It’s hard to picture a time when Burt Reynolds wasn’t an A-list star. For decades, Reynolds was the face of jagged cool. He had an entire career as a leading man, and then a second, equally long career as an older man reminding you that he used to be a leading man. He was the action hero, the wisecracker, and the rugged sage, all in one lifetime.
But, if one were to rewind back to 1963, there was a time when the classic Western TV show Gunsmoke featured a Reynolds ascendant.
“They put me on one show last year to test for public reaction. They got a few letters and put me on 8 more; then 17 more,” Burt told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“I’m getting away from the kick that everybody hates me this season,” said Reynolds. By 1963, he’d done enough episodes to cement his character in viewers’ minds.
“I was getting sick of punching people in the mouth […] I’m not so much the ‘angry young man.’ Of course, it is always there, but there are ways to throttle it down.”
While the steady work was satisfying, Reynolds longed to escape the Western world.
“I want to be in comedy. Nobody puts me in comedy because I don’t have the kisser for it. I do comedy best, and someday, I’m gonna do it.”
Even that early in his career, Reynolds could see his future.
“I’m about three years from people wanting me,” said Reynolds.
“First, they say ‘Who is Burt Reynolds?’
“Then it’s ‘Get me Burt Reynolds.’
“And then, in about three years, it will be ‘Get me a Burt Reynolds type.'”