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
Smokey and the Bandit tow truck driver was a local garage owner, Berlin Wike. The film features the custom clothing and costuming of Niver Western Wear of Fort Worth, Texas. Niver provided much of the western attire worn in the film, as well as the custom-made sheriff's uniforms (waist size 64 inches) that Jackie Gleason wore throughout the film. Reynolds and Sally Field began dating during the filming of "Smokey and the Bandit". While made to take advantage of the ongoing 1970s CB radio fad, the film added to the craze. Though the film "Moonrunners" (1975) is the precursor to the television series "The