Breaker, breaker, this here’s the Dmann here with a heavy heart.

“The Snowman” Jerry Reed, is now driving his big rig on the great highway in the sky.

I have to say, Smokey and the Bandit is THAT movie for me, my favorite of all time. It’s that movie I remember sitting and watching with my Dad as a boy, and falling in love with, both of us smiling, Dad thrilled that he could share this moment of cinematic happiness with his son. Most of us movie fans have one or two movies so tied to happy memories, all of the faults disappear, even when watching as an adult, SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT is one of those for me.

What made Jerry Reed so perfect in the role of Snowman, was how much fun he seemed to be having. It comes through in every joke he set up for Bandit, or a wisecrack to Fred the basset hound, and it comes through on the theme song, EAST BOUND AND DOWN, which ranks among the most perfect theme songs to any movie ever. He was having a blast.

If you look on IMDB, you will see that, as an actor, Reed’s roles were never varied, he always seemed to play the good old boy who was always having too much fun. There was an authenticity to him, that when planted in the right role, shined. He didn’t get that many of those roles, but that was probably ok, because he always was more of a country singer/songwriter/guitarist than an actor.

Listen to his music and you get the same feeling, this is a guy who can’t help smiling’ because it’s just too much fun doing what he’s doing. That freewheeling, shitkickin’, fingerpickin’ style of the seventies, somewhere between outlaw and pop star, is infectious, and you couldn’t help but smile.

There isn’t a hell of a lot to say, I could go on about Smokey and the Bandit, or list his hit songs, but given the choice, I’d rather just listen to some Jerry Reed music, pop in Smokey and the Bandit, and have a cold Coors.

That’s a big Ten Four, Dmann OVER AND OUT!