Episode 50 – Burt Reynolds’ DEFINING MOMENTS w/guest Josh Karp
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I’d like to see De Niro in Cannonball Run 3.
Burt Reynolds was touring a one-man show in the late 1980s or early 1990s where he would reminisce about his life & career. I think it was titled “An Evening with Burt Reynolds” and I went to see him when the show came through Cleveland. It was clear that the audience just loved him. He was very relaxed and seemed to be enjoying the experience.
Also, last year I purchased the dvd set of “Dan August,” a 1970-71 detective series from producer Quinn Martin. The cast includes Norman Fell & Richard Anderson. It’s a standard crime drama of the era & Burt is great. He’s on the verge of super stardom & it’s wild to think his movie career probably wouldn’t have happened if Dan August hadn’t been cancelled due to poor ratings.
I forgot to post this beforehand: If you ever schedule an episode devoted to Frank Sinatra, be sure to give me a call!
FYI: For his 1 day of filming on Cannonball Run 2, Sinatra was paid $30,000 which he donated to charity.
Another good episode. Like you both mentioned there will never be another movie star like Burt and the life he lead. The last movie star we have is Tom Cruise but even he never lead the life like Burt had lived.
If I could recommend a You Tube channel is Gator McKlusky who is breaking down Burt’s career using both video archive and Burt’s books.
Great discussion gentlemen! I had never thought about Hal Needham being a Monkey’s Paw for Reynolds, but I think it’s an apt allusion. I also think Josh made a good point about Burt the Actor struggling with Burt the Movie Star wanting to just hang with his friends. The Vin Diagram of those circles meets at the Cannonball Run films. I think they’re fun, but yeah, probably a bit TOO MUCH fun. And honestly the Smokey and the Bandit sequels are awful. Just the first transcends, and I do indeed love it.
But hey, Hal Needham had his own toy named after him, so he lived a good life, I think!
It’s a shame that Burt running his mouth cost him an Oscar. Doesn’t seem fair, because if actors were denied awards for saying stupid or inappropriate things…well Hollywood would be berfeft of little golden men.
You should check out the excellent online interview Needham gave to the Archive of American Television. He covers his entire career with a focus on his relationship with Burt. He lived in Reynolds’ pool house for 12 years.
Not to forget his “appearance” as Rubberduck in Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew as “Byrd Reynolds”. He even talks about is appearance in Playbill Magazine.
Great episode! Semi-tough is one of my all-time favorite movies. When I read Dan Jenkins book that the movie is based on, it was obvious Reynolds was the perfect casting for Billy Clyde Pucket. The character basically IS Burt Reynolds. Loved the discussion. RIP Turd Ferguson.
Just listening to this now. Don’t feel bad about not wanting to drive the 3 hours to Jupiter for the dinner theater, because it isn’t there. I was the last Master Class acting student Mr. Reynolds accepted into his class before he died. He no longer had a diner theater. He ran an acting school in a historic building that contained the very stage he began his career on 60 years before I performed for him there. The school is 3 hours from my house too, but I made the round trip drive twice a week for a year, and spent the holidays and my birthday at Mr. Reynolds house as well.
His last film, The Last Movie Star had a few of his students in it, but not me. I had recently left the school, went back to college to start my new career. He passed away a few months after it was released.