Smokey and the Bandit original film. The updated version of the film features sounds inaccurate for what would be produced by the Trans Am or the numerous other Pontiac vehicles in the film. The original film had correct sounds that were usually recorded live as the action took place. A series of four made-for-TV spin-off films ("Bandit Goes Country", "Bandit Bandit", "Beauty and the Bandit" and "Bandit's Silver Angel") were produced in 1994 for Universal Television's Action Pack with actor Brian Bloom playing a younger version of Bandit. The three original films introduced two generations of the Pontiac Trans Am, and the Dodge Stealth
Burt Reynolds a lifelong fan of American football, a result of his collegiate career, and was a minority owner of the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL from 1982 to 1986. The team's name was inspired by the "Smokey and the Bandit" trilogy and Skoal Bandit, a primary sponsor for the team as a result of also sponsoring Reynolds' motor racing team. Reynolds co-owned a NASCAR Winston Cup team, Mach 1 Racing, with Hal Needham, which ran the #33 "Skoal Bandit" car with driver Harry Gant. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Florida State University in 1981 and later endorsed the