Good-bye Bandit

I mark the passing of Burt Reynolds, the actor who dominated the box office in the 1970s. I never met him but I couldn’t help but like him. He died yesterday at the age of 82.

Reynolds reigned as the Bandit of “Smokey and the Bandit” fame. He once claimed that the president of Pontiac offered him a new Trans Am every year for the rest of his life because of how the model was popularized on the screen. Of course Pontiac died in 2010. Bad luck for Burt.

I loved some of his real life quotes. Reynolds was obviously unlucky when it came to long-term relationships. He had numerous romances, covered by every Hollywood rag on display at the grocery store check out.

Here are a few of my favorite Burt Reynolds’ quotes:

On marrying within the acting industry, Reynolds said, (quote) “When an actor marries an actress they both fight for the mirror.”

On marriage, Reynolds once quipped it was the most expensive way for the average man to get his laundry done. Probably good insight as to why he was not a successful husband.

He once said---“you can never be too thin, or too rich.”

Reynolds didn’t have an overblown view of his acting ability. He said, “my movies were the kind they show in prison and airplanes..because nobody can leave. “

I guess the last time I heard him quoted was when he said, in a magazine article, “There are three stages of an actor’s career. Young, old and “you look good.”

His death put to rest the possibility of Smokey and the Bandit 5.

Probably a good thing. 

Rest in Peace Bandit.