In W.W. AND THE DIXIE DANCEKINGS, "W.W. Bright" (Burt Reynolds) is a robber with a heart of gold who travels the South of 1957 knocking off banks and gas stations owned by a corrupt businessman. When he hijacks a car, he meets an aspiring country band, the Dixie Dancekings, led by "Dixie" (Conny Van Dyke).
Three members of the fictional “Dixie Dancekings”—Conny Van Dyke, Jerry Reed, and Don Williams—were country music stars. Mel Tillis, another popular country music artist, portrayed a gas station attendant. Walter E. “Furry” Lewis, who portrayed “Uncle Furry,” was a well-known Memphis blues musician. His character was called “Uncle Boaz” in the novel and screenplay, but director John Avildsen told the 29 August 1974 Rolling Stone that he used Lewis’ own first name, because there was no way to “improve on a name like Furry.” Ned Beatty played a fictional Grand Ole Opry star named “Country Bull Jenkins.”
Burt Reynolds and Ned Beatty in W.W. AND THE DIXIE DANCEKINGS
The film was Ned Beatty’s third with Burt Reynolds. Dave Grusin scored the 1975 film, but most of the 20th Century Records LP was filed with country songs. The LP has not had a CD re-issue. The film was #20 at the box office for the year, grossing $17 million.
Ned Beatty moved directly from the Nashville of W.W. AND THE DIXIE DANCEKINGS into the ensemble cast of Robert Altman's 1975 NASHVILLE. Beatty plays attorney “Delbert Reese,” who represents veteran country western singing star “Haven Hamilton” (Henry Gibson). Reese meets with “John Triplette” (Michael Murphy), a smooth-talking political aide from Los Angeles, who asks for Delbert’s help in convincing country western singers to perform at a televised pre-election rally for a presidential candidate. The film takes place in Nashville over the course of a few hectic days, as numerous interrelated people prepare for the political rally, and secrets and lies are surfaced and revealed.
Ned Beatty in NASHVILLE
NASHVILLE did not have a background score. The film's songs were released on an ABC Records LP, which was re-issued on CD by MCA Nashville in 2000. The $3 million production ended up in the top 25 films of the year at the box office, with a $26.5 million gross.
THE DEADLY TOWER was a made-for-television film about mass shooter Charles Whitman, who on August 1, 1966, murdered his mother and wife in their homes, then went to the University of Texas at Austin where he shot and killed three people inside the university's tower. He then went to the tower's 28th-floor observation deck, where he fired at random for some 95 minutes, killing fourteen people and wounding thirty-one before being shot and killed by police.
Kurt Russell starred as Whitman. Clifton James was police Captain Fred Ambrose. Ned Beatty played Alan Crum, a reluctant bystander who became an equally reluctant hero when pressed into service by policeman Ramiro Martinez (Richard Yñiguez).
Richard Yñiguez and Ned Beatty in THE DEADLY TOWER
Jerry Jameson directed the film, which aired on NBC on 18 October 1975. The score by Don Ellis was released in 2010 by Film Score Monthly in their TV Omnibus set.
In the 1976 political film ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) try to track down the truth behind the break-in at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Office complex. Ned Beatty appeared in the film as a “Guest Star,” playing Martin Dardis, the chief investigator for the Dade County (FL) state attorney. In 1972, Dardis was tipped off about a connection between a Miami bank and Bernard Barker, one of the Watergate burglars.
Screenwriter William Goldman was called to an impromptu meeting with Robert Redford, Bob Woodward, and Carl Bernstein. At the time, Goldman's draft of the screenplay had been accepted, and Goldman and Redford were waiting to hear from Woodward and Bernstein. At the meeting, they presented Goldman with a new screenplay, written by Bernstein and then-girlfriend Nora Ephron. Goldman refused to read the screenplay and walked out of the meeting. Only one scene from that screenplay was in the final version of the film—the scene where Bernstein outsmarts a secretary (Polly Holliday) to get in to see investigator Dardis (Ned Beatty). The scene was pure fiction; it did not happen in real life.
Alan J. Pakula directed the film. David Shire's score was released by Film Score Monthly in 2007. The film was #4 at the box office for the year, with a $91 million domestic gross.
In the ultimate disaster film parody, a giant bus is going non-stop from New York to Denver and is plagued by disasters due to the machinations of a mysterious group allied with the Oil Lobby. Ned Beatty plays “Shorty Scotty,” the project manager for THE BIG BUS, which had 32 wheels, weighed 75 tons, and measured 106 feet long. It was articulated, double-decked, and nuclear-powered.
Howard Hesseman, Ned Beatty, and Larry Hagman in THE BIG BUS
James Frawley directed the 1976 comedy. David Shire's score was released by Film Score Monthly in 2011. The film had a modest $5.4 million box office take.
In W.W. AND THE DIXIE DANCEKINGS, "W.W. Bright" (Burt Reynolds) is a robber with a heart of gold who travels the South of 1957 knocking off banks and gas stations owned by a corrupt businessman. When he hijacks a car, he meets an aspiring country band, the Dixie Dancekings, led by "Dixie" (Conny Van Dyke).
Three members of the fictional “Dixie Dancekings”—Conny Van Dyke, Jerry Reed, and Don Williams—were country music stars. Mel Tillis, another popular country music artist, portrayed a gas station attendant. Walter E. “Furry” Lewis, who portrayed “Uncle Furry,” was a well-known Memphis blues musician. His character was called “Uncle Boaz” in the novel and screenplay, but director John Avildsen told the 29 August 1974 Rolling Stone that he used Lewis’ own first name, because there was no way to “improve on a name like Furry.” Ned Beatty played a fictional Grand Ole Opry star named “Country Bull Jenkins.”
Burt Reynolds and Ned Beatty in W.W. AND THE DIXIE DANCEKINGS
The film was Ned Beatty’s third with Burt Reynolds. Dave Grusin scored the 1975 film, but most of the 20th Century Records LP was filed with country songs. The LP has not had a CD re-issue. The film was #20 at the box office for the year, grossing $17 million.
Grusin's score replaced a rejected one by Biil Conti.
Burt Reynolds made his feature-film directorial debut with 1976's GATOR, the sequel to his 1973 action film WHITE LIGHTNING. Reynolds also starred in the film as a “moonshiner” named “'Gator' McClusky". In the film, agents force a former con man (Reynolds) to help them nab a local crime boss (Jerry Reed).
As usual, Reynolds tried to work a few of his friends into the film. Watson B. Duncan III, Reynolds' favorite acting professor and mentor from his college days, has a small part as the Governor's press secretary. Richard Kiel said in his autobiography that he was also supposed to be in this movie. Burt Reynolds had, as a favor, made sure that there was a part written specially for him. In the end, Kiel was not available for the part of "Bones" when they were shooting the film. Kiel did, however, recommend his friend William Engesser for the part instead. Actor James Best, who is credited as an Assistant to the Producers, said that he was given the opportunity to rewrite the William Norton's script, at the request of Burt Reynolds, to give more character depth to Gator McClusky. And Ned Beatty, in his fourth film with Reynolds, made a brief, uncredited appearance reprising his role of “Sheriff J.C. Connors” from WHITE LIGHTNING.
GATOR was the #25 film at the U.S. box office in 1976, grossing $11 million. Charles Bernstein's score was released on a United Artists LP. An expanded edition was released by Intrada in 2010.
In NETWORK, a television network run by “Arthur Jensen” (Ned Beatty) and “Frank Hackett” (Robert Duvall) cynically exploits the ravings of deranged former anchor “Howard Beale” (Peter Finch) for its own profit. But they find that his message may be difficult to control.
Ned Beatty was brought in at the last-minute to play Arthur Jensen. Director Sidney Lumet claimed that the actor originally cast in the part could not comprehend the tone of the screenplay, and played up the madness and absurdity in the "the world is a business" speech to Howard Beale. Beatty however understood that the monologue needed to be delivered with persuasion and truth.
Elliot Lawrence provided the unreleased score for this 1976 Best Picture-nominee. NETWORK was the #13 film of the year at the U.S. box office, with a $42.2 million gross. Despite the movie’s attack on television, CBS bought the rights to televise NETWORK for $5 million.
Ned Beatty received an Oscar nomination as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, losing to Jason Robards for ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN. Beatty once remarked that actors should never turn down work ("I worked a day on NETWORK and got an Oscar nomination for it."). Beatty was on screen for less than 6 minutes.
The 1976 action comedy SILVER STREAK was Gene Wilder’s first film with four-time co-star Richard Pryor. Wilder loved his part of publisher “George Caldwell” because it allowed him to do scenes which were fitting of Errol Flynn doing action or Cary Grant being romantic. On a train traveling from Los Angeles, California, to Chicago, Illinois, Caldwell looks forward to a restful journey. George visits the club car, where he meets vitamin salesman “Bob Sweet” (Ned Beatty), who describes the train as “a cathouse on wheels,” full of eager women looking for companionship.
Ned Beatty and Gene Wilder in SILVER STREAK
Arthur Hiller directed the film. Henry Mancini's score for the film was released by Intrada in 2002. That partially mono release was replaced by a full stereo release in 2016. The $5.5 million production was the #11 film at the U.S. box office, with a $51.1 million gross.
In MIKEY AND NICKY, “Nicky” (John Cassavetes) is on the run from the mob’s killer-for-hire “Warren Kinney” (Ned Beatty), and he turns to old pal “Mikey” (Peter Falk) for help.
Peter Falk was convinced that Ned Beatty was the brother of Warren Beatty. When he found out they were born only a few months apart, he was so embarrassed that he broke out into hives, and stopped production for the day.
Ned Beatty in MIKEY AND NICKY
Shooting on the film began in May 1973, and writer-director Elaine May shot 1.4 million feet of film for the production. This was nearly three times the amount of film that was shot for GONE WITH THE WIND. Consequently, with that much footage to sift through, like most of Elaine May’s films, MIKEY AND NICKY went through extended (and expensive) post-production. There were lawsuits and countersuits between Paramount and May, as deadlines continued to slip. When it was finally released in late December 1976, the $4.5 million production managed to gross just $2.7 million. John Strauss provided the film’s unreleased score. Eight years later, in November 1984, Paramount allowed May to reissue MIKEY AND NICKY through Castle Hill Productions, a company owned by former Paramount executive Julian Schlossberg, who described the film as being ahead of its time.
Thornton Wilder was unhappy with the 1940 film and 1957 television musical versions of his seminal play OUR TOWN. Before his death, in 1975, he worked with producer Saul Jaffe and director George Schaefer in an attempt to leave behind a definitive version of his masterpiece. The result of that collaboration was broadcast on NBC on 30 May 1977, featuring a stellar cast that included Hal Holbrook (the Stage Manager), Ned Beatty (Dr. Gibbs), Sada Thompson (Mrs. Gibbs), John Houseman (Professor Willard), Glynnis O'Connor (Emily Webb) and Robby Benson (George Gibbs). George Schaefer directed the film, which had uncredited incidental music by Del Casher.
In EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC, though it’s been four years since her brush with evil, “Regan” (Linda Blair) continues to see her psychologist, “Dr. Jean Tuskin” (Louise Fletcher), on a regular basis. Saying she remembers nothing about the horrific events that claimed the lives of three people, Regan tries to lead a normal life, all the while knowing that the demon that possessed her still has a firm grip on her psyche.
Meanwhile, the Vatican has assigned “Father Lamont” (Richard Burton) to investigate the final exorcism performed by the late “Father Merrin” (Max Von Sydow). Once in America, Father Lamont visits Dr. Tuskin and sits in on Regan’s hypnosis therapy, during which he discovers that his mentor had a previous encounter with the demon that invaded the young girl’s body, a malevolent spirit that goes by the name “Yazuzu.” To further understand the situation, Lamont travels to Africa in search of a man named “Kukumo” (James Earl Jones), who, as a boy, was also possessed by Yazuzu until Father Merrin exorcised the demon. In Africa, Father Lamont is flown by a pilot named “Edwards” (Ned Beatty).
John Boorman directed the 1977 release. After a poor audience and critical reception of the 117-minute film in the U.S., Boorman extensively re-edited the film to 110 minutes for foreign release. Ennio Morricone’s score was released on a Warner Bros. LP and reissued on CD by Warners in Japan and France in 2001. In 2011, Perseverance again re-issued the score on CD. Although the film did not approach the $196 million gross of the original EXORCIST, this $11 million production still came in at #20 at the box office, with a $37.6 million domestic gross.
Charlton Heston stars in the 1978 action-adventure disaster movie GRAY LADY DOWN as U.S. Navy Captain “Paul Blanchard,” whose nuclear submarine, the U.S.S. Neptune, has collided with a Norwegian cargo freighter. The Neptune has sunk off the coast of Connecticut and is stuck on an underwater ocean ledge but is falling off the ridge. The question is, will the rescue operation be in time?
David Carradine plays Navy officer misfit “Captain Gates,” who has developed a small experimental submersible, nicknamed Snark, which is brought in as the only hope to reach the nuclear submarine for a rescue. The Snark’s operator is “Mickey” (Ned Beatty). Stacy Keach plays “Captain Bennett,” the commander of the U.S. Navy rescue force, and a young Christopher Reeve (in his feature film debut) is one of the officers, "Phillips."
Ned Beatty in GRAY LADY DOWN
David Greene directed the film. Jerry Fielding’s score was released by Intrada in 2009. The film had moderate box office grosses of $10.4 million.
Ned Beatty received an Oscar nomination as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, losing to Jason Robards for ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN. Beatty once remarked that actors should never turn down work ("I worked a day on NETWORK and got an Oscar nomination for it."). Beatty was on screen for less than 6 minutes.
And Beatrice Straight won her Oscar for essentially one scene of just over five minutes.
In SUPERMAN, which started production in April 1977 at Shepperton Studios in England, Ned Beatty played “Otis,” the bumbling henchman of master criminal “Lex Luthor” (Gene Hackman). Jackie Cooper, who played “Perry White,” “Clark Kent's” (Christopher Reeve’s) hot-tempered boss at the Daily Planet, had originally auditioned for the part of Otis.
Ned Beatty, Gene Hackman, and Christopher Reeve in SUPERMAN
Richard Donner directed the film, which premiered on 10 December 1978. John Williams' score had its most recent release by La-La Land in 2019.
Reviews of the film were mostly positive. Daily Variety praised the “delightful” performances of Reeve, Kidder, Gene Hackman, Valerie Perrine, and Ned Beatty and the expertise of cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth, production designer John Barry and the “bold score” of John Williams. A New York Times review found Reeve and Kidder “charming,” and the performances of the supporting cast high caliber.
Ned Beatty made an attempt at television stardom with the lead role in the sitcom “Szysznyk”. He played retired Marine “Nick Szysznyk,” a supervisor at a Washington, D.C. community center. The ongoing punchline of the show was that people meeting Szysznyk for the first time almost invariably mispronounced his surname. In one episode, a narcotics detective called him "Sneeze-wick".
CBS gave the show a late summer try-out, premiering it on Monday, 1 August 1977 at 8:30 PM. After five episodes had aired, the Network decided to keep the show around as a mid-season replacement. “Szysznyk” returned to the air on Wednesday, 7 December 1977, as a replacement for the cancelled Adam Arkin sitcom “Busting Loose.” “Szysznyk” had the misfortune of going up against the #12-rated show on television that season, ABC’s “Eight Is Enough.” “Szysznyk” aired 6 episodes through 25 January 1978, at which point it too was cancelled and replaced by “The Amazing Spider-Man.” Four of the produced episodes of “Szysznyk” were never aired.
Carol Burnett and Ned Beatty starred as “Meg and Gene Mullen,” the parents of a young Midwestern soldier killed in Vietnam by FRIENDLY FIRE from U.S. artillery. Adapted from the book by C.D.B. Bryan, this fact-based drama recounts how the Mullens, embittered by their son’s death, set out to discover the true circumstances behind it.
Carol Burnett and Ned Beatty in FRIENDLY FIRE
David Greene won an Emmy for directing this made-for-television film, which aired on ABC on 22 April 1979. Ned Beatty was nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special, losing to Peter Strauss for THE JERICHO MILE. Leonard Rosenman’s Emmy-winning score has not had a release.
In the comedy-drama WISE BLOOD, “Hazel Motes” (Brad Dourif), fresh out of the army, attempts to open the first Church Without Christ in the town of Taulkinham, a city where he knows no one. One evening, Hazel is preaching at a street corner to a few people. “Hoover Shoates” (Ned Beatty), an opportunist, steps up and claims that Hazel is a friend and a gifted prophet. As the crowd becomes larger, he introduces himself as “Onnie Jay Holy,” a preacher who endorses Hazel’s church.
Ned Beatty and Brad Dourif in WISE BLOOD
John Huston directed this 1979 film, which was based on a 1952 novel by Flannery O'Connor, her first. The film was Ned Beatty’s second with John Huston, after THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUDGE ROY BEAN. Alex North’s score has not had a release. The $2 million production received good critical notices, but grossed just $2.6 million at the domestic box office.
Carol Burnett and Ned Beatty starred as “Meg and Gene Mullen,” the parents of a young Midwestern soldier killed in Vietnam by FRIENDLY FIRE from U.S. artillery. Adapted from the book by C.D.B. Bryan, this fact-based drama recounts how the Mullens, embittered by their son’s death, set out to discover the true circumstances behind it.
Carol Burnett and Ned Beatty in FRIENDLY FIRE
David Greene won an Emmy for directing this made-for-television film, which aired on ABC on 22 April 1979. Ned Beatty was nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special, losing to Peter Strauss for THE JERICHO MILE. Leonard Rosenman’s Emmy-winning score has not had a release.
I remember seeing this as a young teen when it aired and was riveted by it. The acting was superb by both Burnett and Beatty. Really great film.
