Biography

Charming, handsome and easy-going, lead actor and former mega-star Burt Reynolds originally hailed from Waycross, Georgia, where he was born on February 11, 1936. He attended Florida State University on a football scholarship, becoming an all-star Southern conference halfback, but after a knee injury and a debilitating car accident switched from athletics to college drama. In 1955 he dropped out of college and went to New York, looking for work onstage; all he got were occasional TV bit parts, and for two years he had to support himself as a dishwasher and bouncer.

In 1957, Reynolds' luck began to change when he appeared in a New York City Center revival of Mister Roberts, and shortly thereafter was signed to a TV contract. He went on to regular roles on the TV series Riverboat, Gunsmoke, Hawk, and Dan August. Although he appeared in numerous films in the 1960s, he failed to make much of an impression. In the early '70s his popularity began to increase, in part due to his witty appearances on TV talk shows. His breakthrough film was Deliverance (1972), which established him as both a star and a serious actor. That same year, he became a major sex symbol when he was featured as the first nude male centerfold in the April edition of Cosmopolitan. He went on to become the biggest box-office attraction in America for several years, starring in films like Hustle (1975), Smokey and the Bandit (1977) (as well as its two sequels), Starting Over (1979), and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). However, by the mid '80s his heyday was over, and he ceased to be a successful film star. Switching to TV, he starred in the popular sitcom Evening Shade, for which he won an Emmy. He also directed several films, and in 1979 he established the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theater in Florida.
In the mid-1990s, Reynolds began to make a comeback that began with his role as a drunken, right-wing congressman in Striptease (1996). Although the film itself was a critical and commercial turkey, the actor won raves for his performance, with many critics noting that he was one of the few positive aspects of the film. His luck continued the following year, when Paul Thomas Anderson cast him as a porn director in his acclaimed Boogie Nights. Reynolds won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, as well as the general opinion that he was back on track. Following a turn in the successful comedy Bean that same year, he went on to star in Mystery, Alaska and the independent drama Pups in 1999.
Reynolds has also gained fame--and infamy--for his off-screen life. From 1963 to 1966 he was married to actress Judy Carne, and has been romantically linked with actresses Dinah Shore and Sally Field and tennis star Chris Evert. He was married from 1988 to 1993 to actress Loni Anderson; their marriage ended in one of the most widely publicized acrimonious divorces in Hollywood history. ~ All Movie Guide

Filmography

Miss Lettie and Me (2002) (TV) .... Samuel Madison
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) (VG)(voice) .... Avery Carrington
... aka GTA4 (2002) (VG) (USA: abbreviated title)
Auf Herz und Nieren (2002) .... Banko
"Johnson County War" (2002) (mini) TV Series .... Marshal Hunt Lawton
Most Outrageous Game Show Moments, The (2002) (TV)(archive footage) .... Himself
Time of the Wolf (2002) .... Archie MacGregor
Snapshots (2002) .... Larry Goldberg
Hollywood Sign, The (2001) .... Kage Mulligan
... aka Himmel von Hollywood, Der (2001) (Germany)
Hotel (2001) .... Flamenco Manager
Tempted (2001) .... Charlie Le Blanc
Driven (2001) .... Carl Henry
"Founding Fathers" (2000) (mini) TV Series(voice) .... Patrick Henry
Last Producer, The (2000) .... Sonny Wexler
... aka Final Hit, The (2002) (USA: video title)
Crew, The (2000) .... Joey 'Bats' Pistella
Big City Blues (1999/I) .... Connor
Hunter's Moon, The (1999) .... Clayton Samuels
Waterproof (1999) .... Eli Zeal
Hard Time: Hostage Hotel (1999) (TV) .... Det. Logan McQueen
... aka Hostage Hotel (1999) (TV) (USA)
Mystery, Alaska (1999) .... Judge Walter Burns
Stringer (1999) .... Wolko
Pups (1999) .... Daniel Bender
Hard Time: The Premonition (1999) (TV) .... Det. Logan McQueen
... aka Premonition, The (1999) (TV) (USA)
Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business (1998) (TV) .... Mentor/GR88
Hard Time (1998) (TV) .... Det. Logan McQueen
Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms (1998) (TV) .... Mentor/CIA Director
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (1998) (TV) .... Himself
Crazy Six (1998) .... Dakota
Boogie Nights (1997) .... Jack Horner
Story of Bean, The (1997) (TV) .... Himself
Bean (1997) .... General Newton
... aka Bean: The Movie (1997) (USA: video box title)
... aka Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie (1997) (Hong Kong: English title)
Raven (1997) .... Jerome Katz,a.k.a. Raven
Meet Wally Sparks (1997) .... Lenny Spencer
Frankenstein and Me (1996) .... Les Williams
... aka Frankenstein et moi (1996) (Canada: French title)
"Ruby Wax Meets" (1996) TV Series .... Himself
Cherokee Kid, The (1996) (TV) .... Otter Bob the Mountain Man
Mad Dog Time (1996) .... 'Wacky' Jacky Jackson
... aka Trigger Happy (1996) (video title)
Striptease (1996) .... Congressman David Dilbeck
Citizen Ruth (1996) .... Blaine Gibbons
... aka Meet Ruth Stoops (1996)
"Great Battles of the Civil War, The" (1995) (mini) TV Series(voice) .... T. Jackson
Maddening, The (1995) .... Roy Scudder
Century of Cinema, A (1994) .... Himself
Wrestlemania X (1994) (V) .... Himself
Man from Left Field, The (1993) (TV) .... Jack Robinson
Wind in the Wire (1993) (TV)
Cop & 1/2 (1993) .... Nick McKenna
... aka Cop and a Half (1993)
Player, The (1992) .... Himself
Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show 2, The (1991) (TV) .... Host
Party for Richard Pryor, A (1991) (TV) .... Himself
Modern Love (1990) .... Colonel Frank Parker
"Evening Shade" (1990) TV Series .... Wood Newton
B.L. Stryker: Grand Theft Auto (1989) (TV) .... B.L. Stryker
B.L. Stryker: The Dancer's Touch (1989) (TV) .... B.L. Stryker
All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)(voice) .... Charlie B. Barkin
Breaking In (1989) .... Erine Mullins
"B.L. Stryker" (1989) TV Series .... B.L. Stryker
Physical Evidence (1989) .... Joe Paris
Walt Disney World 4th of July Spectacular (1988) (TV) .... Himself
Switching Channels (1988) .... John L. Sullivan IV
Rent-a-Cop (1988) .... Church
Ultimate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson, The (1987) (TV) .... Himself
"Out of This World" (1987) TV Series(voice) .... Troy Garland of Anterias
Malone (1987) .... Richard Malone
Heat (1987) .... Nick Scaliente, a.k.a. Mex
Uphill All the Way (1986)(uncredited)
Sherman's March (1986) .... Himself
Southern Voices, American Dreams (1985) .... Himself
Stick (1985) .... Ernest Stickley,a.k.a. Stick
City Heat (1984) .... Mike Murphy
Cannonball Run II (1984) .... J.J. McClure
Smokey and the Bandit III (1983) .... The Real Bandit
Man Who Loved Women, The (1983) .... David Fowler
Stroker Ace (1983) .... Stroker Ace
Best Friends (1982) .... Richard Babson
Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, The (1982) .... Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd, Lanville Co. Texas
... aka Best Little Cathouse in Texas, The (1982) (Canada: bowdlerized title English title)
Sharky's Machine (1981) .... Sharky
Paternity (1981) .... Buddy Evans
Cannonball Run, The (1981) .... J.J. McClure
Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) .... Bandit
... aka Smokey and the Bandit Ride Again (1980) (UK)
Rough Cut (1980) .... Jack Rhodes
... aka Roughcut (1980)
"Orson Welles Show, The" (1979) TV Series
Starting Over (1979) .... Phil Potter
Superstunt (1978) (TV)
Semi-Tough (1978) .... Billy Clyde Puckett/BC, Miami Team Captain, Running Back #22
Hooper (1978) .... Sonny Hooper
End, The (1978) .... Wendell Sonny Lawson
Smokey and the Bandit (1977) .... Bandit (Bo Darville)
Nickelodeon (1976) .... Buck Greenway
Gator (1976) .... Gator McKlusky
Silent Movie (1976) .... Himself
Lucky Lady (1975) .... Walker
Hustle (1975) .... Lieutenant Phil Gaines
W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975) .... W.W. Bright
At Long Last Love (1975) .... Michael Oliver Pritchard III
Longest Yard, The (1974) .... Paul Crewe
... aka Mean Machine, The (1974) (UK)
Man Who Loved Cat Dancing, The (1973) .... Jay
White Lightning (1973) .... Gator McKlusky
... aka McKlusky (1973)
Shamus (1973) .... Shamus McCoy
... aka Passion for Danger (1973)
Fuzz (1972) .... Steve Carella
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (1972) .... Sperm Switchboard Chief
... aka Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)
Deliverance (1972) .... Lewis Medlock
"Dan August" (1970) TV Series .... Detective Lieutenant Dan August (1970-1971)
Double Jeopardy (1970) (TV) .... Detective Lieutenant Dan August
... aka Dan August: Once Is Not Enough (1970) (TV)
Impasse (1970) .... Pat Morrison
Run, Simon, Run (1970) (TV) .... Simon Zuniga
... aka Savage Run (1970) (TV)
... aka Tradition of Simon Zuniga, The (1970) (TV)
Hunters Are for Killing (1970) (TV) .... L.G. Floran
... aka Hard Frame (1970) (TV)
Skullduggery (1970) .... Douglas Temple
Shark! (1969) .... Caine
... aka Arma de dos filos, Un (1969) (Mexico)
... aka Maneater (1969)
Sam Whiskey (1969) .... Sam Whiskey
100 Rifles (1969) .... Yaqui Joe Herrera
Fade-In (1968) (TV)
... aka Iron Cowboy (1968) (TV)
Blade Rider, Revenge of the Indian Nations (1966) .... Red Hand
Navajo Joe (1966) .... Joe
... aka Dollar a Head, A (1966) (USA)
... aka Joe, el implacable (1966) (Spain)
... aka Savage Run (1966) (USA)
"Hawk" (1966) TV Series .... Detective Lt. John Hawk
Operation C.I.A. (1965) .... Mark Andrews
... aka Last Message from Saigon (1965)
"Gunsmoke" (1955) TV Series .... Quint Asper, blacksmith (1962-65)
... aka "Gun Law" (1955) (UK)
... aka "Marshal Dillon" (1955) (USA)
Armored Command (1961) .... Skee
Angel Baby (1961) .... Hoke Adams
"Riverboat" (1959) TV Series .... Ben Frazer (1959-60)