife—who left him two years previously—suddenly returns. But she isn't interested in George; she wants custody of their daughter.
Shootout at Big Sag
Saloon Brawler (uncredited)
A man has his eyes set on controlling the Big Sag territory in Montana and hopes to achieve his goal by forcing a newly-arrived family from Texas from their land. Hoping to convince the local saloonkeeper to help him, the man sends his daughter into town with instructions for his potential partner. A storm waylays the daughter during her trip to town and she is forced to stay at the home of her father's intended victims, leading to an interesting turn or two.
Guns of the Timberland
Townsman (uncredited)
Logger Jim Hadley and his lumberjack crew are looking for new forest to cut. They locate a prime prospect outside the town of Deep Wells. The residents of Deep Wells led by Laura Riley are opposed to the felling of the trees, believing that losing them would cause mudslides during the heavy rains. Conflict between the town's residents and the loggers is inevitable.
Paratroop Command
German (uncredited)
Charlie becomes a paratrooper, but, while serving in North Africa, he mistakenly kills one of his fellow U.S. soldiers, who is masquerading as a Nazi in order to wipe out a nest of the enemy. Shunned by his fellow soldiers, including his childhood friend Ace, Charlie is forced to prove himself when it is left up to him to transport a generator across an open road in full view of Nazi attackers.
The Fiend Who Walked The West
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Lawmen free a convict to hunt his ex-cellmate.