Both handsome and charming, Reynolds increased his popularity in the early 1970s by appearing on numerous talk shows, including Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, on which he would become a frequent guest. With regular roles on Riverboat, Gunsmoke, Hawk and Dan August, he became a familiar face to TV audiences. In 1957, Reynolds received his big break after he appeared in a New York City Center revival of Mister Roberts and subsequently signed a television contract. After being drafted by the Baltimore Colts, he suffered a career-ending injury and turned to drama, eventually winning a scholarship to the Hyde Park Playhouse. Reynolds attended Florida State University on a football scholarship. His mother was a head nurse who encouraged her son to read and his father was an army colonel who later became police chief. was born on February 11, 1936, in Lansing, Michigan.

Reynolds' 1997 role in Boogie Nights earned him an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe. He was a leading movie star in the 1970s and 1980s, appearing in films like The Longest Yard, Smokey and the Bandit, Starting Over and The Cannonball Run. Burt Reynolds was an award-winning actor who appeared regularly on television for some time before his 1972 appearance in the film Deliverance, which became a breakthrough role.

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