Burt Reynolds Birthday
Are you looking for a way to remember Burt Reynolds? Here's everything you need to know about him.
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National Today
Background

Burton Milo Reynolds, Sr., and Harriet F. Reynolds raised Burt Reynolds in Lansing, Michigan. His father was the police chief of Riviera Beach and had previously served in the United States Army. Before receiving a college football scholarship, Reynolds attended Palm Beach High School then Florida State University. He aspired to be a professional football player. Still, he was injured in his first season and then wounded in a vehicle accident. This ended his football dreams, and he began to consider a career as a police officer. He attended Palm Beach Junior High School in Lake Worth when one of his professors urged him to participate in a production called “Outward Bound.” For it, he received a Florida State Drama Award.

In 1953, he was cast in the Neighborhood Playhouse production called “Tea and Sympathy.” He landed a role in the play “Mister Roberts” in 1957. His performance landed him a role in the film “Sayonara.” He starred in N.B.C’s “Riverboat” from 1959 until 1961. Reynolds appeared on two cop television shows named “Hawk” and “Dan August” during this period while he was playing in low-budget foreign films. He explored his singing talent in 1973, releasing the album “Ask Me What I Am” and performing a duet with Dolly Parton in ‘The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.’ Reynolds appeared in the 1977 film “Smokey and the Bandit” alongside Jerry Reed, Sally Field, and Jackie Gleason. In 1990, he starred in a C.B.C. television series called “Evening Shade.” Reynolds returned to acting in 1996 with the successful “Striptease” and the following year with the commercial success “Boogie Nights,” for which he received a Golden Globe. In 2005, he co-starred in “The Longest Yard,” alongside Adam Sandler. The latter played the role of Reynolds in the remake of the film. His performance was panned, and he was given a Razzie Award as a result. In the American version of “Burn Notice,” he played a minor role. In 2012, he appeared as a guest star on F.X. TV’s cartoon series “Archer” and in the film “Saints Row: The Third.” He also starred in “Apple of My Eye” (2016) and “The Last Movie Star” (2017). Reynolds had posthumous appearances in the 2019 film “An Innocent Kiss” and the 2020 film “Defining Moments,” in which he reprised his final role.

Many female musicians, including Tammy Wynette, Lucie Arnaz, Susan Clark, Dinah Shore, and others, were related to Reynolds. Reynolds married actress Judy Carne in 1963, but the marriage barely lasted two years, and they divorced in 1965. His connection with Dinah Shore, who was 20 years his senior, generated headlines. In the early 1970s, he had a five-year romance with Dinah. From 1988 through 1994, he married American actress Loni Anderson for almost five years. Quinton, the couple’s son, was adopted. His extramarital romance with waitress Pam Seals caused this marriage to crumble. His affair with Seals came to an end in lawsuits, which the two eventually settled out of court. Reynolds declared bankruptcy in 1996 after his divorce from actress Loni Anderson. In Florida, Burt Reynolds, who was 82 years old when he died passed on from heart arrest on September 6, 2018.