Burt Reynolds after he posed naked in the April 1972 issue of "Cosmopolitan". Reynolds said he did it for "a kick. I have a strange sense of humor" and because he knew he had "Deliverance" coming out. He later expressed regret for posing for Cosmopolitan. "Deliverance" was a huge commercial and critical success and, along with the talk show appearances, helped establish Reynolds as a star. "The night of the Academy Awards, I counted a half-dozen Burt Reynolds jokes," he later said. "I had become a household name, the most talked-about star at the award show." He was then in "Fuzz" (1972),
Frances Lee McCain and off-Broadway in Lanford Wilson's "Lemon Sky", creating the role of Carol. She joined the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco under William Ball and played a variety of roles in repertory. She began her career in film and television after appearing opposite Jon Voight and Faye Dunaway in "A Streetcar Named Desire", eventually co-starring with Ronny Cox as the female lead in her own television series, CBS-TV's "Apple's Way" in 1974. She appeared in a variety of television series and miniseries throughout the 1970s, including "" and the "Quincy ME" episode "Eye Of The Needle" playing a Holistic practitioner.