Burt Reynolds his spleen and injured his other knee in a bad car accident. These injuries hampered his abilities on the field, and after being beaten in coverage for the game-winning touchdown in a 7-0 loss to North Carolina State on October 12, 1957, he decided to give up football. Ending his college football career, Reynolds thought of becoming a police officer; however, his father suggested he finish college and become a parole officer. To keep up with his studies, he began taking classes at Palm Beach Junior College (PBJC) in neighboring Lake Park. In his first term at PBJC, he was
Burt Reynolds "Bogdanovich can get him to do the telephone book! Anybody else has to persuade him to do something. He's fascinated by Bogdanovich. I can't understand it." He turned down the part of Clark Gable in "Gable and Lombard". Reynolds had the biggest hit of his career with a car chase film "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977), directed by Hal Needham and co-starring Jackie Gleason and Sally Field. He followed it with a comedy about football players, "Semi-Tough" (1977), co-starring Jill Clayburgh and Kris Kristofferson and produced by David Merrick. He then made his second film as director "The End" (1978),