(JTA) — Burt Reynolds, one of the most successful actors of the ’70s, known for his roles in films such as “The Longest Yard,” “Deliverance” and “Smokey and the Bandit,” passed away Thursday at age 82.
Despite his ample and Semitic chest hair, made famous in a now iconic nude Cosmopolitan centerfold, Reynolds wasn’t Jewish — though he did have plenty of Jewish collaborators and co-stars, including actress Goldie Hawn, who was his good friend. One of his last films, “The Last Movie Star,” was directed by Jewish filmmaker Adam Rifkin.
Rifkin and many other Jewish stars paid tribute to him on social media.
