Thursday, September 6, 2018

Burt Reynolds 1936-2018

Burt Reynolds, who had a long career in show business, died earlier today from cardiopulmonary arrest at a hospital in Jupiter, Florida.  He had previously suffered from heart problems for a number of years.  He was 82.

Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. was born in Lansing, Michigan to Burton Milo Reynolds and the former Fern Miller.  Due to his father's military career, the family moved to Missouri, back to Michigan, and finally to Florida.  While attending Palm Beach High School in West Palm Beach, Reynolds became an All-State football player at fullback, which resulted in athletic scholarship offers from several colleges.  He attended Florida State University on a football scholarship, moving to halfback.  He roomed with Lee Corso (of "not so fast" fame), who eventually went on to a broadcasting career.  Injuries cut his football career short, but he won a Florida State Drama Award from his performance in a play entitled Outward Bound.  The award included a scholarship to a summer stock playhouse in Hyde Park, New York.

Reynolds's professional acting career started with several television roles, on shows such as Gunsmoke and Dan August.  His breakout movie role was in Deliverance, which was followed by roles in films such as White Lighting, Smokey and the Bandit, Gator (which was his directorial debut), The Cannonball Run, All Dogs Go To Heaven and The Longest Yard.

Reynolds was married to Judy Carne (1963-1965) and Loni Anderson (1988-1993), both actresses.  With Anderson, he adopted a son named Quinton.  He also had romantic relationships with Dinah Shore and Sally Field.  He is survived by his son.

Read more at Page Six, US, Variety, CNN and The Hollywood Reporter.  In The Ringer, Reynolds is remembered for inventing the "athlete-movie star".
Without Burt Reynolds, there is no Bruce Willis.  No Chris Hemsworth.  No the Rock.  No Vin Diesel.  Maybe no Tom Cruise.  Reynolds, who died after a heart attack at 82 years old Thursday, modernized movie stardom in a particular way.  He was an athlete, but not muscle-bound.  He wasn’t exactly funny, but he was always cracking wise.  He was handsome, but he was losing his hair.
In his own way, Reynolds appears to have created a certain type of leading man.

No comments:

Post a Comment