Smokey IS the Bandit - Part 3 - Gleason as the Bandit????!!!

[Kazaam]

Apparently, at least initially, the third installment to the Bandit series was to have Jackie Gleason playing dual roles of both the sheriff AND the Bandit.

According to wikipedia, urban legend has it that "test audiences reacted poorly, finding Gleason's two roles confusing, and so the Bandit scenes were re-shot with Jerry Reed playing the role". The following movie trailer floating around YouTube would seem to indicate that at least part of this legend is true.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu4Ht2opvqY[/youtube]

That said... Some of y'all perhaps already knew all about this, but I just found out and thought it was interesting enough to share.

 

[Kazaam]

Re: Smokey IS the Bandit - Part 3 - Gleason as the Bandit???

And then there are these pictures that allege to be Gleason playing the Bandit role. I'm not sure where they originated from, but I found them (after a google search) at a Firebird chat forum called earlythirdgen.

 

[Yesfan70]

Re: Smokey IS the Bandit - Part 3 - Gleason as the Bandit???

I love the Trans-Am (along with the Camaro), but the 82 model has nothing on the old '77 in the original. I had a '87 Formula (same body style as the '82) that I still miss from time to time.

 

[Kazaam]

Re: Smokey IS the Bandit - Part 3 - Gleason as the Bandit???

Agreed that the '77 is much cooler. Not that the '82 can't be cool, because KITT is freakin' awesome! It's just that "the Bandit" shouldn't have black rims on his Trans Am. Too slick or maybe just too tied-to-the-Eighties?

 

[TitaniumTroy]

Re: Smokey IS the Bandit - Part 3 - Gleason as the Bandit???

Those black rims look more like black hubcaps to me, seems like someone at Pontiac was asleep at the wheel when they supplied that car.

 

[mzpro5]

Re: Smokey IS the Bandit - Part 3 - Gleason as the Bandit???

Snopes has an interesting take on this including the title of the movie being "Smokey is the Bandit".

There seems to be evidence that in the film Gleason would not have played dual roles but would have taken a bet from Big and Little Emos thus Sheriff Justice becomes the Bandit. Read it here:

http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/smokeybandit.asp

 

[Kazaam]

Re: Smokey IS the Bandit - Part 3 - Gleason as the Bandit???

Serious question: Those things aren't hubcaps, are they? I mean, yeah, they sure as heck look like 'em; but Pontiac wouldn't have put hubcaps on a Trans-Am would've they? Though it was the Eighties. Hmmm... :think:

 

[Yesfan70]

Re: Smokey IS the Bandit - Part 3 - Gleason as the Bandit???

Serious question: Those things aren't hubcaps, are they? I mean, yeah, they sure as heck look like 'em; but Pontiac wouldn't have put hubcaps on a Trans-Am would've they? Though it was the Eighties. Hmmm... :think:

I'm sure there not hubcaps (though some Pontiacs did have hubcaps like those), but they do ruin the look of the car. I think the '82 would have looked so much cooler if they used the honeycomb style wheels like on the '77. The wheels on my '87 were 16s and they looked cool imo. The same set of wheels would made the early 80s T/As look just as good.


And KITT was cool too. (as well as KARR )