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 Straight. In 1976, he appeared in "All the President's Men", "The Big Bus", "Silver Streak" and "Mikey and Nicky". In 1977, he returned to work with John Boorman in "" (1977), starring Linda Blair, and appeared in "The Final Chapter", the first episode of the television series "Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected". During 1977-78, he starred in the sitcom "Szysznyk" on CBS. In 1978, Beatty appeared in "Gray Lady Down" (1978), a drama aboard a submarine starring Charlton Heston. The film is significant chiefly for being the screen debut of Christopher Reeve, Beatty's future costar. Later that year, Beatty