WHERE ARE THE CANNONBALLERS NOW?

This page will focus on the cast of "The Cannonball Run". An exhaustive page on anyone who ever appeared in a Reynolds/Needham car movie would be a living nightmare to produce, as much as we would like to... However, many of the performers listed here have appeared in their other movies and will be noted as such. If you have any more current info on the people mentioned here, or any other actors discussed on these pages,  please let us know.

BURT REYNOLDS ( J.J. McCLURE)

Please see Burt's own page HERE.

HAL NEEDHAM (DIRECTOR)

Read our all new 2007 interview with Hal HERE.

SIR ROGER MOORE (SEYMOUR GOLDFARB JR.)

 Roger played James Bond two more times after "For Your Eyes Only", which came out the same summer as "Cannonball", in "Octopussy"(1983) and "A View To A Kill" (1985). He is now 79 and was knighted in 2003 for his charitable work with Unicef. As for movies, he memorably played a "M" type character in the Spice Girls movie "Spice World" (1997) and was the only funny (very funny, actually) thing in the Cuba Gooding Jr. comedy "Boat Trip" (2003). He continues to act very rarely, mostly concentrating on his charitable work.

FARRAH FAWCETT ( PAMELA GLOVER )

Ms.Fawcett passed on June 25, 2009 after a debilitating battle with cancer.

DOM DeLUISE ( VICTOR PRINCEY / CAPTAIN CHAOS )

Dom died May 5, 2009. An actor, comic and chef extraordinaire, he is and will always be, sincerely missed by anyone who ever loved a good laugh or a fantastic meal. A good buddy of Burt's, Dom appeared in "Smokey and the Bandit II", "Cannonball Run" and "Cannonball Run II". Dom now joins Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jack Elam, Frank Sinatra, Bert Convy, George Furth, Telly Savalas, Charles Nelson Riley and Rick Aviles in the great car race in the sky.

DEAN MARTIN ( JAMIE BLAKE )

Dean died on Christmas Day, 1995 at the age of 78. His last film was "Cannonball Run II" (1984). His posthumous cult reached it's zenith during the 'lounge lizard' revival of the mid-nineties, and he is sorely missed for his smooth singing voice and devil may care attitude.

SAMMY DAVIS JR. ( MORRIS FENDERBAUM )

Sammy died May 16, 1990 at the age of 65. His last film was "Tap" (1990). He is another deeply missed god of the Rat Pack era.

ADRIENNE BARBEAU ( MARCIE THATCHER )

After appearing in an ungodly amount of cheap exploitation movies, Adrienne popped back up in television. She was Oswald's Mom on "The Drew Carrey Show", and spent two seasons on HBO's now cancelled "Carnivale". She also recently published her autobiography "There Are Worse Things I Could Do". Several websites exist as a tribute to her and, more specifically, her renowned chest. 

JAMIE FARR ( THE SHIEK )

He'll always be Klinger to the rest of the world. He'll always be The Sheik to me. After M*A*S*H went off the air in 1983, he achieved prominence, on this web site at least, as the only actor to appear in all three "Cannonball" movies, playing The Sheik in "Cannonball Run II" and "Speed Zone" (1989). Most recently, he spent seven seasons on the soap opera "Port Charles".

TERRY BRADSHAW  ( TERRY )

A former football player,  and two time super bowl MVP, 70 year old Terry now does analysis for NFL games and has become somewhat of a celebrity again, making appearances on comedy shows and in movies like "Failure To Launch" in 2007.

MEL TILLIS ( MEL )

A country music legend, Mel is still touring and stuttering across America.

JACKIE CHAN ( JACKIE CHAN )

Jackie is currently the only performer to appear in "Cannonball" with any box office clout whatsoever, culminating in the gigantically successful "Rush Hour"  (1998) and it's even more popular sequel "Rush Hour 2" (2001). After "Cannonball Run II", he returned to China and grew as a cult star. He returned to North American cinemas in 1997's "Rumble In The Bronx". A mix of American films, and re-dubbed re-releases of his Chinese films followed, all of which were middling successes. The "Rush Hour" series and, to a lesser extent, "Shanghai Noon" and it's sequel, "Shanghai Knights" made him a box office force and, briefly, a member of the $20 million a picture club. He continues to jump between American and Chinese films, but he is now in his fifties and has started to commit the unthinkable sin of using the occasional stuntman. "Rush Hour 3" did well in summer 2007 and he followed it up by fulfilling the wet dream of many a Hong Kong action movie fan by making a movie with fellow martial arts icon Jet Li. 

MICHAEL HUI ( MITSUBISHI MECHANIC )

"Cannonball" was Michael's only American film.  Throughout his 30-year career in the Hong Kong film industry, Michael often acts, directs and writes in many of his movies. Known as "Mr. Boo" in Japan, his performances have been combinations of wit, humour and wisdom. Today Michael's movies are being seen and re-seen by Chinese and Asian audiences all over the world.

TARA BUCKMAN ( JILL )

Tara made a dozen B-Movies between 1981 and 1994, but hasn't appeared in a film since then. Tara also appeared in "Hooper". She was dating Hal Needham when "Cannonball Run" was made.

JACK ELAM ( DR. NIKOLAS VAN HELSING )

Jack died 20 October 2003 at the age of 85 after a long career characterized by appearances in many westerns.

PETER FONDA ( CHIEF BIKER )

Peter is one of the many "Cannonball" stars who can make claims to being a legitimate cult star, mostly thanks to his 1969 smash "Easy Rider". He has been working steadily since "Cannonball", mostly in B-Movies. An Academy Award nomination as Best Actor for "Ulee's Gold" in 1997 seemed to herald a comeback, but except for a great cameo as a 60's relic in "The Limey"(1999), it's mostly been back to the B's. Recently he has appeared in "Ghost Rider", with Nicholas Cage, and "3:10 To Yuma" with Russell Crowe.

GEORGE FURTH ( ARTHUR J. FOYT )

A mainstay of the Hal Needham stock company (he was in "Cannonball", "Hooper", and "Megaforce"), George was last seen in Warren Beatty's 1998 comedy "Bullworth". A renowned playwright, he passed away August 11, 2008.

BERT CONVY ( BRADFORD COMPTON III )

Bert died 15 July, 1991 at the age of 58. In 1987 Burt Reynolds hired him to host "Win, Lose or Draw", a TV game show.

VALARIE PERRINE ( PATROL WOMAN )

The girl who so memorably seduced Superman in, uh, "Superman" (1978) is now in her sixties. She continues to pop up here and there, most recently in a film starring ex-lover Jeff Bridges called "The Mogul".

 

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