Burt Reynolds was an American actor known for his roles in television and film.
He began his career in the 1960s with guest appearances on TV shows and series such as Gunsmoke and Hawk.
Reynolds gained popularity in the 1970s with films like Deliverance and Smokey and the Bandit, which cemented his status as a sex symbol and action hero.
He continued to appear in films and TV shows throughout his career, including Boogie Nights and Evening Shade, for which he won an Emmy Award.
Reynolds died on September 6, 2018, at the age of 82.
Siblings
Burt had a brother named James Hooks Reynolds.
James was left out of a private memorial service held by Reynolds’ ex-wife Loni Anderson, son Quinton, and niece Nancy Lee Brown Hess.
This decision was reportedly made by Anderson, who had a difficult relationship with Reynolds and claimed he physically abused her during their marriage.
James was said to be deeply hurt by the decision not to invite him to the service, as he was close to Reynolds and knew many of his secrets.
Reynolds had a sister named Nancy Brown, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 81 due to Alzheimer’s disease.
Nancy was a quiet and strong person, similar to Reynolds’ mother, and he took her death very hard.
Career
Reynolds began his acting career in the late 1950s with guest appearances on TV shows like Gunsmoke, Riverboat, and Hawk.
His breakthrough role came in the 1972 film Deliverance, which established him as a major movie star.
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Reynolds was one of Hollywood’s biggest box office draws, starring in hit films like The Longest Yard, Smokey and the Bandit, The Cannonball Run and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
He became known as a sex symbol after posing nude for Cosmopolitan magazine in 1972.
By the mid-1980s, Reynolds’ film career started to decline, but he found success on television with the sitcom Evening Shade, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1991.
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He made a comeback in the late 1990s with acclaimed performances in films like Boogie Nights, for which he received an Oscar nomination and Striptease.
Reynolds continued to act in both film and television throughout the 2000s and 2010s.
Awards and accolades
Reynolds received a number of prestigious awards and accolades over the course of his long and successful career.
In 1991, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in the sitcom Evening Shade. He received another Emmy nomination in the same category the following year.
Reynolds also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his acclaimed performance in the 1997 film Boogie Nights.
That role also earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, though he ultimately did not win the Oscar.
Earlier in his career, Reynolds received the Florida Drama Award in 1958 for his performance in the play Outward Bound.
This was an early recognition of his acting talents, which would only continue to grow over the decades.
While Reynolds was better known as a popular movie star and sex symbol in the 1970s and 80s, starring in hits like Deliverance, The Longest Yard and Smokey and the Bandit, his performance in Boogie Nights in the late 1990s helped revive critical acclaim for his acting abilities in his later years.
Personal life
Reynolds married his first wife, Judy Carne, in 1963. The couple divorced in 1965 after two years of marriage.
He then married Loni Anderson, an actress, in 1988. The couple had a son, Quinton Anderson Reynolds, born in 1988. However, they divorced in 1993 after five years of marriage.
Reynolds had a close relationship with his son Quinton, who was born during his marriage to Loni Anderson.
Despite the couple’s divorce, Reynolds remained involved in his son’s life and was known to be a devoted father.
Quinton has followed in his father’s footsteps, working in the entertainment industry as a producer and actor.
Reynolds’ personal life was marked by several high-profile relationships, including a long-term romance with actress Sally Field from 1976 to 1980.
He was also known for his close friendships with other celebrities, such as Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson.