On the cusp of movie stardom with “Deliverance,” the actor posed nude for a centerfold for Cosmopolitan magazine, becoming the first man to do so in a mainstream American publication. It turns out his appeal was thoroughly modern, especially to a new generation of second-wave feminists who were entering the workplace and demanding equality in society and in their personal and sexual lives.Īs if to demonstrate his appeal to the “women’s liberation” generation, Reynolds set pulses racing with his decision in 1972 to participate in what became a groundbreaking cultural moment. (Photo by Michele Eve Sandberg/Invision/AP)īut as a sex symbol, Reynolds wasn’t just a macho, good-old-boy throwback to earlier times.
Burt Reynolds attends Palm Beach International Film Festival’s Student Showcase of Films Awards Show at Lynn University on Saturday, Apin Boca Raton, Fla. They also zero in on the “Smokey and the Bandit” star’s ruggedly handsome looks and easy-going charm, which made him a heartthrob in a string of popular films in the 1970s and 1980s. Many testimonials to Burt Reynolds’ movie legacy Thursday correctly hailed him as an accomplished actor who was probably underrated during his nearly 50-year career.
