![]() Reynolds got noticed with Gunsmoke, however. Alone in Los Angeles, he told Jenkins, "I'd drive down to the Skid Row section, walk into a bar, wait for the inevitable crack, belt the guy in the teeth, and go home feeling much better." That frustration was apparent in an interview with Dan Jenkins as Reynolds was settling in for a stint as blacksmith Quint Asper on the CBS western Gunsmoke between 19. He seemed destined to be a working actor: a sidekick, but hardly a star. He left that job after a year with some bitterness and spent the next few years taking guest shots on TV series no one remembers now. He picked up small parts on television and in 1959 earned a regular role on the short-lived NBC series Riverboat. He appeared on the Broadway stage in Look, We've Come Through, which ran for a total of five performances. Soon after that he moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. But an injury ended his football career, and while attending Palm Beach Junior College he tried out for a theatrical play and found a new passion. Finally settled in Riviera Beach, Florida, he established himself as a gifted athlete at Palm Beach High School and attended Florida State University on a football scholarship. He leaves behind his adopted son, Quinton, and a couple generations of boys who wanted to sort of grow up and show off in a black Pontiac Trans Am like he did.īorn Burton Leon Reynolds, Jr., on February 11, 1936, in Lansing, Michigan, he moved with his family as they followed his father's military career. Reynolds passed away September 6 at the age of 82 in Florida, his manager told The Hollywood Reporter. ![]() ![]() A guy who loved to drive fast and show off was a character that became indistinguishable from Reynolds himself. Over the previous few years in movies such as White Lightning, Gator, and The Longest Yard, he had defined a character audiences loved: the cocky Southerner with a big heart, a devilish charisma, and the good sense never to take himself too seriously. Smokey and the Bandit had been the second-highest-grossing film of 1977-bettered only by Star Wars-and Reynolds reportedly got 20 percent of the gross. "I've had some real turkeys."Īt that moment, Burt Reynolds was as big a star as anyone has ever been. "I think I'm the only movie star who's a movie star in spite of his pictures, not because of them," Burt Reynolds told the New York Times in early 1978.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |