Remembering Burt Reynolds
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As one who was never a true "fan" of Burt Reynolds I sure did encounter him a lot in my entertainment choices. The movies Deliverance, Gator, the Smokey and the Bandit franchise, Semi-Tough, Paternity, Sharky's Machine, the Cannonball Run franchise, Heat, Boogie Nights, The Longest Yard, The Dukes of Hazzard ... and the list seems to go on and on.
Saw all of these and more. Liked them. Just never considered Burt Reynolds a part of my life as I have so many character actors of the science fiction and horror genres.
My personal favorite scene of his would have to be Deliverance when he shot the hillbilly rapist with the bow and arrow. Get up in those woods take off those panties and squeel like a pig, indeed.
I suppose it all stems to that jealousy I had for his marriage to Loni Anderson and that covetous thing we're never supposed to feel but sometimes do. Yes. I held Loni against him. I'm only human.
His career had up and down turns. It was said it was easier for him to get to the top than it was to stay there. He had some financial difficulties along the way and even released a country album. He did a bit of directing. He won awards during the course of it all. He was considered a "sex symbol" and an icon symbolizing American males and all things masculine.
Burt Reynolds passed of a heart attack at a hospital in Jupiter, Florida, on September 6, 2018. He was 82 years old. Alas, his exwife Loni Anderson issued the announcement to the public. He was cremated and his cremains were given to a family member.
Oddly enough there were appearances he did that were released posthumously.