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| Charming, handsome, and easy-going, lead actor and former megastar Burt Reynolds originally hailed from Waycross, GA, 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 on-stage; but all he found were occasional television 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 in the 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 serious actor. That same year, Reynolds 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 such as 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, established the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theater in Florida. In the mid-'90s, 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 failure, the actor won raves for his performance, with many critics noting that he was one of the film's few positive aspects. 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 gained fame -- and infamy -- for his offscreen life, as well. From 1963 to 1966, he was married to actress Judy Carne, and has been romantically linked with actresses Dinah Shore and Sally Field, in addition to tennis star Chris Evert. He was also married from 1988 to 1993 to actress Loni Anderson; their union ended in one of the most widely publicized acrimonious divorces in Hollywood history. |
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