
Reynolds was born in Lansing, Michigan, on Feb. My uncle was looking forward to working with Quentin Tarantino, and the amazing cast that was assembled Ī former college football player who took up acting after an injury cut short his playing career, Reynolds spent a decade taking on bit roles in Hollywood before breaking through with roles in some of the biggest films of the decade, including “Deliverance,” “The Longest Yard” and - the movie he’s best known for - “Smokey and the Bandit.”

Anyone who breaks their tail bone on a river and finishes the movie is tough. She added of his “unexpected” passing, “He was tough. “My uncle was not just a movie icon he was a generous, passionate and sensitive man, who was dedicated to his family, friends, fans and acting students.” “It is with a broken heart that I said goodbye to my uncle today,” she said in a statement.

The actor’s niece Nancy Lee Hess told Page Six on Thursday that her uncle “has had health issues,” but that his death was “totally unexpected.”
