Quotes from Hal Needham

You have to be an athlete. A sense of timing is vital. So is dedication. Being a stuntman calls for qualities usually associated with being a dancer.

I have a country-boy sense of humor. I come from a poor family, and I have no education. But I am Middle America, and what makes me laugh is what makes them laugh.

I hate sequels.

Certainly, I want to be the first through the sound barrier in a car.

I know it looks like Burt walks through his movies, but he doesn't; he works hard to make it look that way, and the work is tough.

I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but I know I'm the best stuntman in Hollywood.

I never had a burning desire to direct. But Burt and I, on many pictures together, used to watch other directors and we realized that he or I could do a lot better.

I was damn sure that I was not going to be a lawyer or a brain surgeon.

The worst was practicing a stunt for John Wayne in 'McQ.' I lost two teeth, broke six ribs, cracked a vertebra and punctured a lung. I spent 12 days in the hospital.

Audiences want Burt, John Wayne and others to go on doing the same thing forever. It's critics and the actors themselves who want actors to try different things.

I loved acting and wanted to be a leading man. But I decided I'd rather be a big fish in the stuntman pond than a little acting fish. I guess I must have made the right decision.

The critics gave me bad reviews on every movie I made.

Courage? Well, that's a difficult quality to define. If a man has never known fear can you call him courageous?

When I came in, Westerns were the big thing, so I did horse falls, transfers, bulldogs, big fights. That's where you could really shine if you were really good at it. But then all the Westerns stopped, and I was capable of doing car stunts, motorcycle stunts and high falls. I could do it all.

While prepping 'Smokey,' I saw a picture in a magazine of a Pontiac Trans Am that gave me a product placement idea. I could picture Burt Reynolds behind the wheel with Jackie Gleason on the chase. I called Pontiac and asked if they would like to have the car in the movie.

'Megaforce' is a privately financed army of freedom fighters financed and manned by all the free countries of the world. We don't say the force is American-based, but it's obvious because they are driving Fords, encountering rattlesnakes and they ride a Continental Airlines plane. Also the landscape looks like the American desert.

Anyone who thinks stuntmen are crazy is dead wrong. These guys are calculating. They rig things, they think about different ways of doing it... they're not afraid.

I don't even consider directing Burt. I just say, 'Hey, Burt, the camera's here. Read the joke and let's get onto the next shot.'

I've broken fifty-six bones, broke my back twice, punctured a lung and knocked out a few teeth.

After the success of 'Smokey,' my profit participation only went up on future movies I directed.

I'm not sure I have the knowledge, the intelligence or the sensitivity to direct a 'Love Story' or a 'Fiddler on the Roof.'

I was always pushing the limits, going as far as I could. I would do all kinds of crazy things.

I have to understand what I'm doing, and action is so simple and easy for me that I'd be foolish to try something different.

I could jump out of this window feet first, which would be the safe way. But the way I'd do it would be to use a ramp, get a running start, dive through head first and maybe throw in a little roll at the end. Doing it that way makes it more spectacular.