Editing Hal Needham (section)

== Early years ==
Needham was born in Memphis, Tennessee, a son of Edith May (née Robinson) and Howard Needham.<ref>
{{cite web
 | title= Hal Needham Biography (1931-)
 | publisher= Filmreference.com
 | url= http://www.filmreference.com/film/44/Hal-Needham.html
 | access-date= January 21, 2012
}}
</ref> He was the youngest of three children.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/harold-brett-hal-needham-6944/|access-date=2022-02-12|website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|language=en-US}}</ref> Raised in Arkansas and Missouri, Needham served in the United States Army as a [[paratrooper]] during the Korean War, worked as a treetopper (an [[arborist]] who performs [[tree topping]] services),<ref>
{{cite news
 | title= Hollywood 'Stuntman!' Reveals Tricks Of Trade
 | newspaper= NPR
 | date= February 7, 2011
 | url= https://www.npr.org/2011/02/07/133308299/stuntman-high-jumps-tall-stories-from-a-veteran
 | access-date= January 22, 2012
}}
</ref>
and was a billboard model for [[Viceroy (cigarette)|Viceroy Cigarettes]] while beginning a career in Hollywood as a motion picture stuntman.