The Hollywood icon, who has been known as a sure hand in both action vehicles and comedies since the 1970s, was born in Waycross, Georgia on February 11, 1936. Reynolds broke into television in the late 1950s, playing supporting roles on the shows “Flight,” “The Lawless Years,” and “M Squad,” and landing a regular spot on the short lived series “Riverboat” in 1959. However, while he worked steadily in movies and TV throughout the ‘60s, it wasn’t ...
more The Hollywood icon, who has been known as a sure hand in both action vehicles and comedies since the 1970s, was born in Waycross, Georgia on February 11, 1936. Reynolds broke into television in the late 1950s, playing supporting roles on the shows “Flight,” “The Lawless Years,” and “M Squad,” and landing a regular spot on the short lived series “Riverboat” in 1959. However, while he worked steadily in movies and TV throughout the ‘60s, it wasn’t until the early ‘70s that he made a name for himself as more than just another journeyman actor.
Frequent self-depreciating appearances on “The Tonight Show” revealed Reynolds’ charm and wit, and he made news posing for a discreet nude centerfold for Cosmopolitan Magazine in April 1972. While “Deliverance” confirmed Reynolds had genuine star quality, he made his biggest splash a few years later, revealing a combination of humor, attitude, and redneck swagger in pictures like “White Lightning,” “The Longest Yard,” and “Smokey and the Bandit.” Since then, Reynolds has appeared in everything from musicals to rom-coms to horror flicks, and he’s still hard at work, providing the voice of Burt Reynolds on a 2012 episode of “Archer.” If you want to celebrate Reynolds’ birthday with some of his better films, here’s some of our top picks.
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