Burt Reynolds
(born February 11, 1936,
Lansing
, Michigan, U.S.?died September 6, 2018, Jupiter, Florida) was an American television and
film
actor who projected a relaxed masculinity that, combined with his wry self-deprecating humour, made him a top box-office draw from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. Reynolds moved from a series of generally dramatic roles to parts that showcased his comic talents in a career that brought him more fan popularity than critical
accolades
.
Reynolds spent his early childhood in
Missouri
and
Michigan
during his father’s
military service
, but from the mid-1940s his family lived in Riviera Beach,
Florida
. Reynolds played
football
in
high school
and attended
Florida State University
on a football scholarship. However, an injury in a car accident in 1955 kept him from returning to the university for nearly two years, during which time he took classes at Palm Beach Junior College. His studies there included an
acting
class, and he won a
drama
award that included a scholarship to the Hyde Park Playhouse in
Hyde Park
,
New York
. After appearing in a few plays in New York and taking more acting classes, Reynolds moved to
Hollywood
to try to break into the movies.
Reynolds’s career began in
earnest
in 1958 with guest appearances on TV shows, including
Flight
,
Schlitz Playhouse
, and
Pony Express
, and he was cast in the series
Riverboat
, starring with Darren McGavin, in 20 episodes from 1959 to 1960. He briefly appeared on
Broadway
in 1961 in
Look, We’ve Come Through
but otherwise continued in guest roles on such shows as
Naked City
,
Route 66
,
Perry Mason
, and
The Twilight Zone
. His first break came when he was cast as the half-
Comanche
blacksmith
Quint Asper on the popular long-running series
Gunsmoke
in 1962?65.
Reynolds did make some film appearances early in his career, beginning with
Angel Baby
and
Armored Command
(both 1961), but after
Gunsmoke
he was cast in leading parts in such movies as
Operation C.I.A.
(1965) and
Navajo Joe
(1966). Also, in 1966, he starred in the short-lived TV series
Hawk
. Other movies included
100 Rifles
and
Shark
(both 1969). In the early 1970s, however, Reynolds began appearing on various talk shows, and his charm and
wit
made him a sought-after guest and raised his profile, as did his much-publicized romance with singer and host
Dinah Shore
. In addition, he was cast in the title role in the police drama series
Dan August
(1970?71).
In 1972 Reynolds starred with
Jon Voight
, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox in the hit movie
Deliverance
, his breakthrough role. However, a spread in the magazine
Cosmopolitan
that same year arguably brought him even greater fame.
Helen Gurley Brown
, the magazine’s publisher, was seeking a man willing to pose nude to demonstrate that women were as interested in looking at men as men were in looking at the women in
Playboy
magazine, and Reynolds agreed to pose. The resultant photo was a lasting sensation.
Reynolds appeared in numerous mostly popular movies over the next decade, including
Shamus
,
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
, and
White Lightning
(all 1973), the football movies
The Longest Yard
(1974) and
Semi-Tough
(1977), and the comedy
W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings
(1975). Reynolds’s portrayal of a Southern truck
driver
in the comic romp
Smokey and the Bandit
(1977) made the movie such a hit that two sequels (
1980
and 1983) followed. Other films included
The Cannonball Run
and
Sharky’s Machine
, which he also directed (both 1981),
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
(1982), and
Stroker Ace
(1983).
Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.
Subscribe Now
Reynolds continued to work steadily, but by the mid-1980s his movies were no longer big hits. He was known for doing his own stunts, and he suffered a shattered jaw while filming a fight scene in
City Heat
(1984). He later returned to television with the title role in the detective series
B.L. Stryker
(1989?90). His performance as a retired football player who coaches a small-town high-school football team in
Evening Shade
(1990?94) earned him a 1991
Emmy Award
for best actor and another
nomination
the following year. He continued appearing on TV and in films, including a role as a congressman in
Striptease
(1996). Reynolds was nominated for an
Academy Award
for best supporting actor for his portrayal of a director of pornographic movies in
Boogie Nights
(1997).
Reynolds continued appearing regularly in movies and TV shows through 2017. He was cast in
Quentin Tarantino
’s
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
(2019) but died before his scenes were shot. His final role, characteristic of his later movies, was a small part, in the boxing movie
Shadow Fighter
(2017).