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Burt Reynolds, the American actor, director and producer whose breakout film role came in Deliverance (1972), died in Jupiter, Florida, on September 6, 2018. He was 82. His career spanned television, blockbuster action-comedies and a late-career Academy Award nomination for Boogie Nights.
How Burt Reynolds became a movie star
Reynolds had worked in television before his breakthrough on the big screen. The Television Academy identifies his portrayal of Lewis Medlock in John Boorman’s Deliverance (1972) as his breakout film role. The film established him as a major screen presence, but it was only the beginning of a career that moved across genres and behind the camera.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, Reynolds became especially popular in action-comedies and crowd-pleasing films. The Longest Yard and Smokey and the Bandit are central examples of that period; later hits included Cannonball Run. His image as a charismatic leading man became closely associated with this run of films.
His work extended beyond acting
Reynolds also directed. His directing credits included Gator (1976), The End (1978) and Sharky’s Machine (1981), showing another side of a career often remembered primarily for his screen performances.
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#1 Best Overall
- Screen icon Burt Reynolds (Hustle, Stick) returns as Gator McKlusky, the moonshine-running king of the Bayou, in this high-octane sequel to the smash hit, White Lightning
After career setbacks, he earned renewed critical recognition for his performance as Jack Horner in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights (1997). The role brought Reynolds an Academy Award nomination for supporting actor, a notable late-career milestone.
When Burt Reynolds died and what was reported about the cause
Reynolds died on September 6, 2018, in Jupiter, Florida, at age 82. Early reports said the cause had not been released. A later update to the Los Angeles Times obituary attributed the cause to cardiopulmonary arrest, citing his agent; that detail was not present in all initial coverage.
Rank #2
- Burt Reynolds Collection ( Sharky's Machine / Stick / Malone )
- Burt Reynolds Collection
- Sharky's Machine / Stick / Malone
Why his career is remembered
Reynolds’s legacy rests on more than a single era or role: his breakthrough in Deliverance, his enormous popularity in films such as Smokey and the Bandit and The Longest Yard, his work as a director, and the late recognition of Boogie Nights together mark a career that changed course more than once.
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Best Value
- An aging former movie star is forced to face the reality that his glory days are behind him. On its surface, the film is a tale about faded fame. At its core, it's a universal story about growing old.
Rank #4
- Five film series featuring Lieutenant Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) - a bad-tempered, right-wing San Francisco policeman, not averse to bending the rules to get his man.
Rank #3
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