MOVIN' ON - Page 2

ON LOCATION!

In late 1974 OVERDRIVE magazine was on hand while an episode was being filmed. If you don't have the February 1975 issue of Overdrive, find one! Overdrive didn't care for the technical inaccuracies of the show, but realized the show at least showed the public a glimpse of trucking life, albeit a slightly "Hollywood" version with a story that went with each load.

This is the number 2 truck set-up with the film crew. Camera men, sound men, the director, a script advisor (in the sleeper), possibly a camera man in the sleeper to for another view, and both actors!

Imagine THIS coming down the road at you! Claude Akins is driving in this scene.

In most scenes requiring in-the-cab dialog, the truck and equipment would be towed behind

this Marmon COE with drom.

By being towed behind another truck, the in-the-cab scenes would have the correct "feel" and look. The actors would only have to steer and "fake shift" from time to time. All dialog in the cab was recorded in the cab, never on a sound stage.

The Overdrive article mentions how truck drivers would applaud Claude Akins for driving the truck properly, double-clutching, turning, and stopping the rig "on the mark" the director had set. Claude would love to talk to the drivers whenever he could.

In an interview in the January 1975 OVERDRIVE magazine, Claude Akins said most of the on-camera driving was done by him and Frank Converse. Scenes requiring accident stunts were driven by Claude's double Bill Lane. In this photo above, thats Sonny (Claude) actually riding the back of the truck, jumps off while the truck is turning, and runs to the camera. No double here!

In a 2 part episode Sonny and Will get involved in a truck race.

You can't really tell from this fuzzy pic, but that is a Cummins VT903 under the hood.

Claude would tell people he drove a KW with a VT903 Cummins if they asked if he was a truck driver.

Claude was Sheriff Lobo in BJ & The Bear, but he'll always be Sonny Pruitt to me!

This is the KW coe that Will initially drove in the pilot before meeting up with Sonny.

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Moose and Benji, Rosie Grear, and Al Mertrano(spelling) and their GMC Crackerbox.

I'll be adding more pics of Moose and Benji's "Pig Pen" as time goes by.

Sonny and Will, and Will and Sonny.

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Here are 2 Sonny Trucks. Both were regularly used in filming of the episodes. This photo, and the following pics are from the episode "The Switch" which featured both trucks, and a 3rd black and green VIT. The owner of the black VIT emailed me a while back, he was pleased to see his former truck was famous again!