Hollywood star, Burt Reynolds, dies at 82

Burt Reynolds, one of Hollywood’s most popular leading men during the ’70s and early ’80s, died of a heart attack on Thursday at a hospital in Florida. He was 82. 

The actor was transported to a Florida hospital after going into sudden cardiac arrest. His family was by his side when he passed away.

Burt Reynolds was a star in movies and on TV, appearing in classics like Smokey and the Bandit, Boogie Nights, Deliverance and The Cannonball Run.

Born Feb. 11, 1936, in Michigan, Reynolds was a Florida State University football player who broke into Hollywood in his early 20s.

His roles over the years ranged from Southern heartthrob to tough guy to comedy, notably for his role as Rep. David Dilbeck in Striptease (1996), which flopped at the box office but earned him widespread accliam for his prowess at comedy.

But it was John Boorman's 1972 thriller Deliverance, which cast Reynolds as outdoorsman Lewis Medlock, that is widely credited for launching his early career. Reynolds recently called it his best film by far.

Reynolds was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as porn director Jack Horner in Boogie Nights in 1997. He also won the Golden Globe that year. 

As much as Reynolds represented an era of movies, he also stood as a cautionary tale. After a five-year run as Hollywood’s No. 1 male star, from 1978 to 1982, Reynolds fell into a flurry of flops and personal problems, including unfounded health rumors. He was famously married to fellow actor, Loni Anderson, in 1988 - but they split in 1993.

While he appeared in a string of  forgettable TV and film projects over the past decade, he was looking to make a comeback in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and Al Pacino.

The actor is survived by his son.