Actor Burt Reynolds dies at 82

According to CNN, Burt Reynolds, the wisecracking 1970s movie heartthrob and Oscar nominee reportedly passed away in Jupiter Medical Center, Florida from a heart attack with his family by his side.

Reynolds who is survived by his son, Quinton shot to fame in 1972’s Deliverance, becoming a Hollywood legend with his roles in Smokey and the Bandit, The Cannonball Run and Boogie Nights.

Reynolds’ breakout in 1972 made him a Hollywood sex symbol. That same year, Reynolds broke a publishing taboo by posing for a nearly nude centrefold in Cosmopolitan magazine, which he later said was a “really stupid” idea. He also appeared alongside Dolly Parton in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, a 1982 comedy musical. Reynolds made a 1997 comeback playing a p--n film director in Boogie Nights, which won him an Oscar nomination.

He was married twice, firstly to British actress Judy Carne in 1963, but they divorced two years later amid accusations of her over-spending and his infidelity. Reynolds later went on to marry American actress Loni Anderson in 1988, but that also ended bitterly in 1993.

In 1996 Reynolds filed for bankruptcy with nearly $11m in debts. In 2014, he was forced to sell many prized memorabilia, including the Golden Globe award he won for Boogie Nights. Reynolds is also known for turning down famous roles, including James Bond, Han Solo and Richard Gere’s character in 1990’s Pretty Woman.

He penned two autobiographies: My Life, published in 1994, and But Enough About Me, in 2015. Up until his death, he had been set to appear in a Quentin Tarantino movie about Charles Manson – Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. In the film, due to be released in 2019, he was to portray George Spahn – the California rancher – who allowed a cult leader to live on his property.