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Burt Reynolds
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),... [MORE]
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