Burt Reynolds, Movie Star Who Played It for Grins, Dies at 82

Actor Burt Reynolds has died. He was 82.  

He showed he could be a true and good actor in Deliverance, but he often preferred to make “good ole boys” comedy-actions films. I didn’t care much for these films, but they were hugely popular. 

I liked Burt Reynolds in TV’s Gunsmoke and later in Deliverance, and I liked him in Shamus, Stick, Sharkey’s Machine and several other crime films and a few westerns.

You can read about his life and work in his memoir But Enough About Me. 

And you can read about Burt Reynolds in a Hollywood Reporter piece via the below link:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/burt-reynolds-dead-deliverance-boogie-nights-star-was-82-831093

Westerns Make Gritty Comeback

Lori Rackl at the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the Western, once a staple on prime-time TV, is bucking its way back onto the small screen with the new AMC Western series Hell on Wheels.

You can read the review via the below link:

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/rackl/8590094-421/westerns-make-gritty-comeback.html

I'm a big fan of Westerns, but I watched the first episode of Hell on Wheels and I thought it was awful.

I much prefer the great, old TV Westerns from the 1ate 1950s and the 1960s that appear daily on Encore's Classic Western channel.

I grew up watching these Westerns, such as Have Gun Will Travel, Gunsmoke and Maverick, and I'm enjoying watching them again.

The old shows offer a galaxy of guest stars, many of whom went on to be major film stars. The shows also offer great character actors, writers and directors.

The TV Westerns were called "horse operas" due to the compelling characters and plots (daytime TV series were called "soap operas" due to the soap and detergent commercials aimed at housewives).

Today's TV makers could learn a thing or two about drama, action, comedy and good human stories from those old TV Westerns.