BURT REYNOLDS passed away yesterday at the age of 82. He suffered a heart attack – he’s had heart problems for a while. Burt was very frail recently, and had been in and out of the hospital. TMZ has a 911 call, where a guy says Burt is having trouble breathing and chest pain. Burt was awake, but he wasn’t answering questions. The call was made just after noon yesterday. Burt had open heart surgery in 2010, and in 2009, he went to rehab to “regain control of his life.” He’d become addicted to painkillers after having back surgery. Burt was first known for his 1960s TV roles in “Gunsmoke”, “Hawk”, and later “Dan August”. His breakout movie role was “Deliverance”, and that led to a series of box office hits including “The Longest Yard”, “Hooper”, “The Cannonball Run”, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”, and the “Smokey and the Bandit” movies. He was in a lot of flops in the late-’80s, but he bounced back with the ’90s sitcom “Evening Shade”, which got him two Emmy nominations and one win. And his movie career rebounded with “Boogie Nights” in 1997, which got him his first and only Oscar nomination. He DID win the Golden Globe though. Back in the ’70s, Burt turned down a chance to become James Bond, saying, “An American can’t play James Bond. It just can’t be done.” He later admitted regretting it. “He also turned down playing Han Solo in “Star Wars”, and he almost played Michael Corleone “The Godfather”. He also passed on the Oscar-winning Jack Nicholson role in the 1983 movie “Terms of Endearment”. Burt once said that he chose the parts that would be the most FUN, not the ones that would be the most challenging. It was after doing “Deliverance”, he posed naked for a legendary “Cosmopolitan” centerfold.
BURT REYNOLDS may have been a huge movie star, but he never forgot his southern roots. He had lots of country star friends, none bigger than DOLLY PARTON, who posted a heartfelt tribute on Twitter. She wrote, “Oh how sad I am today. We will always remember his funny laugh, that mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and his quirky sense of humor. You will always be my favorite sheriff, rest in peace my little buddy. I will always love you.” That “favorite sheriff” is Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd, the character Burt played in the 1982 movie, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”. Other country star tributes include: Reba McEntire, who reminisced about their TV movie “The Man From Left Field”. Big & Rich called him a “trailblazer and Hollywood legend.” Travis Tritt loved his “good ole boy persona.” And Charlie Daniels offered up prayers. Burt released a country album in 1973 called “Ask Me What I Am”. He did a song in the “Smokey and the Bandit 2” soundtrack called, “Let’s Do Something Cheap and Superficial” . . . and it reached #51 on the “Billboard” country chart in 1980. It’s trite, twangy, he’s off-key . . . and awesome.
CARRIE UNDERWOOD is cancelling two shows and other appearances in the U.K. due to an illness. Her record company confirmed it, and said she “looks forward to resuming promotion for her new album ‘Cry Pretty’ soon.” Carrie’s pregnant, so let’s hope this is NOT related. According to her calendar, she’ll be doing “The Tonight Show” next Thursday, which is the night before the new album drops.
“Us Weekly” says the cast of “Dancing with the Stars” will also include Mary Lou Retton, DeMarcus Ware, John Schneider, and model Alexis Ren.
A final season of ANTHONY BOURDAIN’s “Parts Unknown” will premiere on CNN on September 23rd.
KANE BROWN and his fiancée Katelyn Jae will be getting married very soon, and disappearing from the world to have some fun. He said, “I’m gonna take three months off. We’ll have the wedding and then we’re going to take a month for the honeymoon.” Keep in mind that January 10th is when his Live Forever Tour starts. He says, “It’s my biggest tour so far. We’ve been in clubs, and now we’ll be playing for 8,000 to 10,000 people.” He’s bringing Granger Smith, RaeLynn, Danielle Bradbery, and Jimmie Allen along to open select dates on that. He’s also releasing a new album – “Experiment”, and it’ll be out November 9th.
Blake Shelton performs onstage during the 2018 CMA Music festival at Nissan Stadium on June 8, 2018 in Nashville. He has been appointed to the board of a foundation that will raise money for wildlife conservation in his home state of Oklahoma.
EMMYLOU HARRIS is getting a new exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. “Emmylou Harris: Songbird’s Flight” opens October 5th and runs through August 4th. She says, “From my first album, in 1975, the country music world has embraced me with open arms. This makes me realize once more how grateful and honored I am to be part of such a remarkable musical family.”
- “The Nun” (R) Trailer
- “Peppermint” (R)
JAMIE LEE CURTIS is sharing her secret for feeling good about herself as an older woman: Don’t look in the mirror. “I’m not going to look the same as I used to, and I don’t want to be confronted by that.”
“Gilligan’s Island” star DAWN WELLS issued a statement thanking everyone for contributing to her GoFundMe page . . . and she said, “Please know that my outlook is positive and I look forward to seeing you all in my travels.”
Disney is doing a series about a high school staging a production of “High School Musical”. They’re calling it “High School Musical: The Musical”. It’ll air on Disney’s streaming service, which isn’t launching until late next year.
Sunday at 5:15 p.m. Eastern on NBC. The Green Bay Packers host the Chicago Bears on “Sunday Night Football”.
Sunday at 9:00 p.m. on ABC: “The Miss America Competition”. This year’s pageant is hosted by Carrie Ann Inaba.
