Via WISTV:
Burt Reynolds, the charismatic actor known for playing a charming rogue in “Smokey and the Bandit” and “The Cannonball Run” – then later in “Boogie Nights,” has died at age 82.
The actor died of cardiac arrest Thursday morning at Jupiter Medical Center in Florida, his manager told the Hollywood Reporter. The actor underwent heart surgery back in 2010.
Reynolds was one of the most popular male actors of the 1970s and 1980s. His charm and chiseled features – fronted by a sly and somewhat sinister grin – made him a sex symbol during his prime and a highly sought leading man in Hollywood.
He was in the middle of filming the movie “One Upon a Time in Hollywood” with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Another movie, “Defining Moments,” is slated to be released in December 2018.
Critics rarely gave him credit for his roles, which changed later in life when he received an Oscar nomination for his role as pornography director in “Boogie Nights.”
He got into acting after a promising football career at Florida State University was derailed by injuries. His scholarship to the Hyde Park Playhouse in New York provided Reynolds valuable mentorship and the platform for what was to become a successful film career.
The first major break for Reynolds came in TV. He was cast as “Quint Asper” in the popular “Gunsmoke” series as well as earlier roles in other shows, including “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and “Perry Mason.” He was a regular performer in several small-screen productions before a major splash in movies.
Reynolds in 1972 starred alongside Jon Voight, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox in “Deliverance,” a film about four Atlanta businessmen and buddies who took a canoe trip on a remote Georgia river that went terribly wrong. The movie made the song “Dueling Banjos” popular, it turned rural Southerners into a punchline and just as importantly, it made Reynolds a household name.