BURT REYNOLDS (1936 - 2018)

Burt Reynolds, the sexy and charismatic actor who was one of the biggest movie stars throughout the 1970's, has passed away on September 6th at the age of eighty-two. He had been in poor health over the last few years including heart problems and died unexpectedly from cardiac arrest. One of Reynolds' last films, "The Last Movie Star" was released earlier this year and he had been cast in Quentin Tarantino's latest opus, "Once Upon a Time In Hollywood" but had not yet begun to film his role.

He was born Burton Milo Reynolds, Jr. in Lansing, MI but his family eventually ended up near West Palm Beach, FL. It was there during high school that Reynolds had planned to play pro-football. However, during college at Florida State he suffered several serious injuries which ended that plan. Reynolds drifted in to acting at school and after some success in the theater, he received a scholarship to Hyde Park Playhouse, a summer stock theater in New York.

From there, Reynolds found work in many plays and television shows before making his film debut, "Angel Baby" in 1961. But it wasn't until the 1972 thriller, "Deliverance", which earned three Academy Awards nominations including Best Picture, that began his ascent to movie stardom. Reynolds' easy-going, good ol' boy persona lead him to box-office gold with such hits as "Smokey and the Bandit", "Semi-Tough", "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas", "The Longest Yard" and "Cannonball Run" which helped make him the consective number-one grossing star from 1978 to 1982.

Other notable films during his career include, "Hustle", "Sharky's Machine", "The End" (with his girlfriend at the time, Sally Field), "Hooper", "Starting Over", "Best Friends" (with Goldie Hawn) and "Boogie Nights" which earned Reynolds his only Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1997 for his role as a '70's porn director.

While Reynolds had many hits (and quite a few flops), there were some movies he famously turned down that went on to become major critical and box-office successes. Some of these include the Han Solo part in "Star Wars", "Die Hard", "Pretty Woman" and two films that Jack Nicholson rode to fame and Oscar wins; "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" and "Terms of Endearment". The only role Reynolds later really regretted not taking was in the 1983 comedic-weepie Best Picture winner and I think he would have been very good in the part.

Another notable moment in his career was when Reynolds decided to play off his sex-symbol image and appeared nude on a bear-skin rug as the centerfold in the April 1972 issue of the women's magazine, "Cosmopolitan". It went on to sell an astounding 1.5 million copies however Reynolds later stated that this publicity stunt was one of the biggest mistakes of his career.

I don't think Burt Reynolds was ever really appreciated for his talent as an actor. I'm sure it didn't help that many could not see past his good looks, macho swagger, irresistible charm or how he simply made it look far too easy. But he did give some great performances throughout his career in films that were either little seen or just not acknowledged. Vulture has put together a few of the most essential movies he made and you should see to remember and (for those too young to have been around in his glory days) truly understand the captivating appeal of Burt Reynolds.

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Burt Reynolds' Most Essential Film Roles