He experienced some health issues later in his life. He earned his only career Oscar nomination playing a porn director - a role he despised - in director Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights" (1997), starring Mark Wahlberg. He continued to appear in films in lesser but sometimes noteworthy roles. Reynolds turned to television and had a successful run on the situation comedy "Evening Shade," co-starring Marilu Henner and Charles Durning. His film career stalled in the mid-1980s with several misfires and he was never again a leading movie star. Reynolds starred in romantic comedies as well, including "Starting Over" (1979) with Jill Clayburgh and Candice Bergen, and in the musical comedy "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (1982) with Dolly Parton. In 1972, the same year "Deliverance" was released, he showed versatility by also starring in Woody Allen's comedy "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask." n5nL4D040v Dolly Parton September 6, 2018 Reynolds often was cast in Westerns, including the popular "Gunsmoke" television series in the 1960s. He moved to New York and landed minor stage and TV roles before making his film debut in 1961. He began acting after enrolling in a junior college. He was a fine athlete and played football at Florida State University in the 1950s before his professional football hopes were dashed by injuries suffered in a car crash. "I took the part that was the most fun - 'Oh, this will be fun.' I didn't take the part that would be the most challenging," he told television interviewer Piers Morgan in 2012.Īsked to come up with his own epitaph, Reynolds said, "He lived a hell of a life, and did his best - his very best - not to hurt anybody."īurton Leon Reynolds Jr. Reynolds said in 2012 that he regretted some of his film choices. Reynolds turned down notable roles including Han Solo in "Star Wars," which went to Harrison Ford the title role in a James Bond film and the astronaut in "Terms of Endearment" that Jack Nicholson turned into an Oscar-winning performance. He also starred in the notorious 1975 musical flop "At Long Last Love," a film so atrocious that director Peter Bogdanovich publicly apologized for making it. While some of his performances were critically praised, others were ridiculed, particularly in the bloated action comedy "Cannonball Run II," a sequel to his financial success "The Cannonball Run" (1981). Reynolds also directed several movies in which he starred, including "Gator" (1976), "The End" (1978), "Sharky's Machine" (1981) and "Stick" (1985). He also had a great sense of humor - check out his Tonight Show clips. He showed the way to transition from being an athlete to being the highest paid actor, and he always inspired me. He appeared in a supporting role in its 2005 remake with Adam Sandler.īurt Reynolds was one of my heroes. He often played a lovable rascal who outwits local authorities as in director Hal Needham's 1977 crowd-pleasing action comedy "Smokey and the Bandit," co-starring his girlfriend Field and Jackie Gleason, and its two sequels.Īnother of his better roles was that of a former pro quarterback who lands in prison and assembles a team of convicts to play the warden's squad of brutal prison guards in 1974's rollicking "The Longest Yard," directed by Robert Aldrich. He was the top money-making star at the box office in an annual poll of movie exhibitors 1978 through 1982. He starred in dozens of films, also including "White Lightning" (1973), "W.W. He played tough-guy Lewis Medlock - opposite Jon Voight, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox - in the chilling tale of a canoe trip gone bad in rural Georgia. Reynolds cited director John Boorman's Oscar-nominated 1972 "Deliverance" as his best film and said he regretted that the hoopla from his Cosmopolitan appearance detracted from the movie that made him a star. Reynolds also generated attention for financial woes and his struggles with prescription pain medication. Reynolds' personal life sometimes overshadowed his movies, with marriages that ended in divorce to actresses Loni Anderson and Judy Carne and romances with others, including Sally Field and Dinah Shore. #BurtReynolds /HnmCCTv1d1 Mark Wahlberg September 6, 2018
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |