Red Julian has a busload of memories of Burt Reynolds.
“I’ll never forget Burt, he was a lot of fun and I drove him all over the country,” said Julian, 80, who lives in Lady Lake. He drove a bus for Reynolds when the actor toured North America about 15 years ago.
Reynolds, the wise-cracking, macho sex symbol who was Hollywood’s top box office attraction in the 1970s – died Thursday morning in Jupiter, Fla. He was 82 and the cause of death was reported as cardiopulmonary arrest.
“Burt was a woman’s man and a man’s man — everybody liked him,” said Villager Joan Knapton, who produces shows for KC Productions. “He was sexy and funny but never took himself too seriously.”
“Burt was a quiet guy,” added Julian, who also drove tour buses for the likes of Tom Petty, U2, Dolly Parton and Donny and Marie Osmond.
Reynolds, though, was special for Julian.
“The thing I liked about Burt is that he was very down to earth,” Julian said. “He seemed like a regular guy; like he was one of us. He wasn’t stuck up and he didn’t act like a big Hollywood star.”
Reynolds enjoyed a good laugh, and Julian said the jokes were flying when Jerry Reed – Burt’s good ol’ boy buddy – came on the bus.
“Those two were something else,” Julian said. “You could hear them cracking jokes and laughing all through the bus.”
Reed, who died in 2008, was a country singer who appeared in a number of Reynolds’ movies. “Burt always felt better when Jerry was around,” Julian said, adding he was saddened and surprised by the news of Reynolds’ death on Thursday.
“You know it’s a sad thing,” Julian said. “But I think Burt had the funnest life of anybody. He had a good time and he loved a good laugh.”
Reynolds has deep ties to Florida. He grew up in Riviera Beach, where his father was the chief of police. He was an outstanding high school football player and played running back at Florida State University.
Back then he was known as Buddy Reynolds. A knee injury ended his football career, and he turned to acting. During the 1960s, he made television appearances on such shows as “Riverboat,” “Gunsmoke,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Dan August” and “Hawk.”
Everything changed in 1972, when Reynolds was one of the stars of “Deliverance,” Reynolds played “macho survivalist” Lewis Medlock, one of four suburban Atlanta guys who tackle the wilderness on a weekend trip.
“Deliverance” is a harrowing, gripping movie, and Reynolds was starkly realistic in his performance. “If I had to put only one of my movies in a time capsule, it would be Deliverance,” Reynolds once wrote. “I don’t know if it’s the best acting I’ve done, but it’s the best movie I’ve ever been in. It proved I could act, not only to the public but me.”
After that, Reynolds was dynamite at the box office, but he seemed to fall in a rut of slam-bang, masculine comedies. The list includes: “Smokey and the Bandit,” “Gator,” “The Longest Yard,” “The Cannonball Run,” “Hooper” “Semi-Tough” and “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”
His Hollywood credibility also took a bit of a hit after he posed nude in “Cosmopolitan” magazine in 1972.
There were some regrets, and the Hollywood Reporter stated that Reynolds wrote in his memoir “But Enough About Me”:
“I didn’t open myself to new writers or risky parts because I wasn’t interested in challenging myself as an actor. I was interested in having a good time.
“As a result, I missed a lot of opportunities to show I could play serious roles. By the time I finally woke up and tried to get it right, nobody would give me a chance.”
Reynolds’ career tailed off by the ’90s, but he came back on the television series “Evening Shade” and won an Emmy Award.
Then came a remarkable performance in 1997’s “Boogie Nights” that earned Reynolds a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.
Reynolds played adult filmmaker Jack Horner in the movie. Reynolds said he hated the film, but USA Today wrote his performance “showcased the same undeniable cool and addictive personality that made pop culture fall in love with him in the first place.”
Tim Casey, an actor in The Villages agrees.
“Burt Reynolds was a classic, old-time movie star,” Casey said. “The best role he ever had was playing Burt Reynolds; he did that better than anyone else and people loved him.”
Casey, who will appear in “Sweeney Todd” next month at Savannah Center, said Reynolds could be underrated as an actor.
“This guy could really act,” Casey said. “He showed that in ‘Deliverance’ and he was great in ‘Boogie Nights.’ I think many people forgot how good he was until that movie came out.”
Reynolds was “the kind of actor women liked because of his sex appeal and men liked because of his self-deprecating humor,” Casey added. “His films had a way of assembling a cast of characters that he could play off, and he somehow made it all work.”
Reynolds had a tumultuous private life. His wives included actresses Judy Carne and Loni Anderson. He also had a long relationship with actress Sally Field, and also singer and TV personality Dinah Shore, who was 20 years older.
“I think Dinah Shore was the best part of Burt Reynolds’ life,” said Villager Diana Arlt. “She brought out the best in Burt.”
Sally Field issued this statement on Reynolds’ death: “There are times in your life that are so indelible, they never fade away. They stay alive, even forty years later. My years with Burt never leave my mind. He will be in my history and my heart for as long as I live. Rest, Buddy.”
Reynolds’ final decades brought financial turmoil. He declared bankruptcy during the mid-1990s, but was able to come back and perform in movies and television. A few months ago, Reynolds signed to appear in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
Reynolds won’t make that film, but he seemed at peace with his life, as the Hollywood Reporter noted:
“I always wanted to experience everything and go down swinging,” Reynolds wrote in the final paragraph of his memoir. “Well, so far, so good. I know I’m old, but I feel young. And there’s one thing they can never take away: Nobody had more fun than I did.”
Reynolds’ last movie, “The Last Movie Star,” could have been a little about his own life. Read Jack Petro’s review of the movie and see a trailer from it.
