In the conclusion of our Chattooga series, we explore the two events that sealed the river’s fate: a blockbuster movie and a landmark piece of legislation. We explore chaotic set of Deliverance, sharing harrowing stories from the cast and crew, including Burt Reynolds’s near-disastrous waterfall stunt and Ronny Cox’s brush with death. We then pivot to the political battle, where a young Governor Jimmy Carter’s legendary canoe run down Bull Sluice helped build the unstoppable momentum needed to pass the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, protecting the Chattooga forever.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- The disastrous first day of filming Deliverance, which involved a shattered canoe and thousands of dollars of sunken sound equipment.
- Director John Boorman’s discovery that author James Dickey had fabricated his “true story” of survival.
- Burt Reynolds’s firsthand account of his brutal, tailbone-cracking waterfall stunt.
- Ronny Cox’s harrowing story of nearly being swept over a 200-foot waterfall and the crew member who saved his life.
- How the film’s popularity created “Deliverance Syndrome,” flooding the river with unprepared adventurers.
- The inside story of Governor Jimmy Carter’s famous canoe run down the infamous Bull Sluice rapid.
- How rare, unanimous political support led to the Chattooga being permanently protected as a Wild and Scenic River.
- A final, poetic wish from author James Dickey, in his own words.
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