Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. was an American actor, director and producer. He first rose to prominence starring in television series such as Gunsmoke, Hawk, and Dan August. His breakout film role was as Lewis Medlock in Deliverance. Reynolds played the leading role in a number of subsequent box office hits, such as The Longest Yard, Smokey and the Bandit, Semi-Tough, Hooper, Smokey and the Bandit II, The Cannonball Run and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.