A TRIBUTE TO BURT REYNOLDS 1936-2018

We pay tribute as we hear of the passing of silver-screen icon, Burt Reynolds.

As most of you would know, Burton Leon Reynolds started his career in TV westerns such as recurring roles in shows such as Gunsmoke and his own series hawk way back in the 1960s.

Since then, Reynolds appeared in more western roles, often playing a character of half Native American descent. Only in 1972 was he recognised as a popular TV star when he started playing the role of 'Macho Lewis Medlock' in the John Boorman backwoods nightmare Deliverance. After that Reynolds popularity continued to soar and, in the late 1970's ex-stuntman and longtime buddy of Reynolds, Hal Needham, came to him with a 'road film' script. Ths script eventually became the incredibly popular movie, Smokey and the Bandit, which took in over $100 million at the box office in 1977. The film's success lead to Smokey and the Bandit 2 in 1980 and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 in 1983.

After a brief period of unpopular films, he once again turned to television shows and won an Emmy for his role in Evening Shade, around this time Burt and his wife actress Loni Anderson adopted a son, Quinton Anderson Reynolds.

His 2000's appearances were as memorable, he voiced Avery Carrington in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which was released in 2002, he also had supporting parts in Without a Paddle in 2004 and two other high profile films, the remake of The Longest Yard and the Dukes of Hazzard, both in 2005. Burt's last appearance was in a movie called The Last Movie Star before he died at 82 on the 6th September 2018.

Burt Reynolds also had a brief music career in 1973 when he released his only Album called Ask Me What I Am.

Reynolds died of cardiac arrest at a Florida hospital who disclosed Reynolds had been suffering from heart problems for a number of years. Rest in peace, Mr Reynolds, we salute you.