Rant #2,219: Let's Do Something Cheap and Superficial

It seems that death is in the air, or at least in the air I breathe.

For instance, during the past four Friday Rants, I have written three times about people who died, including today's column.

And that doesn't even take into account what happened this past week, when a work colleague of mine passed away. His funeral is being held this weekend, by the way.

Anyhow, let's stare death in the face again, and you probably know who I am going to write about today.

Burt Reynolds, the ultimate "good old boy" actor who was perhaps America's top movie star in the 1970s and 1980s, died yesterday at age 82.

And as you can surmise, you aren't going to get the usual obituary here, because, well, you can get that anywhere.

Reynolds, who was actually born in Michigan, did not aspire to be a movie actor. He wanted to be an NFL player, and was actually quite a good high school player that colleges scouted him, but he never reached his goal, as an injury derailed his career.

He ended up in Hollywood, and he cut his teeth being a character actor on a number of TV shows, including "Flipper."

He married Judy Carne of later "Laugh-In" fame, and as her star grew, his kind of ran in motion, and the marriage did not last.

But as Hollywood was opening up in the late 1960s, Reynolds seemed the perfect person to lead the charge, or at least on television, moving up to starring roles on a few shows, including "Dan August."

He gravitated towards movies, and "Deliverance" was his breakthrough role, but he really didn't hit his stride until he cultivated his "good old boy" image in movies like "The Longest Yard" and the "Smokey and the Bandit" films.

He was also fodder for the pre-Internet gossip columns of time, linking him to everyone from Dinah Shore to Sally Field to Dolly Parton and to just about every actress who needed a jump start to their burgeoning careers.

Press releases and gossip fueled his rise as not only America's No. 1 box office attraction but also America's No. 1 male heartthrob, and he completed this turn with his nude centerfold in Cosmopolitan Magazine making him, and his mustache, universally famous.

He also knew that more people watched television than went to the movies, and his constant appearances on the small screen cemented his popularity. He was probably one of the first movie stars to constantly go back to TV, his breeding ground, for extra exposure, and he often used Johnny Carson and "The Tonight Show" as his vehicle.

One memorable appearance that I can remember happened in the mid 1970s, I do believe, when he and best buddy Dom Deluise supposedly burst unannounced onto the show one night, sporting cans of whipped cream.

They ended up spraying up the entire set with the whipped cream, but the ultimate moment was when Reynolds put the nozzle of the whip cream can down the front of his pants and sprayed himself, with his facial reaction one for the ages.

Yes, Reynolds could make fun of himself and fun of his image without any problem.

His movies became hit and miss affairs, with every "The End" punctuated with numerous misses, like "Lucky Lady" and "Rent-A-Cop," both co-starring Liza Minnelli. His "Cannonball Run" movies did keep his star shining for a brief time, too.

As his career faded, he continued to keep a high profile in the gossip columns, with his marriages--in particular to Loni Anderson--making major headlines.

After years of lesser films, he made a major comeback with "Boogie Nights"--where he received his first and only Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of a porn movie director--and also had a nice run in the TV show "Evening Shade"--where he won an Emmy Award--but that fame only lasted so long.

During this period, he was getting much negative press, with his personal life and financial well being often the focus of the gossip columns.

He continued to be a busy actor during the past 20 years or so, and was scheduled to appear in a new movie project directed by Quentin Tarrantino before he left us yesterday.

Burt Reynolds was a pre-Internet darling, but it seemed that what you saw on the screen was really what he was in real life. He could laugh at himself, not take himself seriously at all, and he had a smile that, framed with his signature mustache, engrained him in our culture.

He will be missed.

Speak to you again on Monday. Have a great weekend.