Reba McEntire Reacts to Burt Reynolds’ Death: ‘Rest in Peace, My Friend’
Reba McEntire is among the celebrities who turned to social media on Thursday (Sept. 6) to react to the news of actor Burt Reynolds' death. The singer and actress posted a picture of herself with Reynolds to Instagram, accompanied by some sweet words for her friend.
"My good friend has started a new journey. Rest in my peace my friend. I’ll never forget the wonderful times we spent together," McEntire writes.
The photo she shared appears to be a still from a 1993 made-for-television film titled The Man From Left Field, in which the pair co-starred. According to IMDB, Reynolds plays the role of Jack Robinson, and McEntire stars as Nancy Lee Prinzi in the movie.
"After taking a job managing a little league team, a homeless man inspires the kids to reach for it all and they inspire him to reclaim his life," IMDB describes the plot. Reynolds also directed the film and served as one of its producers. 1960s and '70s country star Bobby Goldsboro provided the music for the film, two decades after he co-produced Reynolds' mostly-forgotten country album, Ask Me What I Am.
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McEntire recalls the filming of The Man From Left Field fondly on her official website.
"I loved working with Burt Reynolds on this movie for TV," she writes. "We filmed it in south Florida. [Son] Shelby was with me a lot on the set — he was a little bitty boy! Burt and [then-wife] Loni [Anderson] would have their son Quinton with them, too. I have some really cute pictures of Shelby and Quinton together!"
Reynolds had other close ties to country music; Jerry Reed played opposite him in 1977's Smokey and the Bandit, scoring one of his biggest hits with its main theme, "East Bound and Down." He went on to appear in several of the sequels, and Reynolds also starred opposite Dolly Parton in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in 1982.
According to multiple media reports, Reynolds died on Thursday morning at a hospital in Florida after suffering a heart attack. He was 82 years old.