Page 31 - ARUBA TODAY

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PEOPLE & ARTS Saturday 8 September 2018
Burt Reynolds, star of film, TV and tabloids, dead at 82

By JOHN ROGERS sue of Cosmopolitan quick-
Associated Press ly sold more than 1 million
Burt Reynolds, the hand- copies, but turned his life
some film and television into a "carnival." The cen-
star known for his ac- terfold would appear on
claimed performances in T-shirts, panties and other
"Deliverance" and "Boogie merchandise and Reynolds
Nights," commercial hits began receiving obscene
such as "Smokey and the fan mail. Reynolds' perfor-
Bandit" and for an active mance in "Deliverance"
off-screen love life which was snubbed by the movie
included relationships with academy.
Loni Anderson and Sally He did remain an A-list
Field, has died at age 82. movie star, starring in such
In a statement, his niece, films as "Shamus," ''The Best
Nancy Lee Hess, called his Little Whorehouse in Texas"
death Thursday "totally un- and three popular "Smokey
expected," although she and the Bandit" comedies,
acknowledged he had with co-stars including Field
health issues. and Jackie Gleason.
"He was tough. Anyone In the 1980s, his career was
who breaks their tail bone nearly destroyed when
on a river and finishes the false rumors surfaced that
movie is tough. And that's he was infected with the
who he was." AIDS virus, in the height of
Hess noted her uncle's kind- hysteria over the disease.
ness and generosity, and He had injured his jaw mak-
thanked "all of his amazing ing the 1984 comedy "City
fans who have always sup- Heat" with Clint Eastwood.
ported and cheered him Barely able to eat, he lost
on, through all of the hills 50 pounds and suddenly
and valleys of his life and looked emaciated.
career." "For two years I couldn't
The mustached, smirking get a job," he told the AP
Reynolds inspired a wide in 1990. "I had to take five
range of responses over physicals to get a job. I had
his long, erratic career: In this Aug. 22, 2015 file photo, Burt Reynolds appears at the Wizard World Chicago Comic-Con to take the pictures that
critical acclaim and criti- in Chicago. were offered to me. I did
cal scorn, popular success Associated Press action pictures because
and box office bombs. I was trying to prove that I
Reynolds made scores of and a relationship with ing to Florida in 1957 and er of an ill-fated whitewater was well."
movies, ranging from light- Field damaged by his ac- enrolling in acting classes. canoe trip. When he and He eventually regained his
weight fare such as the hits knowledged jealousy of In the 1960s he made doz- three other Atlanta busi- health, and in 1988 he mar-
"The Cannonball Run" and her success. ens of guest-star appear- nessmen are ambushed ried Anderson.
"Smokey and the Bandit" to Through it all he presented ances on such TV shows by violent backwoodsmen, But the couple divorced
more serious films like "The a genial persona, often the as "Bonanza," ''The Twilight Reynolds must guide the in 1995, and their breakup
Longest Yard" and "The first to make fun of his own Zone" and "Perry Mason." group to safety. was an embarrassing pub-
Man Who Loved Cat Danc- conflicted image. His first film role came in "Deliverance" was an Os- lic spectacle, with the pair
ing." "My career is not like a reg- 1961's "Angel Baby," and he car nominee for best pic- exchanging insults in print
He received some of the ular chart, mine looks like a followed it with numerous ture and no film made him interviews and on television
film world's highest and low- heart attack," he told The other mediocre movies, the prouder. In his 2015 memoir shows. Reynolds finally paid
est honors. He was nominat- Associated Press in 2001. kind, he liked to joke, that "But Enough About Me," he her a $2 million settlement
ed for an Oscar for "Boogie "I've done over 100 films, were shown in airplanes wrote that "Deliverance" and a vacation home to
Nights," the Paul Thomas and I'm the only actor who and prisons. would be his choice could settle the divorce.
Anderson film about the has been canned by all He did become famous he put one of his movies in He rebounded once again,
pornography industry; won three networks. I epitomize enough to make frequent a time capsule. this time with the role of
an Emmy for the TV series longevity." appearances on "The To- "It proved I could act," he porn movie impresario Jack
"Evening Shade," and was Born in Lansing, Michigan night Show," leading to his wrote. Horner in "Boogie Nights,"
praised for his starring role and raised in Florida, he most cherished film role But soon after filming was which brought him some of
in "Deliverance." was an all-Southern Confer- and to his greatest folly. completed, he made a de- his best reviews.
But he also was a frequent ence running back at Flori- In the early 1970s, direc- cision he never stopped re- He won a Golden Globe
nominee for the Razzie, the da State University in the tor John Boorman was im- gretting. While appearing for best supporting actor
tongue-in-cheek award for 1950s. Reynolds appeared pressed by how confidently on "The Tonight Show" with and received an Oscar
Hollywood's worst perfor- headed to the NFL until a Reynolds handled himself Cosmopolitan editor Helen nomination. Convinced he
mance, and his personal knee injury and an auto- when subbing for Carson as Gurley Brown, he agreed to would win, he was devas-
life provided ongoing dra- mobile accident ended his host of "The Tonight Show." her invitation, offered dur- tated when the Oscar went
ma, particularly after an chances. He dropped out Boorman thought he might ing a commercial break, to to Robin Williams for "Good
acrimonious divorce from of college and drifted to be right for a film adapta- be the first male centerfold Willi Hunting."
Anderson in 1995. New York, where he worked tion of James Dickey's nov- for her magazine. "I once said that I'd rather
He had a troubled mar- as a dockhand, dance-hall el "Deliverance." "I was flattered and in- have a Heisman Trophy
riage to Judy Carne, a ro- bouncer, bodyguard and Reynolds starred as Lewis trigued," Reynolds wrote in than an Oscar," he wrote in
mance with Dinah Shore dish washer before return- Medlock, the intrepid lead- his memoir. The April 1972 is- his memoir. "I lied."q