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),
Ned Beatty Straight. In 1976, he appeared in "All the President's Men", "The Big Bus", "Silver Streak" and "Mikey and Nicky". In 1977, he returned to work with John Boorman in "" (1977), starring Linda Blair, and appeared in "The Final Chapter", the first episode of the television series "Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected". During 1977-78, he starred in the sitcom "Szysznyk" on CBS. In 1978, Beatty appeared in "Gray Lady Down" (1978), a drama aboard a submarine starring Charlton Heston. The film is significant chiefly for being the screen debut of Christopher Reeve, Beatty's future costar. Later that year, Beatty