RIP BURT REYNOLDS 1936-2018

The iconic symbol of the American male in the 1970's has died.

There probably isn't anyone who doesn't know who Reynolds was or saw him in something during his very long career.

Burt started his career in 1958 on the TV show "Flight" and over the next year worked on many shows until he landed a lead role on the series "Riverboat" which lasted from 1959-1960. After that series ended he kept working on TV is such shows as "Michael Shayne", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Aquanauts".

I was introduced to him via the original "Twilight Zone" in an episode entitled "The Bard" in which his character was an obnoxious actor. For three years from 1961-64 he had a starring role in "Gunsmoke" as Quint.

In 1972 he hit the big time as the star of the bizarre film "Deliverance". He went on to make a lot of films in the 70's including "White Lightning", "Fuzz", "The Longest Yard" and many more.

His career hit a peak in 1977 with the film "Smokey And The Bandit". That film made Reynolds a household name and it will remain his top work no matter what people say. Was Reynolds a great actor? Nope. But he was and will always be miles and miles ahead of the knuckle dragging clowns we call actors today.

I loved his films and he was a huge part of my 70's culture back in the day. He died in Jupitar, Florida on Sept. 6th, 2018 at the age of 82.