Burt Reynolds, whose acting career spanned 60 years with hits in film and television, has died at the age of 82.
Per TMZ, Reynolds’ death was the result of a heart attack. He passed away in a Florida hospital surrounded by his family.
Before Reynolds became one of Hollywood’s most successful leading male actors in the 1970s, he broke through on television as Quint in Gunsmoke from 1962-65, as well starring roles on Hawk and Dan August.
Reynolds’ first major success in film was in 1972’s Deliverance alongside Jon Voight and Ned Beatty, which was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Other box office hits for Reynolds in the 1970s included 1974’s The Longest Yard, 1977’s Smokey and the Bandit and Semi-Tough and 1978’s Hooper. Reynolds also scored two big hits in the early 1980s with 1981’s The Cannonball Run and 1982’s The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
Reynolds’ film career slowed for most of the 1980s, but he would make a triumphant return to television as Wood Newton in Evening Shade, which lasted for four seasons and netted Reynolds an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 1991 and a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical in 1992.
Reynolds’ biggest success later in his career came from his turn as Jack Horner in 1997’s Boogie Nights, which earned him a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Throughout the final two decades of his career, Reynolds would net a number of guest TV appearances and various film roles, including 1999’s Mystery, Alaska and the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard starring Adam Sandler.
We will update this story as it develops.
Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock blogger that loves the smell of old vinyl in the morning.