Hal Needham

Hal Brett Needham was an American stuntman and film director. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Burt Reynolds, usually in films involving fast cars, such as Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper, The Cannonball Run and Stroker Ace.

Needham was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Edith May and Howard Needham. He was raised in Arkansas and Missouri. Needham served in the United States Army as a paratrooper during the Korean War, worked as a treetopper, and was a billboard model for Viceroy Cigarettes while beginning a career in Hollywood as a motion picture stuntman.

Source: Wikipedia