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'The man then, now and forever': celebrities react to the death of Burt Reynolds

Norm Macdonald, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Adam Sandler and more express their condolences and share stories.

Norm Macdonald, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Adam Sandler and more express their condolences and share stories

Jesse Kinos-Goodin · CBC Radio ·
Burt Reynolds in 1972, the early years of his film career. (Terry Disney/Express/Getty Images)

As news broke that actor Burt Reynolds had died at age 82 from a heart attack, celebrities and friends took to Twitter to express their condolences and share stories.

Reynolds was especially noted for his comedic chops in films, such as Cannonball Run and Smokey and the Bandit, and his smile was iconic (someone even looped it for 10 hours straight for your enjoyment). Norm Macdonald famously played this up in his portrayal of Reynolds on the longstanding Celebrity Jeopardy skit, in which his character always gave host Alex Trebek a difficult time (in an oversized cowboy hat no less)

During the '70s, he was a top box office draw and Hollywood heartthrob, famously appearing nude on a bearskin rug in a 1972 issue of Cosmo magazine.

But he could also hold his own in more dramatic roles, from Deliverance to Boogie Nights, and always exuded ease and charm on screen. He was also set to appear in Quentin Tarantino's upcoming Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Reynolds had a striking resemblance to a young Marlon Brando, but in his early years had trouble retaining work — something he had in common with Clint Eastwood.

"We both got fired on the same day at Universal," he said in an interview last year. Why? "Just from being bad actors. And they were right," he said.

Whatever he did after being let go from Gunsmoke, it worked, and Reynolds went on to make almost 200 films over the course of five decades, always with his trademark sense of humour, whether onscreen or off. 

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