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( m. 1988; div. 1994)Partner(s)(1971–1975);(1976–1980)Children1Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, director, and producer. He first rose to prominence when he starred in several different television series such as (1962–1965), (1966), and (1970–1971).Although Reynolds had leading roles in such films as (1966), his was as Lewis Medlock in (1972).
But Enough About Me: A Memoir Kindle Edition. Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. You get the Real Burt Reynolds here. All his mistakes, all his goofiness, all his kindness, all this successes and failures. This book is like you're sitting around a patio in Florida and Reynolds is just telling his story.
Reynolds played the leading role in a number of subsequent hits, such as (1974), (1977), (1977), (1978), (1978), (1979), (1980), (1981), (1981), (1982), and (1984).Reynolds was voted the world's number one box office star for five consecutive years (from 1978 to 1982) in the annual, a record he shares with. After a number of box office failures, Reynolds returned to television, starring in the (1990–1994). He was nominated for the for his performance in (1997). Reynolds with the Citrus Queen at Garnet and Gold Football Game, Florida State University, 1963The Florida State Drama Award included a scholarship to the Hyde Park Playhouse, a, in. Reynolds saw the opportunity as an agreeable alternative to more physically demanding summer jobs, but did not yet see acting as a possible career. While working there, Reynolds met, who helped him find an agent.' I don't think I ever actually saw him perform,' said Woodward later.
'I knew him as this cute, shy, attractive boy. He had the kind of lovely personality that made you want to do something for him.' Reynolds in 1991He was cast in at the in. After his Broadway debut in Look, We've Come Through, he received favorable reviews for his performance and went on tour with the cast, driving the bus as well as appearing on stage.After the tour, Reynolds returned to New York and enrolled in acting classes, along with, and.' I was a working actor for two years before I finally took my first real acting class (with Wynn Handman at the Neighborhood Playhouse),' he said. 'It was a lot of technique, truth, moment-to-moment, how to listen, improv.'
After a botched improvisation in acting class, Reynolds briefly considered returning to Florida, but soon gained a part in a revival of, in which played the starring role.After the play closed, the director, arranged a film audition with for Reynolds. The film was (1957). Reynolds was told he could not be in the film because he looked too much like. Logan advised Reynolds to go to, although Reynolds did not feel confident enough to do so. (Another source says Reynolds did a screen test after saw the effect he had on secretaries in his office but the test was unsuccessful. )He worked in a variety of jobs, such as waiting tables, washing dishes, driving a delivery truck and as a at the.
Reynolds wrote that, while working as a, he was offered $150 to jump through a glass window on a live television show. Early television and Riverboat. Reynolds and at the in 1991Reynolds began acting on television in the late 1950s, guest starring on shows like,. He signed a seven-year contract with Universal. 'I don't care whether he can act or not,' said Wasserman. 'Anyone who has this effect on women deserves a break.'
Reynolds' first big break came when he was cast alongside in the lead of the TV series (1959–61), playing Ben Frazer. According to a contemporary report Reynolds was considered 'a double for '. The show went for two seasons but Reynolds quit after only 20 episodes, claiming he did not get along with McGavin or the executive producer, and that he had 'a stupid part'.Reynolds says then he 'couldn't get a job. I didn't have a very good reputation. You just don't walk out on a network television series.' Reynolds returned to guest starring on television shows. As he put it, 'I played heavies in every series in town' appearing in episodes of,.
'They were depressing years,' he later said.Reynolds made his film debut in the low budget (1961), billed fourth. He followed it with a role in a war film, (1961). 'It was the one picture that didn't sing on,' reminisced Reynolds later. 'That was a terrible mistake.'
In 1961, he returned to Broadway to appear in Look, We've Come Through under the direction of, but it lasted only five performances.Reynolds continued to guest star on shows such as, and ('). He later said, 'I learned more about my craft in these guest shots than I did standing around and looking virile on Riverboat'. Gunsmoke In 1962, wanted to leave the cast of, one of the top rated shows in the country.
The producers developed a new character, 'halfbreed' blacksmith Quint Asper: Reynolds was cast, beating over 300 other contenders. Reynolds announced he would stay on the show 'until it ends. I think it's a terrible mistake for an actor to leave a series in the middle of it'. Reynolds left Gunsmoke in 1965. He later said that being in that show was 'the happiest period of my life. I hated to leave that show but I felt I had served my apprenticeship and there wasn't room for two leading men.'
He was cast in his first lead role in a film, the low budget action film (1965). He guest starred on, and.Hawk and leading roles in films Reynolds was given the title role in a TV series, (1966–67), playing Native American detective John Hawk. It ran for 17 episodes before being cancelled.He played another Native American in the (1966) shot in Spain. 'It wasn't my favorite picture,'.he said later.'
I had two expressions - mad and madder.' He guest starred on, and made a pilot for a TV series, where he would have played a magazine journalist. It was not picked up.Reynolds then made a series of films in quick succession. (1968), shot in Mexico, was directed by, who removed his name from it, after which its release was held up for a number of years. Which he described as 'the best thing I've ever done', was not released for a number of years, and the director took his name off. (1969), was a war movie shot in the Philippines.
He played the title role (1969), a comic Western written by which Reynolds later claimed was 'way ahead of its time. I was playing light comedy and nobody cared.' Reynolds supported Jim Brown and in another Western, (1969), later saying 'I spent the entire time refereeing fights between Jim Brown and Raquel Welch.' In a 1969 interview he expressed interest in playing roles like the John Garfield part in, but no one sent him those sort of roles. 'Instead, the producer hands me a script and says 'I know it's not there now kid but I know we can make it work'.'
Reynolds had been offered a lead role in (1970), but turned it down after 'they told me the other two leads would be and that.' Played the role and Reynolds instead went into (1970), shot in Jamaica.
Reynolds joked that after making 'those wonderful forgettable pictures. I suddenly realized I was as hot as.'
Reynolds then starred in two TV films, (1970) and (1970). In Hunters Are for Killing, his character was originally a Native American, but Reynolds requested this element be changed, feeling he had played it too many times already and it was not needed for the character. Dan August and talk shows Reynolds played the title character in police drama (1970–71), produced. The series was given a full-season order of 26 episodes based on the reputation of Martin and Reynolds but struggled in the ratings against Hawaii 5-0 and was not renewed.asked Reynolds to take over the role of from, but he turned that role down, saying 'An American can't play James Bond. It just can't be done.' Following the cancellation of the series, Reynolds did his first stage play in six years, a production of at Arlington Park Theatre. He was offered other TV pilots but was reluctant to play a detective again.Around this time he had become well known as an entertaining talk show guest, starting with an appearance on.
He made jokes at his own expense, calling himself America's most 'well-known unknown' who only made the kind of movies 'they show in airplanes or prisons or anywhere else the people can't get out.' He proved enormously popular and was frequently asked back by Griffin and Johnny Carson; he even guest hosted the.
He was so popular as a guest he was offered his own talk show but he wanted to keep on as an actor.He later said his talk show appearances were 'the best thing that ever happened to me. They changed everything drastically overnight. I spent ten years looking virile saying 'Put up your hands'. After the Carson, Griffin, suddenly I have a personality.' 'I realized that people liked me, that I was enough,' said Reynolds.
'So if I could transfer that character - the irreverent, self-deprecating side of me, my favorite side of me - onto the screen, I could have a big career. Deliverance and the centerfold Reynolds had his breakout role in, directed by John Boorman, who cast him on the basis of a talk show appearance. 'It's the first time I haven't had a script with Paul Newman's and Robert Redford's fingerprints all over it,' Reynolds joked. 'The producers actually came to me first.' 'I've waited 15 years to do a really good movie,' he said in 1972. 'I made so many bad pictures. I was never able to turn anyone down.
The greatest curse in Hollywood is to be a well-known unknown.' Reynolds also gained notoriety around this time when he began a well-publicized relationship with, who was 20 years his senior, and after he posed naked in the April 1972 issue of. Reynolds said he did it for 'a kick. I have a strange sense of humor' and because he knew he had Deliverance coming out.
He later expressed regret for posing for Cosmopolitan.Deliverance was a huge commercial and critical success and, along with the talk show appearances, helped establish Reynolds as a. 'The night of the Academy Awards, I counted a half-dozen Burt Reynolds jokes,' he later said. 'I had become a household name, the most talked-about star at the award show.' He was then in (1972), reuniting him with Welch, and made a cameo in the film, (1972). He also returned to the stage, appearing in The Rainmaker at the Arlington.Reynolds played the title role in (1973), a modern-day private eye, which drew unenthusiastic reviews, but was a solid box office success. Reynolds described it as 'not a bad film, kind of cute.'
He was in (1973) co-starring. The film is best remembered for the scandal during filming where Miles' lover committed suicide; it was a minor hit. He was meant to reunite with Boorman in but fell ill and was replaced.
White Lightning Another turning moment in Reynolds' career came when he made the light-hearted car chase film written by Norton, (1973). Reynolds later called it 'the beginning of a whole series of films made in the South, about the South and for the South. You could make back the cost of the negative just in Memphis alone. Anything outside of that was just gravy.' Car chase films would be Reynolds' most profitable genre. At the end of 1973 Reynolds was voted into the list of the ten most popular box office stars in the US, at number four.
He would stay on that list until 1984.He made a sports comedy with, (1974) which was popular. Aldrich later said 'I think that on occasion he's a much better actor than he's given credit for. Not always: sometimes he acts like a caricature of himself.' Reynolds then appeared in two big budget fiascos: (1975), a musical for, and (1975) with and.More popular was another light hearted car chase film, (1975), and a tough cop drama with Aldrich, (1975). He did a cameo for in (1976).Director Reynolds made his directorial debut in 1976 with, the sequel to White Lightning, written by Norton.
'I waited 20 years to do it directing and I enjoyed it more than anything I've ever done in this business,' he said after filming. 'And I happen to think it's what I do best.' He was reunited with Bogdanovich for the screwball comedy (1976), which was a commercial disappointment. Aldrich later commented, 'Bogdanovich can get him to do the telephone book! Anybody else has to persuade him to do something. He's fascinated by Bogdanovich.
I can't understand it.' He turned down the part of in.
Smokey and the Bandit and career peak Reynolds had the biggest hit of his career with a car chase film (1977), directed by and co-starring and.He followed it with a comedy about football players, (1977), co-starring and and produced. He then directed his second film, (1978), a black comedy, playing a role originally written for.More popular was a car comedy he made with Needham and Field, (1978), where he played a stuntman.' My ability as an actor gets a little better every time,' he said around this time. 'I'm very prolific in the amount of films I make - two-and-a-half or three a year - and when I look at any picture I do now compared to Deliverance, it's miles above what I was doing then.
But when you're doing films that are somewhat similar to each other, as I've been doing, people take it for granted.' He turned down the role played by in (1978) because he felt the part was too small.He also said 'I'd rather direct than act. I'd rather do that than anything. It's the second-best sensation I've ever had.' He added that had offered to produce two films Reynolds would direct without having to act in them.Reynolds tried a change of pace with (1979), a romantic comedy again co-starring Clayburgh and; it was co-written and produced.
He played a jewel thief in (1980) produced by Merrick, who fired and then rehired director during filming.Reynolds had two huge hits with car films directed by Needham, (1980) and (1981). He starred in 's film (1981) and directed himself in a tough action film, (1981).Reynolds wanted to try a musical again and so agreed to do (1982). It was box-office hit, as was (1982) with. In 1982, Reynolds was voted the most popular star in the US for the fifth year in a row.Around this time he reflected:The only thing I really enjoy is this business, and I think my audience knows that.
I've never been able to figure out exactly who that audience is. I know there have been a few pictures even my mother didn't go see, but there's always been an audience for them. I guess it is because they always know that I give it 100 percent, and good or bad, there's going to be quite a lot of me in that picture.
That's what they're looking for. I don't have any pretensions about wanting to be Hamlet.
I would just like to be the best Burt Reynolds around. Career decline offered Reynolds the role of astronaut Garrett Breedlove in (1983) but he turned it down to do (1983), another car chase comedy directed by Needham. The Endearment role went to, who went on to win an. Reynolds said he made this decision because 'I felt I owed Hal more than I owed ' but Stroker Ace flopped. Reynolds felt this was a turning point in his career from which he never recovered. 'That's where I lost them,' he says of his fans.(1983), directed by also flopped. In an interview around this time he said:Getting to the top has turned out to be a hell of a lot more fun than staying there.
I've got crawling up my back. I'm in my late 40s. I realize I have four or five more years where I can play certain kinds of parts and get away with it. That's why I'm leaning more and more toward directing and producing. I don't want to be stumbling around town doing parts a few years from now. I'd like to pick and choose and maybe go work for a perfume factory like Mr., and look wonderful with everybody saying, 'Gee, I wish he hadn't retired.(1984), directed by Needham, brought in some money but only half of the original.
(1984), which teamed Reynolds and Eastwood was mildly popular but was considered a major critical and box office disappointment. He was injured during filming, causing him to lose weight and for rumors to begin that he had AIDS.Reynolds returned to directing with (1985) from an novel but it was both a critical and commercial failure. So too were three other action films he made: (1986), based on a novel, (1987), and (1987) with Liza Minnelli. He later said he did Heat and Malone 'because there were so many rumors about me about AIDS. I had to get out and be seen.' Reynolds attempted a screwball comedy, (1989), but it too was a box office disappointment.
Even more poorly received was (1989), directed. Reynolds received excellent reviews for the caper comedy (1989), but the commercial reception was poor.' When I was doing very well,' he said at the time, 'I wasn't conscious I was doing very well, but I became very conscious when I wasn't doing very well. The atmosphere changed.' Return to TV: BL Stryker and Evening Shade Reynolds returned to TV series with (1989–90).
It ran two seasons, during which time Reynolds played a supporting part in (1990).Reynolds then starred in a sitcom, (1990–94) as Woodward 'Wood' Newton. The program was a considerable success and ran for four seasons and 98 episodes. This role earned him an Emmy Award.During his tenure on Evening Shade, Reynolds was seen in other projects. This started with the a cameo in (1992).In August 23 1993, premiered the, Reynolds was the lead. As early as August 25, the starring first aired. Reynolds, and were among the guests.
On October 15, first aired the television film co-starring, Reynolds starred and directed. Character actor When Evening Shade ended, Reynolds played the lead in a horror film, (1995). However, he gradually moved into being more of a character actor - he had key support roles in (1996), an early work from, and (1996) with. He had to audition for the latter.
The film's producer later said, 'To be honest, we were not enthusiastic at first. There was the hair and his reputation, but we were curious.' Reynolds got the role and earned some strong reviews.Reynolds was a supporting actor in Frankenstein and Me (1996), (1996), (1996), (1997) with, and (1997) with.
He had the lead in (1996), a straight-to-DVD action film. Around this time he claimed he was broke, having gone through $13 million.In 1996, Reynolds' agent said 'Regarding Burt, there's a split between the executives in town who are under 40 and those who are over 40.
The younger executives are more open to Burt because they grew up loving Deliverance. But the older executives remember how crazy he was, and they are less receptive.' Boogie Nights and career revival Reynolds appeared as an adult film director in the hit film (1997), which was considered a comeback role for him; he received 12 acting awards and 3 nominations for the role, including a nomination for the, Reynolds' first and only nomination for the award. Reynolds was offered a role in Boogie Nights writer/director 's subsequent film, (1999), but declined, saying he hated working on Boogie Nights and hated Anderson.He had the lead in (1997) and support roles in (1998) and (1998).Reynolds returned to directing with (1998) an action TV film starring himself. White, James. Retrieved September 6, 2018. ^.
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TV Today: ABC Star Vows to Oust Lord Series Petersen, Clarence. Chicago Tribune August 11, 1970: a15.
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New York Timesc24 July 1980: C.15. ^ Ebert, Roger (March 26, 1972). New York Times. September 7, 2018. April 30, 2012.
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The New Georgia Encyclopedia.Further reading. Anderson, Loni. (1997) My Life in High Heels. Avon Books. Field, Sally (2018). New York City: Grand Central Publishing.
– interview and photographs. August 21, 1972External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to.Wikiquote has quotations related to:. on. at the. at.
The charismatic, mustachioed movie star known for films like Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit and Boogie Nights, died Thursday, according to. He was 82.Reynolds died of cardiac arrest. His niece, Nancy Lee Hess, said that the actor “has had health issues, however, this was totally unexpected.”She continued, “My uncle was not just a movie icon; he was a generous, passionate and sensitive man who was dedicated to his family, friends, fans and acting students Anyone who breaks their tailbone 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 in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the amazing cast that was assembled.”Dolly Parton, who was Reynolds’ co-star in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, shared a statement saying, “Oh how sad I am today along with Burt’s millions of fans around the world as we mourn one of our favorite leading men. I know we will always remember his funny laugh, that mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and his quirky sense of humor. You will always be my favorite sheriff, rest in peace my little buddy and I will always love you.”.
See AlsoReynolds got his start on the Sixties television show Gunsmoke, but it was a run of films in the Seventies and Eighties that transformed him into one of the biggest stars in the world. His breakout film was the critically acclaimed Southern gothic thriller, Deliverance, but Reynolds quickly became best known for blockbuster action flicks and comedies like Smokey and the Bandit, The Longest Yard and The Cannonball Run.Every year between 1978 and 1982, Reynolds was the top-grossing star in Hollywood, a four-year feat that only Bing Crosby had previously achieved. While Reynolds was unable to maintain that level of success during the Eighties and Nineties, he experienced a revival of sorts after Paul Thomas Anderson cast him as a porn director in 1997’s Boogie Nights.
While Reynolds was initially so unhappy with the picture that he fired his agent, the role earned him an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe award.“I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Burt, but the time we did spend together was some of the most rewarding of my career,” Reynolds’ Boogie Nights co-star Don Cheadle said in a statement. “Paul made a little, dysfunctional family on that crazy, great movie and Burt was our surrogate pop. I had no idea how good he was until I saw his work in Boogie Nights. He and Paul got the best out of each other for sure. RIP, Jack Horner.”Reynolds was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1936, but moved around frequently as a child due to his father’s service in the Army.
In high school, Reynolds was an all-state fullback and earned a football scholarship to Florida State University. While he hoped to play in the NFL, a series of injuries ended his athletic career – but they also led Reynolds to Palm Beach Junior College, where he met his acting mentor, Watson B. Duncan III.Reynolds’ first roles as a professional actor were in theater and included several Broadway plays like Look, We’ve Come Through and Mister Roberts. A few scattered television and movie roles followed, though Reynolds continued to hold odd jobs as a dishwasher, delivery boy, bartender and even a dockworker.After moving to Hollywood, Reynolds joined the cast of the longstanding TV Western Gunsmoke, though his other projects during the late Sixties and early Seventies failed to become major hits. Nevertheless, Reynolds’ profile grew, thanks in part to a budding friendship with Johnny Carson and regular appearances on The Tonight Show.
In 1972, Reynolds even became the first non-comedian to fill in for Carson.That year was Reynolds’ breakout. While Deliverance made him a movie star, he solidified his status as a sex symbol when he for the April 1972 issue of Cosmopolitan.
A slew of leading roles followed, including White Lightning, Lucky Lady, Smokey and the Bandit. During this run, Reynolds even tried to launch a music career with a solo album, Ask Me What I Am, while in 1976 he directed his first film, Gator. In 1978, at the peak of his powers, Reynolds had four movies playing in theaters at the same time. Action movies comprised the bulk of Reynolds’ work – he often did his own stunts – but he also starred in an array of romantic comedies alongside superstar actresses like Candice Bergen ( Starting Over), Goldie Hawn ( Best Friends) and Dolly Parton ( The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas). But perhaps one of the strangest hallmarks of Reynolds’ career is the roles he didn’t take: Reynolds famously turned down opportunities to play James Bond and Han Solo, while he also forfeited the role in James L.
Brooks’ Terms of Endearment that won Jack Nicholson an Oscar.Reynolds’ star fizzled in the Eighties with flops like Stroker Ace and Rent-a-Cop, and by the Nineties he’d run into financial trouble and was forced to declare bankruptcy. But Reynolds never stopped working and the acclaim he garnered with Boogie Nights seemed prime him for a classic Hollywood comeback. But Reynolds was neither happy with the film, nor his experience working with Paul Thomas Anderson.
He turned down the director’s next movie, Magnolia, and continued to pick the roles he wanted: Action movies, comedies and thrillers.A noted how Reynolds’ action movie heroics and schlock-filled resume often obscured his genuine skill as an actor (late in life, Reynolds even shared his knowledge and love of the craft as an acting teacher in Florida). But in 2017, Reynolds again reminded moviegoers and critics what he was capable of when he starred in Adam Rifkin’s The Last Movie Star.
Reynolds essentially played himself in the film – a washed-up box office hero with an IMDB page filled with bad decisions and a body ravaged by too many stunts.In an interview with about the film, Reynolds noted that the role had required a certain amount of gravity, but also a sense of humor. “I think you have to be a little bit of a rascal, because people would be disappointed if I didn’t do that,” he said. “We’re only here for a little while, and you’ve got to have some fun, right?
I don’t take myself seriously, and I think the ones that do, there’s some sickness with people like that. That’s why I live in Florida.”.
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