Vitals

Burt Reynolds as Bobby “Gator” McKlusky, paroled moonshine runner

Okefanokee Swamp, Summer 1975

Film: Gator
Release Date: August 25, 1976
Director: Burt Reynolds
Costume Designer: Norman Salling

Background

Burt Reynolds followed up his sweaty 1973 “hick flick” White Lightning with his self-directed sequel Gator, widely released 50 years ago today on August 25, 1976. The three-year gap had been kind to Reynolds, who had since grown his stardom… and that trademark mustache. (Unlike Sterling Archer, I prefer White Lightning over its lighter-hearted sequel.)

Reynolds reprises his role as moonshiner Bobby “Gator” McKlusky, recently released after serving 26 months in a Georgia state prison where he proudly learned how to make “quality license plates”. As in White Lightning, Gator is called back into government service, this time to help nab his one-time pal “Bama” McCall (Jerry Reed), now a ruthless crime boss in the fictional Dunston County. Of course, the government has to catch Gator first, kicking things off with a raucous speedboat chase through the Okefanokee Swamp.

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What’d He Wear?

Three years after White Lightning, Gator makes his first re-appearance stepping out onto the family porch sporting double denim. His mid-blue wash shirt is a lightweight denim twill, detailed with pointed western-style yokes over the shoulders and a snap-front placket that he wears with the top three buttons undone. The two chest pockets each close with a single snap on pointed flaps that mirror the yokes above them, and the long-pointed collar is very consistent with mid-1970s fashions. Gator keeps the long sleeves rolled up his forearms so we can’t tell how many snaps close each cuff, though shirts like these are typically finished with two or three snaps stacked on each cuff.

A real swamprat would have likely eschewed Gator’s fashion-forward jeans in favor of more traditional denim like Lee, Levi’s, or Wrangler, but Gator McKlusky is played by ’70s movie star Burt Reynolds so that means he wears the same jeans as ’70s movie star Burt Reynolds.

These light-blue wash denim jeans have a long rise and are cut straight through the legs before dramatically flaring out below the knees like disco-era bell-bottoms. The front pocket layout generally echo conventional jeans, but the seat is where things diverge: instead of the usual rear patch pockets, there are two narrowly welted set-in pockets, and—at the bottom of each cheek (for lack of better phrasing)—flat-felled seams extend rearward from the side seams before curving upward to meet just above the crack (again, I apologize).

Before switching to the black leather belt he wears once the action shifts to Dunston County, Gator initially wears a wide dark-brown matte leather belt. His personalized oval belt buckle adds another touch of movie star swagger, molded from brass with “GATOR” block-lettered in relief across it, with the bottom of the “R” appropriately stylized like an alligator tail. The screen-worn buckle may have been sculpted by “Cowboy Artist to the Stars” Al Shelton, who crafted similar buckles for the film’s crew.

The broadly flared bottoms of his jeans allow plenty of clearance for his calf-high cowboy boots, made from glossy dark-brown leather with scaled shafts that contrast against the plain-finished vamps and toeboxes. (Like his belt, he would swap these boots out for black leather when he goes to Dunston County.)

When Gator runs into his own “rocket”-powered Cobia to face off against the government speedboats, he pulls on a red-and-black baseball cap that he keeps at the helm. Against the front of the crown is a black-bordered rectangular patch depicting the Atlanta Falcons’ contemporary logo (used by the team from 1966 until 1989, when the falcon turned to face its left instead), rendered in black against a white background. The long, all-black brim coordinates with the bright red cotton twill crown to present the team’s colors.

Gator wears a yellow-gold watch with a likely 36mm case, champagne-colored dial, and 3 o’clock date complication, strapped onto a wide dark-brown leather cuff that dresses down this otherwise dressy wristwatch. The cuff closes with a large gold-toned single-prong buckle that extends the width of this strap.

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How to Get the Look

Gator McKlusky best continues his character’s authenticity from White Lightning with his denim snap-front shirt and dirty Falcons cap during Gator‘s opening sequence before he transitions to cleaner gingham and rayon shirts once he heads from the swamp to Dunston County.

• Blue lightweight denim work-shirt with long collar, snap-front placket, two chest pockets with single-snap pointed flaps, and snap cuffs
• Light blue fashion-forward denim jeans with wide belt loops, frogmouth front pockets, jetted back pockets, rounded back seam, and slightly flared bottoms
• Dark-brown matte leather belt
• Brass oval custom-made “GATOR”-embossed belt buckle with alligator motif
• Dark-brown leather cowboy boots with scale-patterned shafts
• Gold round-cased wristwatch with “champagne” gold dial on dark brown leather bund strap
• Red-and-black Atlanta Falcons baseball cap with team logo front patch

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Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.