Deliverance to play Lewis Medlock. Jack Nicholson was considered for the role of Ed, while both Donald Sutherland and Charlton Heston turned down the role of Lewis. Other actors who were attached to the project included Robert Redford, Henry Fonda, George C. Scott and Warren Beatty. The film is infamous for cutting costs by not insuring the production and having the actors perform their own stunts (most notably, Jon Voight climbed the cliff himself). In one scene, the stunt coordinator decided that a scene showing a canoe with a dummy of Burt Reynolds in it looked phony; he said it looked
Burt Reynolds reuniting him with Welch, and made a cameo in "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex*(*But Were Afraid to Ask)" (1972). He also returned to the stage, appearing in "The Rainmaker" at the Arlington. Reynolds played the title role in "Shamus" (1973), a modern-day private eye, which was a solid box office success. Reynolds described it as "not a bad film, kind of cute." He was in "The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing" (1973) co-starring Sarah Miles. The film is best remembered for the scandal during filming where Miles' lover committed suicide; it was a minor hit. He was