Ned Beatty Trippe in "Deliverance" (1972), starring Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds, and set in northern Georgia. Beatty's character is forced to strip at gunpoint by two mountain men who humiliate and rape him, a scene so unprecedented, horrifying and shocking that it is still referenced as a screen milestone. In 1972, he also appeared in "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean", a western with Paul Newman. In 1973, Beatty made "The Thief Who Came to Dinner", "The Last American Hero" and "White Lightning". The latter film reunited Beatty with his "Deliverance" co-star, Burt Reynolds. He also appeared in an
Ned Beatty Big Easy", directed by Jim McBride and starring Dennis Quaid, and continued with a spy drama, "The Fourth Protocol" (1987), opposite Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan. In 1988, Beatty appeared with the main character Thelonious Pitt in "Shadows in the Storm", reunited with Burt Reynolds and Christopher Reeve for the 1988 comedy film "Switching Channels", his fifth time in a movie with Reynolds. He appeared in "Purple People Eater" (1988), portraying a simple grandfather. In 1989, Beatty made "Chattahoochee", portraying Dr. Harwood. He had a recurring role as the father of John Goodman's character Dan Conner on the TV comedy