Burt Reynolds was one of the biggest movie stars of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Men wanted to be him – and women wanted to be with him.
But now the legendary actor is heading eastbound and down while on the run from these streaming authorities.
“For the good old American life. For the money, The glory, And the fun. Mostly for the money.”
Burt Reynolds got his big break playing a supporting role as a blacksmith for a few seasons of Gunsmoke.
After a couple more television gigs and a few small movies, Reynolds broke out on to the big screen in 1972s’ Deliverance.
Now a star, Reynolds went from traversing the northern Georgia wilderness to playing football in prison in 1975s’ The Longest Yard.
The ‘70s featured many other big rolls for the heartthrob, including: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, Shamus, Nickelodeon, Hooper and many more.
During that period, he also expanded his resume by directing Gator, and executive producing Hustle.
Reynolds stayed a box-office draw in the ‘80s with hits like: The Cannonball Run and its sequel, The Best Little Whore House in Texas, City Heat alongside Clint Eastwood, Switching Channels, and even the lead voice over role in legendary cartoonist Don Bluth’s All Dogs Go to Heaven.
While Reynold’s cache faded in the ‘90s with roles in flops like Cop and a Half and Striptease – he worked consistently releasing movies all the way until his death at 82-years-old in 2018.
But for many fans, Burt Reynolds will forever and always be the “Bandit.”
“What we are dealing with here, is a complete lack of respect for the law.”
Reynold’s most famous role is arguably as Bo “Bandit” Darville in 1977s’ Smokey and the Bandit.
The movie features Bandit traveling with his eventual real-life flame, Sally Fields while trying to illegally run 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana to Atlanta in record time.
And all the while he has to escape Jackie Gleason as Sheriff Buford T. Justice – or “Smokey Bear” – who is on a personal mission to apprehend the Bandit.
Reynolds is aided by his pal Cledus Snow – played by legendary country music singer Jerry Reed – and loyal basset hound, Fred.
The good news is, you can relive, or watch Smokey and the Bandit for the first time right now on Netflix.
The bad news is, if you want to, you’ll have to act fast.
Because according to Entertainment Weekly, Netflix is repo’ing Bandit’s classic Pontiac Trans Am at the end of the month.
Smokey and the Bandit, as well as Smokey and the Bandit II will be gone from Netflix come August first.
So, July is your last chance to do what Gleason never could and catch the Bandit while he’s still running.
“When you tell somebody somethin’, it depends on which part of the United States you’re standing in as to just how dumb you are.”
As for the sequel, also leaving Netflix at the end of July, it doesn’t measure up to the original.
The gang is all back, and so to is Reynold’s real-life friend – and Cannonball Run cohort – Dom DeLuise.
Unfortunately, an elephant is also added to the cast and the story and all the jokes from the original return as well, making it a far less memorable piece of cinema history.
There’s actually a third movie in the franchise – but it was a flop and most fans don’t count it as part of Smokey canon.
Part three focuses on Cledus masquerading as Sheriff Buford T. Justice and only features a quick cameo from Reynolds.
It also lacks the presence of Sally Fields, whose on-screen chemistry with Reynolds helped make the original movie magic.
And stuntman-turned director Hal Needham was also removed for the third installment, replaced by Dick Lowry of Kenny Rogers as The Gambler and Jessie Stone: Lost Innocence fame.
Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 is not leaving Netflix at the end of July – because it is not currently available on Netflix.
In fact, it’s incredibly difficult to find anywhere.
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