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),
Physical Evidence Physical Evidence Physical Evidence is a 1989 American crime thriller film directed by Michael Crichton (in his final film as a director), and stars Burt Reynolds, Theresa Russell and Ned Beatty. It follows an ex-police officer who is incriminated by the evidence, but insists on his innocence. After parking his car and placing a "Happy Now?" sign around his neck, a man attempts to jump off a bridge to hang himself but finds extortionist Jake Farley lying under it. He grabs Jake's foot with the rope but discovers he is dead. Meanwhile at the apartment, beleaguered ex-police officer Joe Paris