Film Director Cuts Ties to His Longtime Associate

Movie director Hal Needham has had a falling out with William Fredrick, his longtime friend and business associate.

Fredrick was fired last week as chief engineer of Camera Platforms International, a publicly held Valencia company headed by Needham that leases camera cars and develops lighting equipment. Needham said the dispute was over how much to spend on various company projects.

Needham is best known for directing a string of box-office hits starring his friend Burt Reynolds in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including “Smokey and the Bandit” and “Cannonball Run.”

Needham and Fredrick worked together on projects for nearly 20 years. Fredrick designed Needham’s “Budweiser Rocket Car” that in 1979 became the only vehicle to break the sound barrier on land. The two men also shared an Oscar last year for designing the camera car that Camera Platforms leases.

Needham depended extensively on Fredrick for developing products since they started Camera Platforms in 1985. In the company’s 1987 annual report, Needham noted that several projects were in development.

“They are not proven,” Needham said, “but if Bill thinks it looks good, I’ll go for it.”

Last week, Camera Platforms said in a statement that it believes Fredrick’s leaving will not affect the company’s operations. The company added that it and its principal financial backer, UST Enterprises (formerly U.S. Tobacco), are considering buying back Fredrick’s 1.02 million shares of stock.

Fredrick did not return messages left at his home.