Gunsmoke actor Burt Reynolds had a wonderful career that extended into becoming a sex symbol. He knew that he wanted a career in entertainment, but he initially had some difficulties figuring out exactly what kind of roles he would play. Reynolds initially tried to pursue a path similar to Clint Eastwood’s Western path, although it didn’t initially work out as planned.
‘Gunsmoke’ actor Burt Reynolds went from television to movies Burt Reynolds as Quint Asper | CBS via Getty Images
Before Gunsmoke came along, Reynolds originally started working in theater. From there, he took on television roles on shows such as The Lawless Years and Pony Express. However, Reynolds had his first big part in Riverboat as Ben Frazer alongside Darren McGavin until he left due to creative differences with the show’s star.
Reynolds remained a guest-starring actor on television while making his film debut with 1961’s Angel Baby.
‘Gunsmoke’ actor Burt Reynolds went from television to movies Burt Reynolds as Quint Asper | CBS via Getty Images
Before Gunsmoke came along, Reynolds originally started working in theater. From there, he took on television roles on shows such as The Lawless Years and Pony Express. However, Reynolds had his first big part in Riverboat as Ben Frazer alongside Darren McGavin until he left due to creative differences with the show’s star.
Reynolds remained a guest-starring actor on television while making his film debut with 1961’s Angel Baby.
- 2/7/2023
- by Jeff Nelson
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Fans of Turner Classic Movies know that the channel always provides marvelous little featurettes that showcase famous actors paying tribute to their own screen idols. For example, here is Burt Reynolds' marvelous, heartfelt tribute to Spencer Tracy, who he befriended in 1959 on the studio lot. Reynolds was an up-and-comer starring in the TV series "Riverboat" and he would find time every day to visit the set where Tracy and Fredric March were playing antagonists in Stanley Kramer's classic "Inherit the Wind". Tracy noticed his young admirer and they took daily walks after filming. Reynolds remembers a key piece of advice from his idol: if your acting, don't let the audience catch you at it.
- 3/5/2022
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Expect a lot of riverboat in season 3 of Netflix’s Ozark.
Speaking to the press following his first Emmy win tonight for the show, Jason Bateman gave us some insight as to what to expect for the crafty Byrd family next season. The Mrc-co-produced series was recently in production over the summer Ozark follows Marty Byrde (Bateman), a financial planner who moves from his Chicago suburb to a backwoods community in Missouri. He’s hoping to ease a Mexican cartel after a money laundering scheme goes wrong, but Marty winds up becoming embroiled with a local drug kingpin.
“The riverboat casino that you see last season in fact goes into operation. We pick up six months later from the end of the second season. The casino is up and running and provides us with more opportunities both positive and negative. Some of that is temping and some that are calming.
Speaking to the press following his first Emmy win tonight for the show, Jason Bateman gave us some insight as to what to expect for the crafty Byrd family next season. The Mrc-co-produced series was recently in production over the summer Ozark follows Marty Byrde (Bateman), a financial planner who moves from his Chicago suburb to a backwoods community in Missouri. He’s hoping to ease a Mexican cartel after a money laundering scheme goes wrong, but Marty winds up becoming embroiled with a local drug kingpin.
“The riverboat casino that you see last season in fact goes into operation. We pick up six months later from the end of the second season. The casino is up and running and provides us with more opportunities both positive and negative. Some of that is temping and some that are calming.
- 9/23/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Herb Ellis, an actor and director known for helping Jack Webb create the iconic TV series Dragnet, died Dec. 26 in San Gabriel, Calif. He was 97.
Born Herbert Siegel in Cleveland, Ohio on Jan. 7, 1921, Ellis was a radio actor and director. His frequent collaborations with Webb included a pilot they wrote titled Joe Friday, Room Five which later served as the foundation for the iconic TV procedural Dragnet.
For the first eight episodes of the series, which debuted in 1952, Ellis played Officer Frank Smith opposite Webb before Ben Alexander took over the role until the series ended in 1959.
In addition to Dragnet, Ellis appeared in various other radio series including Dangerous Assignment, Escape, Tales of the Texas Rangers, and The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe.
On the movie side, Ellis appeared in notable films such as Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing and Billy Wilder’s The Fortune Cookie.
In 1967, he returned...
Born Herbert Siegel in Cleveland, Ohio on Jan. 7, 1921, Ellis was a radio actor and director. His frequent collaborations with Webb included a pilot they wrote titled Joe Friday, Room Five which later served as the foundation for the iconic TV procedural Dragnet.
For the first eight episodes of the series, which debuted in 1952, Ellis played Officer Frank Smith opposite Webb before Ben Alexander took over the role until the series ended in 1959.
In addition to Dragnet, Ellis appeared in various other radio series including Dangerous Assignment, Escape, Tales of the Texas Rangers, and The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe.
On the movie side, Ellis appeared in notable films such as Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing and Billy Wilder’s The Fortune Cookie.
In 1967, he returned...
- 1/3/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Burt Reynolds, who died today in Florida at age 82, had several resurgences in an acting career that included him becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars twice, first as a leading man in some of the 1970s’ best films, then returning to the top of the marquees when he was nominated for an Oscar for the first and only time, in 1998, for playing porn director Jack Horner in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights.
Along the way, he went from the likes of Riverboat and Gunsmoke on TV to the swashbuckling star of the likes of Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit, The Longest Yard, Hooper and later The Cannonball Run. His non-big-screen choices were always interesting, too, from starring on CBS’ hit Evening Shade to unmistakable voice work on everything from Archer to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
Reynolds most recent standout performance came in 2017’s The Last Movie Star,...
Along the way, he went from the likes of Riverboat and Gunsmoke on TV to the swashbuckling star of the likes of Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit, The Longest Yard, Hooper and later The Cannonball Run. His non-big-screen choices were always interesting, too, from starring on CBS’ hit Evening Shade to unmistakable voice work on everything from Archer to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
Reynolds most recent standout performance came in 2017’s The Last Movie Star,...
- 9/7/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Burt Reynolds was a guy’s guy, a ladies’ man, the ruggedly handsome alpha male of the entertainment world, who always seemed to be having a good time – whether cracking jokes on TV talk shows with pals like Dom DeLuise or saucily posing nude as a centerfold in “Cosmopolitan” magazine — except maybe when he broke his leg during that ill-fated canoe outing in 1972’s “Deliverance,” his breakout film role. According to his reps on Thursday, the actor is dead at age 82 in his adopted home of Jupiter, Florida.
With a thicket of hair, a dapper mustache and a twinkle in his eye, he often came across as a good ol’ Southern boy in such films as “Smokey and the Bandit,” “W,W. and the Dixie Dancekings” and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” while claiming to be from Georgia. But he was born in Lansing, Michigan, although he would eventually end up in Riviera Beach,...
With a thicket of hair, a dapper mustache and a twinkle in his eye, he often came across as a good ol’ Southern boy in such films as “Smokey and the Bandit,” “W,W. and the Dixie Dancekings” and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” while claiming to be from Georgia. But he was born in Lansing, Michigan, although he would eventually end up in Riviera Beach,...
- 9/6/2018
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
Burt Reynolds, one of We Are Movie Geeks favorite actors, has died! Burt suffered cardiac arrest and was taken to Jupiter Medical Center in Florida, where he died at age 82. Rip Burt.
On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants and clubs while pulling the odd TV job or theater role. Burt was spotted in a New York City stage production of Mister Roberts and signed to a TV contract and eventually had recurring roles in such shows as Gunsmoke (1955), Riverboat (1959) and his own series,...
On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants and clubs while pulling the odd TV job or theater role. Burt was spotted in a New York City stage production of Mister Roberts and signed to a TV contract and eventually had recurring roles in such shows as Gunsmoke (1955), Riverboat (1959) and his own series,...
- 9/6/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Burt Reynolds, a top Hollywood star of the 1970s whose hits ranged from such classic, easy-going drive-in fare as Smokey and the Bandit to the intense, hunted-men drama Deliverance, died today at the Jupiter Medical Center in Florida. He was 82.
“It is with a broken heart that I said goodbye to my uncle today,” Reynolds’ niece Nancy Lee Hess said in a statement (read it in full below).
With a sly, knowing grin, signature moustache and a unique blend of charm and machismo, Reynolds was a bona fide cultural phenomenon. He became a frequent guest of Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, was the first major celebrity nude male centerfold and off-screen romantic partner of such stars as frequent co-star Sally Field and Dinah Shore. Reyrolds would achieve a newfound respect among critics and fans alike for the late-career peak in 1997’s Boogie Nights, for which he earned his only Oscar nomination.
“It is with a broken heart that I said goodbye to my uncle today,” Reynolds’ niece Nancy Lee Hess said in a statement (read it in full below).
With a sly, knowing grin, signature moustache and a unique blend of charm and machismo, Reynolds was a bona fide cultural phenomenon. He became a frequent guest of Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, was the first major celebrity nude male centerfold and off-screen romantic partner of such stars as frequent co-star Sally Field and Dinah Shore. Reyrolds would achieve a newfound respect among critics and fans alike for the late-career peak in 1997’s Boogie Nights, for which he earned his only Oscar nomination.
- 9/6/2018
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Burt Reynolds, one of Hollywood’s most popular leading men during the ’70s and early ’80s in such films as “Deliverance,” “Smokey and the Bandit, “The Longest Yard” and “Semi-Tough,” has died. His rep confirmed that he died Thursday in Jupiter, Fla. He was 82.
He later earned an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor in Paul Thomas Anderson’s ode to skin flicks, “Boogie Nights.” He had been set to appear in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Hollywood.”
Reynolds’ appeal lay in his post-modern macho posture undercut by a wry self-awareness, which he used to good effect in comedies as well as action films. For a period during the ’70s he was the nation’s top box office draw. But after one too many bad movies, his popularity waned. He returned to television, where he’d gotten his start, mostly in Westerns, and produced his own sitcom, “Evening Shade,” which brought him an Emmy.
He later earned an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor in Paul Thomas Anderson’s ode to skin flicks, “Boogie Nights.” He had been set to appear in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Hollywood.”
Reynolds’ appeal lay in his post-modern macho posture undercut by a wry self-awareness, which he used to good effect in comedies as well as action films. For a period during the ’70s he was the nation’s top box office draw. But after one too many bad movies, his popularity waned. He returned to television, where he’d gotten his start, mostly in Westerns, and produced his own sitcom, “Evening Shade,” which brought him an Emmy.
- 9/6/2018
- by Richard Natale
- Variety Film + TV
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Travis Keune, and Tom Stockman
Burt Reynolds, one of We Are Movie Geeks favorite actors, turns 80 today. Happy Birthday Burt!
On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants and clubs while pulling the odd TV job or theater role. Burt was spotted in a New York City stage production of Mister Roberts and signed to a TV contract and eventually had recurring roles in such shows as Gunsmoke (1955), Riverboat (1959) and his own series, Hawk...
Burt Reynolds, one of We Are Movie Geeks favorite actors, turns 80 today. Happy Birthday Burt!
On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants and clubs while pulling the odd TV job or theater role. Burt was spotted in a New York City stage production of Mister Roberts and signed to a TV contract and eventually had recurring roles in such shows as Gunsmoke (1955), Riverboat (1959) and his own series, Hawk...
- 2/11/2016
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In the contemporary landscape of supernatural investigators on television—high school cheerleaders adept at martial arts and chiseled GQ hunks offering quips with every shot of a silver bullet—Carl Kolchak would appear to be an anomaly. The name itself is likely unknown to the younger generation, lest they faintly recall handsome Stuart Townsend briefly playing the role on ABC in 2005 before disintegrating into the televisual ether.
But before this scant resurrection, there was the original Kolchak. Author Jeff Rice’s unpublished manuscript The Kolchak Papers was picked up by producer Dan Curtis, the creator of Dark Shadows, to be filmed as a made-for-television movie in 1972 that would star established actor Darren McGavin as the irascible reporter. The film, retitled The Night Stalker, dealt with the Las Vegas inkslinger’s investigation into a series of prostitute deaths that turned out to be the work of red-eyed and centuries-old vampire Janos Skorzeny.
But before this scant resurrection, there was the original Kolchak. Author Jeff Rice’s unpublished manuscript The Kolchak Papers was picked up by producer Dan Curtis, the creator of Dark Shadows, to be filmed as a made-for-television movie in 1972 that would star established actor Darren McGavin as the irascible reporter. The film, retitled The Night Stalker, dealt with the Las Vegas inkslinger’s investigation into a series of prostitute deaths that turned out to be the work of red-eyed and centuries-old vampire Janos Skorzeny.
- 12/3/2014
- by Jose Cruz
- SoundOnSight
Stuntman and Burt Reynolds director Hal Needham dead at 82: Received Honorary Oscar in November 2012 Veteran stuntman and stunt coordinator Hal Needham, whose stunt-work movie credits ranged from John Ford Westerns to Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, and who directed a handful of popular action comedies starring Burt Reynolds, died today, October 25, 2013, in Los Angeles. Needham, who had been suffering from cancer, was 82. (See also: "Stunt Worker Hal Needham: Honorary Oscar 2012".) Born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 6, 1931, Hal Needham began his long Hollywood stuntman career in the mid-’50s. A former tree trimmer and paratrooper, and a motorcycle and car racer, Needham performed stunts in both big-screen and small-screen Westerns, such as John Ford’s 1962 classic The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, starring John Wayne and James Stewart; the all-star 1963 Best Picture Academy Award nominee How the West Was Won; and the television series Have Gun - Will Travel, doubling for star Richard Boone.
- 10/26/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Travis Keune, and Tom Stockman
We like to celebrate the movie tough guys of the ’70s here at We Are Movie Geeks and at Super-8 Movie Madness. We’ve posted Top Ten lists to tie into Super-8 shows featuring Charles Bronson (Here), Clint Eastwood (Here), and Lee Marvin (Here). This month we’re going to honor the #1 top money-making star for five consecutive years – 1978 – 1982 – Burt Reynolds. On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants...
We like to celebrate the movie tough guys of the ’70s here at We Are Movie Geeks and at Super-8 Movie Madness. We’ve posted Top Ten lists to tie into Super-8 shows featuring Charles Bronson (Here), Clint Eastwood (Here), and Lee Marvin (Here). This month we’re going to honor the #1 top money-making star for five consecutive years – 1978 – 1982 – Burt Reynolds. On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants...
- 11/28/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Howard Keel on TCM Pt.2: Rose Marie, Pagan Love Song, Callaway Went Thataway Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 6:00 Am Desperate Search (1953) A man fights to find his children after their plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness. Dir: Joseph Lewis. Cast: Howard Keel, Jane Greer, Patricia Medina. Bw-71 mins. 7:15 Am Fast Company (1953) The heiress to a racing stable uncovers underhanded dealings. Dir: John Sturges. Cast: Howard Keel, Polly Bergen, Marjorie Main. Bw-68 mins. 8:30 Am Kismet (1955) In this Arabian Nights musical "king of the beggars" infiltrates high society when his daughter is wooed by a handsome prince. Dir: Vincente Minnelli. Cast: Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Dolores Gray. C-113 mins, Letterbox Format. 10:30 Am Rose Marie (1954) A trapper's daughter is torn between the Mountie who wants to civilize her and a dashing prospector. Dir: Mervyn LeRoy. Cast: Ann Blyth, Howard Keel, Fernando Lamas, Bert Lahr, Marjorie Main.
- 8/30/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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