R.I.P. Burt Reynolds

[Daikun]

Burt Reynolds, Movie Star Who Played It for Grins, Dies at 82

Burt Reynolds, the charismatic star of such films as Deliverance, The Longest Yard and Smokey and the Bandit who set out to have as much fun as possible on and off the screen — and wildly succeeded — has died. He was 82.

 

[Steve Arino]

Burt Reynolds, best known for hit films such as "Smokey and the Bandit," "Gator" and "The Longest Yard," among several other '70s and early '80s multiplex films, has died today at age 83.

Reynolds, who'd been suffering from Health Problems for several years, went into Cardiac Arrest at a local Hospital in Jupiter, Florida where he died of a Massive Heart Attack; though sudden, the end of Burt Reynolds' life was not entirely unexpected.

Born on February 11, 1935 in Lansing, Michigan (verified by his "E! True Hollywood Story" and the 1987 pilot of Peter Tomarken's "Wipeout" where Burt's then-current age was revealed to be 52), Burton Leon Reynolds, Jr. grew up in Jupiter, Florida, the son of Burt Reynolds, Sr., who after retiring from the Army in 1936 moved his wife and then 1-year-old Buddy (as Burt's family called him in his youth) to Jupiter, Florida; as a young teenager living in nearby Riviera Beach, Florida, Buddy befriended an orphaned classmate, Jimmy, to whom he convinced his parents to legally adopt him as Buddy's younger brother.

In 1962, at age 27, Burt found his initial fame as Quint Asper for 3 years on CBS's "Gunsmoke," then followed that success with a slew of short-lived flops e.g. "Hawk" and "Dan August" before finding his greatest success as a Box Office Multiplex star with hit after hit after hit, from "Gator" to "The Longest Yard," "Smokey and the Bandit" to "Switching Channels."

He failed twice at marriage--first to Judy Carne in the early 1960s and later to Loni Anderson, whose marriage to Burt ended in divorce in 1993, and who along with their son Quinton, survives him.

As half of Burt & Bert, Burt Reynolds co-created with the late Bert Convy the late '80s game show "Win, Lose or Draw," which had 2 teams each composing of 2 Celebrity Guests and an Ordinary Contestant per show competing in a game where the object was to guess words, names & phrases by drawing--a show that spun off into Disney Channel's Saturday-morning game show "Teen Win, Lose or Draw."

Both the original and Teen "Win, Lose or Draw" versions ceased production in 1990, with Burt & Bert leaving the original in 1989 and having veteran producer Richard Kline (NOT to be confused with the actor from TV's "Three's Company") take over as showrunner, with disastrous results.

He followed "Win, Lose or Draw" with the early '90s sitcom "Evening Shade," which Burt himself solely created, basing the sitcom on a fictionalized version of his real life as a star football player at Florida State University in Tallahassee--only for his football aspirations to be cut tragically short, causing him to become an actor instead.

He also hired "Designing Women" creator Linda Bloodworth to write a Pilot Script for "Evening Shade" and helped him pitch the series to MTM Enterprises, Inc., which greenlit the series, with CBS airing the series from 1990-1994, spanning 4 seasons of 98 episodes til its abrupt cancellation.

After the cancellation of "Evening Shade," Burt made a few more comeback films such as "Boogie Nights" and the upcoming "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."

Despite his troubles, physically and otherwise, Burt Reynolds will always be remembered for the many roles and films and TV series he made as a successful actor, and for that, may he RIP.

02/11/1935 - 09/06/2018

 

[Elijah Abrams]

Here's a fitting song from "All Dogs Go To Heaven" to pay tribute to Reynolds, since he voiced Charlie, the main character, in the film.

 

[Fone Bone]

Damn. He always looked younger than he was.

 

[PapaGreg]

Damn. He always looked younger than he was.

I know right I knew he was old but I wouldnt guess 82

Sent from my SM-J727T using Tapatalk

 

[Fone Bone]

I know right I knew he was old but I wouldnt guess 82

Sent from my SM-J727T using Tapatalk

I would have guessed 73 even if the math of his film career wouldn't add up. That's how old he looked to me the last time I saw him.

 

[jaylop97]

He might have not looked 82, he certainly did have the limitations of a 82 year old, just saw a recent interview he had in April and he didn't have too much energy, he was huddled and didn't have too much energy to stay standing.