STAR BURT DIES AT 82
Arnie tribute to film icon
MOVIE legend Burt Reynolds has died in hospital aged 82 after suffering a massive heart attack.
Hollywood was last night mourning the moustachioed megastar as his army of celebrity pals paid tribute to his life.
HOLLYWOOD film legend Burt Reynolds has died aged 82 following a heart attack.
He passed away in a Florida hospital yesterday with his family at his bedside, his publicist announced.
He had faced heart problems for years and underwent bypass surgery eight years ago.
Last night celebrity friends paid tribute to the famously moustachioed megastar.
Pal Arnold Schwarzenegger said: “Burt Reynolds was one of my heroes.
“He was a trailblazer. He showed the way to transition from being an athlete to being the highest paid actor, and he always inspired me.”
Wesley Snipes added: “Meeting you was one of the greater joys of my adult life.” Burt’s handsome looks and easy-going charm earned him sex symbol status and a near 50-year film career.
He shot to fame in 1972’s Deliverance, and also starred in Smokey And The
Bandit, The Cannonball Run and Boogie Nights, for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as porn director Jack Horner in 1997.
The Michigan-born star – full name Burton Leon Reynolds Jr – spent nearly five years as the No1 box office attraction in America in the 1970s.
He starred alongside icons such as Dolly Parton, Goldie Hawn and Julie Andrews.
He also turned down major roles including James Bond and Han Solo in Star Wars.
Reynolds married Loni Anderson, his second wife, in 1988 but they split in 1993 in one of the nastiest Hollywood break-ups.
They shared a son Quinton. One of the biggest moments of Burt’s career was when he posed naked for Cosmopolitan magazine on a bearskin rug. He admitted later: “It was really stupid. I don’t know what I was thinking.”