HAL NEEDHAM (Author, "Stuntman!: My Car-Crashing, Plane-Jumping, Bone-Breaking, Death-Defying Hollywood Life"): Well, it had mostly to do with what we call a saddle fall, where you get shot and fall off the horse. Now, what were some of the standard western stunts of the '50s and '60s, when you were making the westerns? Hal Needham has written a new memoir called "Stuntman!: My Car-Crashing, Plane-Jumping, Bone-Breaking, Death-Defying Hollywood Life." Hal Needham, welcome to FRESH AIR. He was the stunt coordinator in "Gator" and "White Lightning" and directed "Cannonball Run," "Smokey and the Bandit" and "Hooper." He's done stunts in 4,500 episodes of TV and 310 feature films. After many years of jumping on horses and stagecoaches and falling from great heights after being shot, he became famous for car stunts, especially his work in Burt Reynolds' movies. He got his start in western movies and TV shows like "Laramie," "Laredo" and "Have Gun, Will Travel," on which he was Richard Boone's stunt double and the show's stunt coordinator. As we'll hear, one stunt with a four-door Chevy left him with a broken back, six broken ribs, a punctured lung and three missing teeth. He did the kind of stunts that would either end with a spectacular shot or an ambulance. My guest, Hal Needham, is probably the most famous living Hollywood stuntman.
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