“Thanks for bailing me out,” Reynolds told Patsy Lou Williamson in the ad.
Burt Reynolds’ action-packed performances stretched beyond the Hollywood landscape to Flint, Mich. — near his birthplace in Lansing — where in 1997 he promoted a new line of Dodge Ram 1500 “Bandit” pickups for dealer Patsy Lou Williamson.
The pickups were sold through what was then Williamson’s Lincoln-Mercury-Dodge dealership, MLive reported Wednesday.
The TV spot portrays a faux local sheriff pulling over Reynolds for speeding and then asking the iconic movie star for his autograph. Reynolds declines. The ad then cuts to a scene with Reynolds in the passenger seat and Williamson driving.
“Thanks for bailing me out,” Reynolds tells her.
“We do it for all of our customers,” Williamson retorts. “Burt, drive carefully,” she adds, shaking her finger at Reynolds.
Williamson on Friday said she and her husband, Don, were saddened by the news of Reynolds’ passing. He died Thursday at age 82.
“He was a loyal friend and neighbor. It was an honor to work with such a respected professional in creating and selling a line of Bandit vehicles in the late 1990s,” Williamson said in a statement emailed to Automotive News. “He was great on screen and even better with our customers. He was a wonderful man and will be missed.”
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