Smokey and the Bandit episodes of the series. Needham saw an advertisement for the soon-to-be-released 1977 Pontiac Trans Am and knew right away that would be the Bandit's car, or, as Needham referred to it, a character in the movie. He contacted Pontiac and an agreement was made that four 1977 Trans Ams and two Pontiac LeMans 4-door sedans would be provided for the movie. The Trans Ams were actually 1976-model cars with 1977 front ends. (From 1970 to 1976, both the Firebird/Trans Am and Chevrolet Camaro had two round headlights, and in 1977, the Firebird/Trans Am was changed to four rectangular headlights, while
Burt Reynolds Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, director and producer. He first rose to prominence starring in television series such as "Gunsmoke" (1962–1965), "Hawk" (1966), and "Dan August" (1970–1971). His breakout film role was as Lewis Medlock in "Deliverance" (1972). Reynolds played the leading role in a number of subsequent box office hits, such as "The Longest Yard" (1974), "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977), "Semi-Tough" (1977), "Hooper" (1978), "Smokey and the Bandit II" (1980), "The Cannonball Run" (1981) and "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (1982). After a number of