Photo: Larry D. Moore / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Hal Needham is one of those guys Hollywood quietly relied on for decades before finally saying "hey, maybe we should actually thank this man." He spent years as one of the top stuntmen in the business — falling off horses, crashing cars, taking hits that would put most people in the hospital — before pivoting to directing and basically inventing the gonzo car-chase comedy with Smokey and the Bandit in 1977. That film is pure joy, and it made Burt Reynolds a superstar, but Needham's fingerprints are all over it. The Cannonball Run, Hooper — he had a whole genre going. The Academy Honorary Award he received in 2013, just weeks before he passed, felt long overdue, a belated "we see you" from an industry that had always seen him as behind the scenes. A Tennessee original through and through.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Hal Needham
- Name (Japanese)
- ハル・ニーダム
- Reading
- はる・にーだむ
- Born
- March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Goat
- Origin
- Memphis, Tennessee, United States
- Occupation
- film director / screenwriter / film actor / stunt performer / television actor
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- 2013 Academy Honorary Award
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Hal Needham born?
March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013.
Where is Hal Needham from?
Hal Needham is from Memphis, Tennessee, United States.
What does Hal Needham do?
Hal Needham works as film director, screenwriter, film actor, stunt performer, television actor.
Film director — see all → · Screenwriter — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.