Variety: Burt Reynolds, one of Hollywood’s most popular leading men during the ’70s and early ’80s with such films as “Deliverance,” “Smokey and the Bandit,” “The Longest Yard” and “Semi-Tough,” has died. His rep confirmed that he died Thursday in a Jupiter, Fla. hospital. He was 82.
He later earned an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor in Paul Thomas Anderson’s ode to skin flicks, “Boogie Nights.” He had not yet shot his planned role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
His niece Nancy Lee Hess said in a statement, “He has had health issues, however, this was totally unexpected. He was tough. Anyone who breaks their tail bone on a river and finishes the movie is tough. And that’s who he was. My uncle was looking forward to working with Quentin Tarantino, and the amazing cast that was assembled.”
Reynolds’ appeal lay in his post-modern macho posture undercut by a wry self-awareness, which he used to good effect in comedies as well as action films. For a period during the ’70s he was the nation’s top box office draw. But after one too many bad movies, his popularity waned. He returned to television, where he’d gotten his start, mostly in Westerns, and produced his own sitcom, “Evening Shade,” which brought him an Emmy.
Burt with dear friend Dinah Shore
In the early 1970s, Reynolds was a veteran of TV and film who spurred the curiosity of Hollywood producers through his amusing appearances on latenight talkshows, as well as the hyped publicity stunt of appearing as the first celebrity male-nude centerfold in a 1972 issue of Cosmopolitan.
He was thus cast in his first A-title role, in John Boorman’s “Deliverance,” one of the most popular and well received films of 1972 (several major actors, including Marlon Brando, had turned the role down before it was offered to Reynolds).
He solidified his position as a rising film star with 1974 prison football drama “The Longest Yard.” In 1977 he starred with Sally Field and Jackie Gleason in the comedy programmer “Smokey and the Bandit,” which proved to be his most successful undertaking ever and was followed by the inevitable sequels. That same year he was again on the gridiron in the hit comedy “Semi-Tough.”
Reynolds made his directing debut with 1976 action film “Gator” and 1978’s black comedy “The End.”
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. was born in Lansing, Michigan., and attended Florida State University for two years on a football scholarship. But his promising career as a running back was cut short by a knee injury suffered in a car accident. Reynolds turned his attention to acting, moving to New York, where he struggled for several years until he landed a role in a revival of “Mr. Roberts” starring Charlton Heston in 1956.
He made his Broadway debut in the short-lived “Look We’ve Come Through” and began accumulating guest shots on television in programs such as “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Zane Grey Theater,” “Route 66,” “Perry Mason” and “The Twilight Zone.”
Reynolds’ assured performance in the controversial and violent “Deliverance” started him on a decade or more of enormous success.
In the early 1970s, Reynolds was a veteran of TV and film who spurred the curiosity of Hollywood producers through his amusing appearances on latenight talkshows, as well as the hyped publicity stunt of appearing as the first celebrity male-nude centerfold in a 1972 issue of Cosmopolitan.
Burt and Sally Field in Smokey and the Bandit
He was thus cast in his first A-title role, in John Boorman’s “Deliverance,” one of the most popular and well received films of 1972 (several major actors, including Marlon Brando, had turned the role down before it was offered to Reynolds). The same year Woody Allen cast him in a small comedic role in his film “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex.”
He solidified his position as a rising film star with 1974 prison football drama “The Longest Yard.” In 1977 he starred with Sally Field and Jackie Gleason in the comedy programmer “Smokey and the Bandit,” which proved to be his most successful undertaking ever and was followed by the inevitable sequels. That same year he was again on the gridiron in the hit comedy “Semi-Tough.”
In September 2015 Reynolds was honored by the Stuntmen’s Association of Motion Pictures with the organization’s Richard “Diamond” Farnsworth Award.
Reynolds was married and divorced twice, first in the 1960s to “Laugh-In” comedienne Judy Carne and then to Loni Anderson. Read More
He is survived by adopted son Quinton from his second marriage. RIP Buddy
