Editing Hal Needham (section)

==Career==
Needham's first break was as the stunt double for actor [[Richard Boone]] on the popular TV western ''[[Have Gun, Will Travel]]''.  Needham trained under [[John Wayne]]'s stunt double [[Chuck Roberson]] and quickly became one of the top stuntmen of the 1960s on such films as ''[[How the West Was Won (film)|How the West Was Won]]'', ''[[The Bridge at Remagen]]'', ''[[McLintock!]]'', ''[[The War Lord]]'', and ''[[Little Big Man (film)|Little Big Man]]''. He doubled regularly for [[Clint Walker]] and [[Burt Reynolds]]. He played a cowboy in an episode of the TV Western ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' (S8E36 - “The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner”). Needham moved into stunt coordinating and directing [[second unit]] action, while designing and introducing air bags and other innovative equipment to the industry. Needham at one time lived in Reynolds' guesthouse for the better part of 12 years.<ref>{{cite news|last=Armstrong|first=Lois|title=Burt Reynolds Gives Away His Buddy, Director Hal Needham, to David Janssen's Widow|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20079805,00.html|newspaper=People|date=July 20, 1981|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120211040/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20079805,00.html|archive-date=November 20, 2012}}</ref>

In 1971, he and fellow stuntmen Glenn Wilder and Ronnie Rondell formed Stunts Unlimited. Needham had written a screenplay titled ''[[Smokey and the Bandit]]'' and his friend Reynolds offered him the chance to direct. The film was a huge hit, and the two followed it with ''[[Hooper (film)|Hooper]]'', ''[[Smokey and the Bandit II]]'', ''[[The Cannonball Run]]'', ''[[Stroker Ace]]'', and ''[[Cannonball Run II]]''. Needham also directed the TV pilots ''[[Stunts Unlimited (film)|Stunts Unlimited]]'' (1980)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/picks-and-pans-review-stunts-unlimited-vol-13-no-1/|title=Picks and Pans Review: Stunts Unlimited|website=PEOPLE.com}}</ref> and ''The Stockers'' (1981),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/04/28/The-Stockers-a-pilot-television-series-starring-Pittsburgh-Steelers/9774400827583/|title='The Stockers,' a pilot television series starring Pittsburgh Steelers...|website=UPI}}</ref> neither of which was picked up as a series. His final theatrical release as director was the 1986 BMX film ''[[Rad (film)|Rad]]''.

In 1977, Gabriel Toys introduced the "Hal Needham Western Movie Stunt Set" complete with a cardboard old west saloon movie set, lights and props, a toy movie camera and a spring-launched Hal Needham action figure that would break through a balcony railing, land on breakaway table and chairs and crash through a window. They were only manufactured for a short time and have since become highly collectible.

Needham moved out of stunt work, focusing his energy on the World [[Land Speed Record]] project that eventually became the [[Budweiser Rocket]], driven by stuntman [[Stan Barrett]]. The team failed to set an officially sanctioned World [[land speed record]] with the vehicle, and their claims to have broken the sound barrier in 1979 have been heavily disputed. 

In the 1980s, he and Reynolds co-owned the [[Mach 1 Racing]] team, which fielded the [[Skoal tobacco|Skoal]] Bandit No. 33 Pontiac in the [[NASCAR]] [[Winston Cup Series]], with Barrett as the driver.  Stan was later replaced by [[Harry Gant]], and the team eventually switched to Buicks. The Skoal Bandit became a championship contender, and Gant's 18 victories resulted in his Nascar Hall of Fame nomination. <ref>{{cite web|last=McGee|first=Ryan|url=https://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/d/6800847/nascar-hal-needham-harry-gant-stories-tell|title=Needham, Gant colorful as ever|work=[[ESPN.com]]|date=July 25, 2011|access-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref> 

In 1986, Needham, alongside William L. Fredrick, was awarded a [[Scientific and Engineering Award]] for his efforts in developing the Shotmaker Elite camera car and crane.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abc7news.com/archive/8802245/|title=Oscars governors vote on honorary awards &#124; ABC7 San Francisco &#124; abc7news.com|website=ABC7 San Francisco|accessdate=26 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/governors-awards/ceremonies/honoree-bio/hal-needham|title=Hal Needham &#124; Oscars.org &#124; Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|date=10 September 2014|website=www.oscars.org|accessdate=26 June 2023}}</ref>

In 2001, Needham received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the [[Taurus World Stunt Awards]]. In 2012, he was awarded a [[Governors Awards|Governors Award]] by the [[Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences]], where he was introduced by [[Quentin Tarantino]].<ref>{{cite web|work=Oscars.org|title=2012 Governor Awards|year=2012|url=http://www.oscars.org/photogalleries/photo.php?s=72157632152025864&p=8238859832}}</ref>

Needham and his relationship with Reynolds inspired the Cliff Booth/[[Rick Dalton]] friendship in Tarantino's 2019 film ''[[Once Upon a Time in Hollywood]]''.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 25, 2019 |last=Langmann |first=Brady |title=The Stuntman Who Inspired Brad Pitt's ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' Character Is More Badass In Real Life |work=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a28504994/brad-pitt-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-character-true-story-stuntman-hal-needham/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727174410/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a28504994/brad-pitt-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-character-true-story-stuntman-hal-needham/ |archive-date=July 27, 2019 }}</ref>