Biography for
Jerry Reed (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

20 March 1937, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Date of Death

1 September 2008, Nashville, Tennessee, USA (complications from emphysema)

Birth Name

Jerry Reed Hubbard

Height

6' 0½" (1.84 m)

Mini Biography

Tall, blond haired country & western singer / songwriter from Atlanta Georgia, who usually appears in films portraying good humored Southern type characters. Reed was already writing and singing music in high school, and was signed by Capitol Records to a three-year contract in 1955. However, in 1958, he signed over to NRC Records, and appeared alongside Ray Stevens and Joe South, plus he met his future wife, singer Priscilla Mitchell.

Reed is well known by music fans for his C & W hits including "She Got The Goldmine (I Got The Shaft)", "Lord, Mr. Ford", "When You're Hot, You're Hot" and "East Bound and Down". After striking up a friendship with Burt Reynolds, Reed was cast in small roles in W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), and Gator (1976). He had a natural on-screen charm, and Reynolds picked him to play trucker "Cledus Snow" in the hugely popular Smokey and the Bandit (1977), plus he returned to the role in Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983).

More recently, Reed has been seen in Bat*21 (1988) and The Waterboy (1998).

IMDb Mini Biography By: firehouse44@hotmail.com

Spouse

Priscilla Mitchell

(9 July 1959 - 2 September 2008) (his death) 2 children

Trivia

Born at 4:56am-CST

Graduated from high school in Atlanta, Georgia in 1955

Country singer and guitarist.

Best known for his comedy hits, including the Billboard magazine country No. 1 hits "When You're Hot, You're Hot" (1971), "Lord, Mr. Ford" (1973) and "She Got the Gold Mine (I Got the Shaft)" (1982); and the No. 2 hit "The Bird." Also had a No. 2 country hit with "East Bound and Down" (1977).

In the fade-out of both "When You're Hot, You're Hot" and "She Got the Gold Mine (I Got the Shaft)," Reed can be heard complaining, "Contempt of court?"

His hit, "The Bird," includes impressions of Willie Nelson's "Whiskey River" and "On the Road Again"; and George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today."

In the mid-to-late 1970s, he was set to play the starring role as the legendary guitar player Hank Garland in a film titled Sugarfoot Rag (1970). The film was about the amazing life and career of the top Nashville guitar player, Hank Garland, and was to deal with the mysterious circumstances behind his career ending automobile accident. Unfortunately, the film project fell apart for unknown reasons.

Covered the song "Sugarfoot Rag" by Hank Garland, for his album " Texas Bound and Flyin'" (1980)

Had quadruple heart bypass surgery in June, 1999.

Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.

Has two daughters: Sedina and Lottie.

His final project, "The Gallant Few," was an album made to raise funds for wounded veterans.

Released more than 40 albums over a long career that started with his first record at the age of 18.

A popular session and tour guitarist who played with the likes of Chet Atkins, Joan Baez and Ringo Starr.

Elvis Presley recorded two of Reed's early songs -- "U.S. Male" and "Guitar Man" with Jerry playing his distinctive "claw-style" licks on the studio recordings. Jerry later was dubbed "The Guitar Man".

Won two Grammys in the early 1970s. One was for his hit single "When You're Hot You're Hot" (1971) and the other he shared with Chet Atkins for their collaboration "Me and Jerry" (1970). A third Grammy came in 1992 for his album "Sneakin' Around" with Atkins. His song "Amos Moses" earned him a 1971 Grammy nomination for "best male country vocal performance".

Friend Burt Reynolds gave Jerry a shiny black 1980 Trans Am like the one they used in the "Smokey and the Bandit" series.

Usually the good 'ol boy type, he played heavies twice in films. He was a sleazy, ornery moonshiner in actor/director 'Burt Reynolds'' film Gator (1976) and a hateful coach in Adam Sandler's The Waterboy (1998).

The son of cotton mill workers, he began playing the guitar in elementary school, later graduating to nightclubs and bars in and around the Atlanta area while in his teens. He dropped out of high school to tour with country legends Ernest Tubb and Faron Young, and at age 17 signed his first recording contract with Capitol Records.

The Country Music Association named Reed musician of the year in 1970 and 1971.

Personal Quotes

Talking about Gene Hackman in Bat*21 (1988): "He don't act. He just shows up and he 'be's."

I used to watch people like Richard Burton and Mel Gibson and think, 'I could never do that.' When people ask me what my motivation is, I have a simple answer: money. -- JR, regarding his acting ability