how many cars destroyed in smokey and the banditconvert ethereum address to checksum
The remaining Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am is currently owned by Florida car collector John Staluppi. We gonna do what they say cant be done Not a bad deal, but on the fourth year, no new car. His father was also the inspiration for the word "sumbitch" used in the film, a variation of the phrase "son-of-a-bitch" that, according to Reynolds, he uttered quite often. Arguably the most iconic Pontiac Firebird in history. A guy we knew drove his half-ton pickup from western WA to his reserve 2-week stint in his home state in California. With Reynolds' salary at $1 million, Needham was left with only $3.3 million to make the film. The sticker read "T/A 6.6," which was a reminder of the engine's 6.6-liter displacement. Starring Bob Hope, that comedic star of the screen, and the lovely Jane Russell boy what a pair! I never forgot that one. And theres this nugget from the director of the coming new Shazam movie; I first watched Smokey on quiet swing shifts from the drivers seat of a 1977 Pontiac Le Mans patrol car, parked by thr back fence of the drive-in theater at the far end of town. The other range car was a Chevette for people that wanted to learn on a manual transmission. Smokey and the Bandit was all realistic and non fictional, and it still was a big hit that brought a lot of money to Hal Needham and the actors, to pay Pontiac back. 3-Smokey and the Bandit 3-A crime against humanity, not even LSD can make it watchable since you spend the whole night fighting imaginary flying cobras with Jackie Gleasons head on them. As the 1969 classic 'The Italian Job' turns 50 years old, TG.com caught up with David Salamone, the man who piloted the red Mini in . via iconic premier. Theres really nothing like an old cop car. I will confess, however, that it was a fun movie to watch and I have caught it on TV a time or two in recent years with my kids. Pontiac gave Needham a total of four cars, three to use in the movie, and one as a promotional vehicle to drive around and advertise Smokey and the Bandit following its release. Thats all true. A group of Trans Am owners and fans of the movie take part in an annual road trip from Texarkana to Jonesboro, recreating the route taken by the characters in the film. Reynolds and Needham owned the Skoal Bandit team at the time, so getting these other drivers to appear probably would not taken much more than a six pack of beer and a hug from co-star Loni Anderson . News . At the drive-in of all places. An effort to recreate a jump from Smokey and the Bandit doesn't go perfectly when the car takes a rough course off the ramp. Thanks for this, Jason. Required fields are marked *. The Kenworth even achieves a trifecta of sorts, as it gave the first dent to Sheriff Justices LeMans. Coors is still brewed just outside Denver, Colorado. Today, Smokey and the Bandit remains one of the most popular car action films ever made, and the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am will forever be wed to the movie. Olds 88. Additionally, he can give you several reasons why theres still no replacement for displacement. Seven: (Three with Burt Reynolds and Crew, and Four without) Smokey and the Bandit - 1977 Smokey and the Bandit II - 1980 Smokey and the Bandit III . [6] It would become one of Reed's biggest hits and his signature song.[7]. Before Gleason was cast in the film, Richard Boone was originally considered for the role of Buford T. The rub? Set with his . Mrs Jason wont let me sell the sumbitch. The Pontiac Firebird Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit is one of the most famous movie cars of all time. Nuts about any form of classic motorsport and muscle cars, Ciprian's currently working on a time machine that would take him back to the 1960s for a long vacation alongside Dan Gurney and Jim Hall. What were the police cars in Smokey and the Bandit? About two seconds after this picture was taken, these motorcycles were doing their best imitation of a stack of pancakes. A Pontiac wagon from earlier in the decade. It became Reed's signature song and is on multiple albums, including Country Legends and his live album Jerry Reed "Live!" Here's What We Know So Far, Jonathan Majors On Getting Jacked To Play Kang The Conqueror: Hes In The Avenger (Weight) Class, How 90 Day Fianc: The Other Way's Kris And Jeymi Might Have Already Spoiled Their Storyline, Why Creed IIIs Michael B. Jordan Avoided Saying Action Or Cut On The Set, Young Sheldon's Iain Armitage Reacting To Surprise Video From Survivor's Jeff Probst Is Like Sheldon Cooper Meeting Leonard Nimoy. I was to be paid a salary plus own 7% of the profits. Did I mention how much I enjoy reading all the back stories and niggly details I can only get here ? It was the second-highest-grossing movie of 1977 after Star Wars. The film's theme song, "East Bound and Down", was written virtually overnight by Reed. The MASSIVE year over year sales gains came from somewhere. Burt Reynolds once claimed in an interview that there were actually 12 Trans Ams featured in Smokey and the Banditand he wrecked every one. The original Blues Brothers movie from 1980 is a classic, and fans were excited when a sequel was announced in 1998. . That parking lot was full of Trans Ams! The Trans Am was a high-performance package for the Firebird, Pontiac's take on the Chevrolet Camaro. Im still trying to get clarification on what a diablo sandwich is though. The value of their stock rose a startling 70 percent after the films release, and to show their appreciation to Reynolds, the president said they would give the actor a new car each and every year. I started cruising through EBay and the next thing I knew I won the auction for a clean 400/4 speed/T-Top 78 Trans Am. I was in West Plains the other day and there is yet another variation of it there. A couple of years ago, I was sitting around on a lazy Saturday afternoon and it was on TV. She is a runaway bride, sitting on the side of the road in her 1973 Chevrolet Impala coupe. [11] The movie was primarily filmed in Georgia, in the cities of McDonough, Jonesboro, and Lithonia. However, the scene where they drive through the Shell gas station was filmed in Ojai, California, on the corner of Ojai Avenue and El Paseo Road. It had the Modello cam kit, ported 69(I think) heads with upsized valves, headers, aftermarket intake, 3.21 gears (Up from 2.41 stock!) And Coors itself limited its distribution to west of the Mississippi. You can see in some shots in the movie that the Bandit Trans Am has 1976 style gold honeycomb wheels instead of the gold snowflake wheels from the 1977, I think at least one of the cars used in filming was a 1976 converted with a 1977 front clip. According to director Hal Needham in the DVD documentary, Pontiac gave them three Trans-Ams and two LeMans (Sheriff Justice's patrol car) for the film. . Sure Smokey helped, but was not the sole reason T/A and F body sales went up. Always a favorite. They destroyed all those cars in the films he said. The original film had correct sounds that were usually recorded live as the action took place. Here in Canada they didnt censor it, so we always got the sumbitch version. As if GM owes them something. (Still). [17], In 1977, Coors was unavailable for sale east of Oklahoma. Well, at least that's what you saw in the movie. If you watched the second clip above, this truck should look familiar. During this time, the Firebird also surpassed sales figures of the Chevrolet Camaro. How much did the Smokey and the Bandit car sell for? Even when the 2nd gen was already coasting on fumes, and defanged, and after the reasonably shitty Smokey and the Bandit sequel, Pontiac managed to pump out 107,000 Trans Ams in 1980 and 70,000 for the 2nd gen Trans Ams swan song in 1981. Nice job, I know its cheesy as heck but I love this movie and still tend to watch it when I see its on TV. On the DVD, there is a brief interview with both Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham, who directed this film. The paint code for each truck was coffee brown with gold trims and the 48-foot (15m) mural trailer used was manufactured by Hobbs Trailers in Texas with a non-operational Thermo King Refrigeration unit. . I only got one of them LOL. Dont let his grumpiness fool you though; hes more than excited to provide the latest news and reviews on the most interesting cars in the industry. [22] It premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, where it performed badly. The 403 Olds T/A was a dog, stock, but with some easily obtained parts, could be turned into a very nice low 13 second tire melter. The directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham, the film follows Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) and Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Reed), two bootleggers attempting to illegally transport 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana to Atlanta. I have always loved this movie, watched it dozens and dozens of times on TV, video, DVD, laserdisc, almost any form of media. The comedy has been remastered to DVD standards. Somehow this store had a regular supply. Gator , Stroker Ace , lots of them . 46,000 in 1976, 68,000 in 1977, 93,000 in 1978, 117,000 in 1979. So, for years one, two, and three, he got a shiny new Pontiac. Coors was legal in Missouri and illegal in Illinois. These two 1967 Ford Galaxies (CC here), soon to be redecorated by a Kenworth road tractor, do not. A 1975 Pontiac Grand Prix with a Buick Electra behind it. But that doesnt make for an interesting movie premise. The film was a sleeper hit, and following a poor initial performance, it went on to gross $126.7 million in North America, versus a budget of only $4.3 million. [35], The "diablo sandwich" ordered by Sheriff Justice in the Arkansas barbecue restaurant scene has entered popular culture as a minor reference to the film. Below is probably another DeKalb County cop car. Anyone with insight is encouraged to share their knowledge on this. Of course, it's difficult to asses whether these small decals did something to change buyer perception about the Trans Am, but it's an interesting part of the Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am's history. Will Walker: Independence Return For Season 2 Amid CW Shakeups? Not that Id kick either front end style out of the garage for dripping oil, as long as they dont have the 403 in them anyway. It was his idea to have Junior alongside him throughout the film. The roller coaster in the movie was the Greyhound. Lets take a look. [12] The area around Helen, Georgia, was used for some locations. Heres how it works. At the time, it was illegal to transport Coors east of the Mississippi River and a series of other truckers had been apprehended for trying to accomplish this feat for the Burdettes. While the Snowman drives the truck carrying the beer, the Bandit drives a Pontiac Trans Am to distract law enforcement (called blocking) and keep the attention off the Snowman. Well, they simply considered that the Trans Am didn't sound intimidating enough. The 1978 Trans Am is an exact duplicate of the "Smokey and the Bandit" movie car, finished in black and gold with a screaming chicken on the hood. Chevy brought back the Z28, and cant say S&B was reason. I still regret selling mine almost 30 years ago. I never understood why dragging a truckload of beer from Colorado to Georgia was such a big deal. Reed would eventually play the Bandit in Smokey and the Bandit Part 3, in which Reynolds only appeared in a cameo near the end. Neither Buford nor any other lawmen know of Snowman's illegal manifest, while Bandit is likewise unaware that Buford is chasing him because of Carrie, whose jumpiness inspires Bandit to give her the CB handle "Frog". Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed) drives the truck while his good buddy Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) serves as the "blocker," a fast car used to divert police attention away from payload. Chevy almost did the same with its counterpart, the Camaro. The updated version of the film features sound inaccurate for what would be produced by the Trans Am or the numerous other Pontiac vehicles in the film. The muscle car market reached a peak in the late 1960s, as the car was becoming larger, more powerful, and more aggressive by looks. [36] Another proposal, based more closely on images from the film and the shooting location of the scene (at an Old Hickory House restaurant in Georgia), is pulled pork and hot sauce on a hamburger bun. I certainly hope the guy hired to drive that 74 Ford Torino wagon was paid well for his work. Smokey and the Bandit II is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Hal Needham, and starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, . Everything You Should Know About The The Trans Am From Smokey And The Bandit, 10 Most Potentially Unreliable Electric Vehicles According To Consumer Reports, 10 Reasons Why It's Time You Should Buy A Bagger, Here's How Solid-State Batteries Will Change EVs Forever. A diablo sammich from my understanding is a like a Sloppy Joe but with taco seasoning added in for spice. Now then you mentionned Sheriff JW Pepper, I decided to post some Youtube clips of him. how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2. His personaround, dumpy, and clipping wordsreminds one of another fictional southern sheriff. Id be surprised. Amazing how a combination of desire and unobtainability can make an ordinary product special. Because sales were so high, Pontiac decided to delay the third-generation model. While the initial concern was it having a regional appeal, it would ultimately play as well in New York City and Chicago as it did Atlanta, Georgia, or Biloxi, Mississippi. Gleason has a treasure trove of hilarious lines and it was this movie that started my love affair of cars back in the early 1980s. No, the T/A was selling fine before the movie, and the black/gold package dates to 1976, a full year before the movie was out in summer 77. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Unfortunately he passed away a few months ago or that would have been a great question to ask. Along the way they tussle with tough as nails Texas Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason), pick up a runaway bride nicknamed Frog (Sally Field), and have all kinds of awesome times on the highway. I did help a friend rebuild a late 60s 400 to replace the anemic 301 in his 79, Trans Am. Ive always loved this movie. And then they made the biggest mistake of their lives and went to national distribution. In response, Needham told Reed that he liked the song so much that if Reed changed even a word or a note, Needham would "choke him". One of those things that will make my kids think Im crazy some day. Here's everything you should know about one of the most iconic movie cars ever. In its place was the nonsensical scum bum. The voice over actor? Reynolds is referenced by name in several early episodes of the series. Round and dumpy, just like the Colonnade LeMans! [5] Reynolds revealed in his autobiography that Needham had written the first draft script on legal pads. When Im driving the Bandit Trans Am while playing one of my many Forza Motorsport games I always put that song on. Three Kenworth W900A short-frame semi trucks, driven by Reed, were each equipped with 38-inch sleepers. Gotta love that guy! Although 1977 models also featured 6.6-liter engines, they were rated at only 200 horses. In the Reynolds portion of the interview, he stated the movie prompted Trans Am sales to jump around 700%. While they did jump, from 46,700 in 1976 to 69,000 for 1977 with another 93,300 for 1978, it wasnt exactly 700%. $30.00 + $11.45 shipping. The cop cars with the hood scoops were ex-DeKalb County (Georgia) cruisers. 12 A Total Of 3 Trans Ams Were Destroyed During Filming. The gag with the overpass being blown up was actually a bridge built for the movie on the unfinished highway, and AFAIK, the truck driver who jumps the void ended up breaking his back in the stunt. Thank you for signing up to CinemaBlend. Great write up. He paid $550,000 for it, likely a record for any Pontiac Firebird. Its W.W. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. And he succeeded as far as the Pontiac Trans Am is concerned. This is obvious, because there is no fuel tank on the underside of the trailer to power the refrigeration unit, and the unit is never heard running. and used hard. Its amazing, you should watch it. [8] Niver provided much of the western attire worn in the film, as well as the custom-made sheriff's uniforms (waist size 64") that Gleason wore throughout the film. The most noted change made for network broadcast was the replacing of Buford's often-spoken phrase "sumbitch" (a contraction of "son of a bitch"; usually in reference to the Bandit) with the phrase "scum bum". I developed a pretty good bootheel accent during my time in New Madrid. Coors wasnt pasteurized. This small modification was made to remind viewers of Trans Am models from 1969, which had in excess of 300 horsepower. Called Smoke is the Bandit and playing on Stewart's nickname, the commercials featured him as the Bandit opposite commentators Darrell Waltrip as the Snowman and Jeff Hammond as Buford T. Justice. The Bandit Run quickly became a fixture, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the movie with a special 2017 screening of the film attended by Reynolds and a recreation of the jump undertaken by the Bandit and Frog across a river. They return one minute after their time limit, but instead of taking the payoff, Carrie and Bandit accept a double-or-nothing offer from Little Enos: a challenge to run up to Boston and bring back clam chowder in 18 hours. It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and in a flashback scene in Part 3. Reynolds and Field began dating during the filming.[13]. I dont know if I ever saw one in real life at the time, although I was pretty young then. The movies are rated PG with a run time of 282 minutes and released to video by Universal Studios. A CC for a 1973 Grand Ville convertible can be found here. Well, the Corvettes success is clearly due to Corvette Summer, @Jim I remember that movie! Smokey and the Bandit star Burt Reynolds passed away in 2018 . High estimates for the car were up to $80,000, but the actual sale price was $450,000. No more needs to be said. [34] In 2015 a Florida-based automobile customization company built 77 Trans Ams modeled after the car that Reynolds drove in the film. It follows the adventures of a couple of truck drivers bootlegging Coors, which couldnt legally be sold East of the Mississippi River at the time. Always loved this movie growing up. It had an AM transmitter and you would tune in the sound on your AM car radio, or on my case, on a transistor radio. The film was followed by two sequels: Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). Just after re-entering Georgia, Snowman is rescued by Bandit after being stopped by a Georgia State Patrol motorcycle trooper, and state and local police intensely pursue Bandit with roadblocks and a helicopter to track his movement. It outsold its Chevrolet Camaro counterpart for the first time. you can find it on amazon.com . While it is doubtful Pontiac sold very many LeMans police packages, if one views this show as realistic, it would seem nearly every county and highway patrol in five states purchased one of Pontiacs heavy duty offerings. The production team wrecked three for the four cars it received from Pontiac. . That girl from the McCoys video probably looks like Paula Deen now. It just seems wrong to see that car in any fashion without hearing that song. From living there for my first two decades, I noticed the accent didnt get going good until around Sikeston (not Saxton as it would seem) and it progressed as you went deeper into the Bootheel. I prefer Buford T. Justices 1980 Pontiac Bonneville and his 1983 Pontiac Bonneville in Smokey and The Bandit III. Actor Henry Corden, who voiced Fred Flintstone after original performer Alan Reed died the same year the film was released, was used to replace a considerable amount of Sheriff Justice's dialogue. The Bandit takes the bet on the risky and unprecedented task, and recruits his partner Cledus "Snowman" Snow to drive the truck, while Bandit drives a black Pontiac Trans Am bought in advance from the Burdettes as a "blocker" to divert attention away from the truck and its illegal cargo. Originally, the film was going to be a B-movie played only in the Southern United States. A 1977 special-edition model once owned by the late actor Burt Reynolds recently wound up on the car auction website Bring a Trailer. S&B is one of my all-time favorite movies and Im not apologizing. As deals were made for the actors and producers, the studio wanted to renegotiate my deal. The new Hot Pants scene had to quickly be refilmed as a part of a second unit in the San Fernando Valley and was shot at a drive-in restaurant near Hansen Dam named Baby Beef Burgers, which has since been demolished. As I am finishing this article while Big Truck Week is winding down, here is a Kenworth with a 1973 Dodge Polara patrol car. Needham and assistant director David Hamburger spent 30 hours revising the shooting schedule.[4]. Needham had great difficulty getting any studios or producers to take his project seriously, being better known in the film industry as a stuntman. The film's editors, Walter Hannemann and Angelo Ross, were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. I had a 78 Trigger lookalike for a while in the mid 90s, until a wrist pin went out, ended up selling it to one of my brothers buddys uncles. The differences between the two are major. When it was over, I cried and cried and cried because I didnt want it to end. . As a kid that T/A, the General Lee, and KITT were largely responsible for defining my taste in cars and that carries through to today. The 1977 Firebird Trans Am once owned by Burt Reynolds was sold at auction Saturday for $495,000 at a sale held by Barrett-Jackson. Out of four Trans Ams used for the filming of Smokey And The Bandit, three were completely totaled in the process. Comments Of the many cars saved from the fire was the only surviving Knight Rider KITT Super Pursuit Mode car created by Jay Orberg. Television censorship and alternative versions, second highest-grossing domestic film of 1977, AFI's 100 Years100 Heroes and Villains, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Smokey and the Bandit at 35: A Case for the Genius of Hal Needham", "Greyhound Lakewood Park (Atlanta, Georgia, USA)", "Burt Reynolds' old Pontiac Trans Am replica sold for $317,500", "An Interview With Jim Wangers: Pontiac and the 1970's", "How the Bandit, Coors and a bunch of Makers changed the course of booze history", "Various Smokey And The Bandit (Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)", "Smokey and the Bandit, Box Office Information", "Burt Reynolds at the 2015 Macon Film Festival", "Seven Quirky Lowbrow Favorite Films of Highbrow Directors", "Remembering Hal Needham and the Birth of Redneck Cinema", "Smokey and the Bandit Film from RadioTimes", "Burt Reynolds' Bandit Trans Am sells for $450,000", "See a "New" Vintage Bandit Trans Am Approved by Burt Reynolds Himself", "Diablo Sandwich Recipe from CMT's Reel Eats", "Diablo Sandwich / "Diablo & Doc" From Smokey & the Bandit, Identified! MN12 Thunderbirds had the same appeal to me, for similar reasons. Reynolds was the top box office draw from 1975 to 1982, then his movies really started to go downhill. Got Greyhound cutout decals on the rear side windows. Depends upon what he converted it from. It consists of any of the various Louisiana-style hot sauces on Texas toast-style bread alongside the fourth most famous product of Pittsburg, Texas (behind Pilgrim's Pride, Cavender's, and Carroll Shelby)Pittsburg Hot Links. Mr. Reynolds elevated the dreck that he appeared in to a higher level, that is, enjoyable. This movie just showed how much an urban legend the supposed unobtainability had become. And the 400 Pontiac or 403 Olds versions could be made to run well. After the movie came out, Firebird sales increased even more, but the Trans Am was now the most popular one. The 79-year-old 70s and 80s heartthrob made a rare public appearance over the weekend at Wizard World Chicago. Jana, another oddity was that I could go to Carbondale and be asked where down south I was from. [9] Though the film Moonrunners (1975) is the precursor to the television series The Dukes of Hazzard (19791985), from the same creator and with many identical settings and concepts, the popularity of Smokey and the Bandit and similar films helped get the Dukes series on the air. [32], After the debut of the film, the Pontiac Trans Am became wildly popular, with sales almost doubling within two years of the film's release. I was 10 when this movie came out and I loved it then and I still do. We just watched this with the kids the other week, along with Cannonball Run. Just like the exaggeration sales went up 700%. You want to questions bra sales, check out the youtube video of Hang on Sloopy by the Mccoys, the color version.wowza! When Smokey & The Bandit first aired on television in the early 1980s, the Gleason phrase "sum bitch"-a regional butchering of "son of a bitch"-had to be dubbed out. But while the cars shown in the movie look like 1977-model-year Trans Ams, they were actually 1976 models. The trip to Texarkana is uneventful; soon after leaving for the return trip to Georgia, The Bandit encounters Frog, played by Sally Field. In addition to the four Trans Ams, Needham also received two Pontiac LeMans models to serve as patrol cars in the movie. Field enjoyed making the film, but remembers that virtually the entire project was improvised. And Burt may be from GA originally, but he calls Florida home, which is another reason I heard the movie was filmed here. With that in mind, Ill go with what Ive heard from my Georgia friends, to wit Sheriff Justices diablo sandwich is the Macon version, which is made with fried eggs and red hots. Of course, nobody else cared if it was in the trunk of the car when heading back home. Gas was a buck a gallon at the time so fuel economy wasnt a major issue. Henry Corden, the voice of cartoon character Fred Flintstone. We stopped in that same Safeway later on the way back home from southern Cal, and they had a huge display of cases of Coors out on the floor near the checkstands. In particular, the scene where Sheriff Justice unknowingly encounters the Bandit in the "choke and puke" (a roadside diner) was not in the original story but was rather Gleason's idea. All I know is, at the time, if you lived in the east, Coors was some really special beer not unlike microbrews are now. The uncut version is the best. Due to his financial difficulties in 2014, Reynolds put his vast collection of artwork and memorabilia up for auction, including the Trans Am. It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and in a flashback scene in Part 3. This reminds me of the classic introduction (actually written by Dick Cavett) said by Jack Paar on The Tonight Show: I was 3 years old when the original came out, and do not remember any of these details but, supposedly this was the first movie my parents ever took me to. So lets explore this car (and truck) heavy flick, all while giving those who have not seen it a glimpse into a movie whose complexity and intellect remains unparalleled within the history of cinema.