Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. was born on Feb. 11, 1936 in Waycross,
Georgia. He attended
Florida State University with a football scholarship, though he suffered a knee injury and injuries in a bad
car wreck, which forced him out of the sport. His interests switched to drama and in 1955 he dropped out of college to go to New York. For several years he supported himself as a
dishwasher and a
bouncer, only occasionally getting bit parts in television.
In 1957 Reynolds appeared in a performance of “Mister Roberts,” which led to him signing a television contract. He began to receive regular roles on shows such as “Riverboat,” “Gunsmoke,” and “Hawk.” Reynolds also appeared in a number of forgettable films during the 1960s, and he married actress Judi Carne in 1963, and they divorced two years later. His popularity began to rise in the 1970s, partly due to witty appearances on talk shows. In 1972 he starred in “Deliverance,” which established him as a star and reputable big screen actor. During that same time, Reynolds became the first nude male centerfold in an edition of Cosmopolitan, boosting his status as a sex symbol. The films that followed also proved to be big hits for Reynolds, including “Smokey and the Bandit” in 1977 and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” in 1982. During this time Reynolds was romantically linked to several women, including Sally Field, Dinah Shore and Chris Evert.
During the mid 1980s Reynold’s popularity in movies decreased, but he continued to do Emmy-award winning work on the television sitcom “Evening Shade.” He married Loni Anderson in 1988, though after a long, well-publicized break-up, the couple divorced in 1993. He returned to the screen in 1996 as a perverse congressman in “Striptease,” and although the film was a flop, Reynolds received good reviews for his performance. His next project proved a terrific success- starring as a porn director in the excellent and critically-acclaimed film “Boogie Nights.” He garnered a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for the role, and continued his career afterwards by starring in “Mystery, Alaska” and “Pups” in 1999. His last movie was "Driven" in 2001
Other films starring Burt Reynolds include:
"Angel Baby"
"Armored Command"
"Operation C.I.A."
"Fade-In"
"Iron Cowboy"
"Shark!"
"Skullduggery"
"Dan August"
"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex"
"Fuzz"
"White Lightning"
"The Longest Yard"
"Hustle"
"Smokey and the Bandit"
"The End"
"Starting Over"
"Rough Cut"
"Smokey and the Bandit II"
"The Cannonball Run"
"Smokey and the Bandit III"
"Stroker Ace"
"Hooper"
"Cannonball Run II"
"Heat"
"Malone"
"The Player"
"Cop and a Half"
"Citizen Ruth"
"The Hunter's Moon"
"Sharky's Machine"
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