
Burt Reynolds
Department: Acting
Biography
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, director, and producer, considered a sex symbol and icon of American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in several different television series such as Gunsmoke (1962–1965), Hawk (1966), and Dan August (1970–1971). Although Reynolds had leading roles in such films as Navajo Joe (1966), his breakthrough role was as Lewis Medlock in Deliverance (1972). Reynolds played the leading role – often a lovable rogue – in a number of subsequent box office hits, such as The Longest Yard (1974), Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Semi-Tough (1977), The End (1978), Hooper (1978), Starting Over (1979), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), The Cannonball Run (1981), Sharky's Machine (1981), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), and Cannonball Run II (1984), several of which he directed himself. He was nominated twice for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Reynolds was voted the world's number one box office star for five consecutive years (from 1978 to 1982) in the annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll, a record he shares with Bing Crosby. After a number of box office failures, Reynolds returned to television, starring in the sitcom Evening Shade (1990–1994), which won him a Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. His performance as high-minded pornographer Jack Horner in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights (1997) brought him renewed critical attention, earning him another Golden Globe (for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture), with nominations for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Known For

Bean
1997

First Aid Action
1973

Frankenstein and Me
1996

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
2007

Deliverance
1972

The Player
1992

Jackie Gleason: The Great One
1988

Driven
2001

At Long Last Love
1975

Silent Movie
1976

Smokey and the Bandit
1977

Fuzz
1972

Semi-Tough
1977

Run, Simon, Run
1970

White Lightning
1973

The Longest Yard
1974

Boogie Nights
1997

Shark
1969

Shamus
1973

Hustle
1975

Delgo
2008

Gator
1976

Deal
2008

WWE WrestleMania X
1994

Superstunt II
1979

Navajo Joe
1966

The Cannonball Run
1981

The Dukes of Hazzard
2005

Grilled
2006

Burt Reynolds: The Last Interview
2023

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask
1972

Dan August: The Jealousy Factor
1980

All Dogs Go to Heaven
1989

Cannonball Run II
1984

Sam Whiskey
1969

Stick
1985

Cop & ½
1993

End Game
2006

The Longest Yard
2005

Smokey and the Bandit II
1980

Switching Channels
1988

Striptease
1996

Malone
1987

Broken Bridges
2006

Meet Wally Sparks
1997

Citizen Ruth
1996

Gumball 3000: The Movie
2003

Gumball 3000: 6 Days in May
2005

Hard Ground
2003

Hard Time: Hostage Hotel
1999

The End
1978

Physical Evidence
1989

The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
1973

Heat
1986

Sharky's Machine
1981

Raven
1996

100 Rifles
1969

Mystery, Alaska
1999

Hooper
1978

Best Friends
1982

City Heat
1984

Mad Dog Time
1996

W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings
1975

Cloud 9
2006

A Bunch of Amateurs
2008

Love in Hollywood
1996

Waterproof
2000

Big City Blues
1997

Rough Cut
1980

Rent-a-Cop
1987

Breaking In
1989

Tempted
2001

Time of the Wolf
2002

The Crew
2000

Picture This
1991

The Man Who Loved Women
1983

Stroker Ace
1983

Paternity
1981

Starting Over
1979

Johnson County War
2002

Not Another Not Another Movie
2011

Pups
1999

Fade In
1973

Reel Love
2011

All Star Party for Lucille Ball
1984

Lucky Lady
1975

The Man from Left Field
1993

Nickelodeon
1976

Impasse
1969

Operation C.I.A.
1965

The Hollywood Sign
2002

Snapshots
2002

Angel Baby
1961

The Adventures of Errol Flynn
2005

The Maddening
1996

Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter
1982

Stringer
1999

Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
1988

The Hunter's Moon
1999

Movie Money Confidential
2022

The Librarians
2004

1989 Walt Disney World 4th of July Spectacular
1989

The Ultimate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson
1987

Crazy Six
1997

Hard Time
1998

The Final Season
1989

Hotel
2001

Skullduggery
1970

Hunters Are for Killing
1970

The Last Producer
2000

A Beverly Hills Christmas
1987

Auf Herz und Nieren
2001

Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business
1998

Escape to Sonoita
1960

Category 5
2014

Modern Love
1990

A Magic Christmas
2014

Forget About It
2006

All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra
1983

Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?
2009

Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
2022

Armored Command
1961

Hard Time: The Premonition
1999

Without a Paddle
2004

John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs
2017

The Cherokee Kid
1996

Hollow Creek
2016

Pocket Listing
2016

2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2010

Wind in the Wire
1993

Sherman's March
1985

Randy & the Mob
2007

Loaded up and Trucking: The Making of Smokey and the Bandit
2006

Mickey's 60th Birthday
1988

Apple of My Eye
2017

The Bowden Dynasty: Faith, Family, & Football
2017

Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms
1998

Miami Love Affair
2017

Miss Lettie and Me
2002

The Last Movie Star
2018

The Velvet Alley
1959

Shattered: If Your Kid's on Drugs
1986

Uphill All the Way
1986

The Legend of Frosty the Snowman
2005

The Orson Welles Show
1979

The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
1986

Shadow Fighter
2017

The Bandit
2016

Hamlet & Hutch
2014

Shangri-La Suite
2016

With Friends Like These
—

Henri
2017

Dan August: Once Is Never Enough
1980

Sex at 24 Frames Per Second
2003

Mickey's 50
1978

An Innocent Kiss
2019

The Story of Bean
1997

The Great Escape: Heroes Underground
2001

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
1982

All-Star Party for Burt Reynolds
1981

I Am Burt Reynolds
2020

James Bond: The First 21 Years
1983

Defining Moments
2021

Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend
2021

Smokey and the Bandit Part 3
1983

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: Outlaws Out of Time
2002

Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
1987

The Greatest Stuntman Alive
1978

According to Dom
2009

Not So Fast, My Friend: A Lee Corso Special
2025

B.L. Stryker: The Dancer's Touch
—

Sesame Street: Elmo and Friends: The Letter Quest and Other Magical Tales
2009

Basic Football
1994

Superstunt
1977

The Dangerous World of 'Deliverance'
1972

Bob Hope's World of Comedy
1976

Duckman
1994

Freddie
2005

Inside the Actors Studio
1994

The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003

Evening Shade
1990

American Dad!
2005

Robot Chicken
2005

Out of This World
1987

Beverly Hills, 90210
1990

The F.B.I.
1965

The Daily Show
1996

The Golden Girls
1985

My Name Is Earl
2005

Ed
2000

Route 66
1960

E! True Hollywood Story
1996

Cybill
1995

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992

Naked City
1958

History vs. Hollywood
2001

Burn Notice
2007

Perry Mason
1957

Gunsmoke
1955

The X-Files
1993

The King of Queens
1998

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015

The Twilight Zone
1959

Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955

Everglades
1961

The New WKRP in Cincinnati
1991

Dan August
1970

The Aquanauts
1960

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951

The Flip Wilson Show
1970

Branded
1965

Lock-Up
1959

Riverboat
1959

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956

Johnny Ringo
1959

V Graham Norton
2002

The Blue Angels
1960

The Blue Angels
1960

Amazing Grace
1995

The Oscars
1953

Pony Express
1960

The Brothers Brannagan
1960

Hawk
1966

Gentle Ben
1967

Saturday Night Live
1975

B.L. Stryker
1989

The Larry Sanders Show
1992

Raw
1993

Die Harald Schmidt Show
1995

The Mike Douglas Show
1961

Duck Dodgers
2003

The F.B.I.
1965

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962

Burt Reynolds' Conversations with...
1991

The Mike Douglas Show
1961

Flipper
1964

The American West
2016

The Bob Hope Show
1950

V.I.P. Schaukel
1971

Medal of Honor
2000

In Sanity, Florida
2017

The Reichen Show
2005

The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996

Playhouse 90
1956

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009

Archer
2009

Dinah!
1974

12 O'Clock High
1964

The Carol Burnett Show
1967

Hope and Gloria
1995

Founding Fathers
2000

The Carol Burnett Show
1967

Entertainment Tonight
1981

King of the Hill
1997

The Dick Cavett Show
1968

CHiPs
1977

The Pet Set
1971

Love, American Style
1969

The Wonderful World of Disney
1954

Ruby Wax Meets
1996

Emeril
2001

30 for 30
2009

Taff
1997

Golden Globe Awards
1944

Dolly
1987

Robot Chicken
2005

The 1/2 Hour Comedy Hour
1983

People's Choice Awards
1975

The Merv Griffin Show
1962

History vs. Hollywood
2001