RIP Burt Reynolds

Burt Reynolds may not have won an Academy Award, but he got nominated for one – and for a number of years, every man wanted to be him – and every woman wanted to be WITH him. And sadly, we’ve all lost him as Reynolds passed away yesterday at a Florida hospital. He was 82. The cause of death? Cardiopulmonary arrest.

Before jumping to the silver screen, Reynolds was a fixture on several popular TV shows, including “Gunsmoke,” “Route 66,” “Perry Mason” and “The Twilight Zone.” But when the 70’s rolled around, Reynolds was thenumber one star in America for a quite some time. And that was credited to his role in the movie, “Deliverance.”

While he starred in a number of hit films over his five decade career – including “The Longest Yard,” the “Cannonball Run” series, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” “Stroker Ace,” “City Heat,” and “Striptease” – he will forever be known Bo ‘Bandit’ Darville – from 1977’s “Smokey and the Bandit” and its sequels. But it was his role in 1997’s “Boogie Nights” that garnered him a Golden Globe awards as well as an Oscar nomination.

Beyond his screen work – Reynolds was the consummate sex symbol. That was due in large part to his nude “Cosmopolitan” centerfold in 1972. And while his developed a reputation as quite a ladies’ man – there were at least three women who truly touched his heart. British actress Judy Carne (to whom he was married from 1963 to 66), “Bandit” co-star Sally Field (they were together from 1977 to 1982) and actress Loni Anderson (they were married from 1988 to 1993).


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