Burt Reynolds, R.I.P.

I liked Burt Reynolds in many of his films and most of his appearances with Johnny Carson. There's something very friendly about a handsome leading-man type who doesn't take himself too seriously and can laugh at his own image.

He once appeared on a TV show I worked on but we didn't meet when he taped his spot. A few weeks later though, he dropped by the office about something else and we got introduced. We talked for about ten minutes about nothing that mattered one bit. But it did matter to me that he was the same self-deprecating guy with the hyena laugh who appeared often with Johnny.

Then one evening I was at a party and I listened as his ex-wife Judy Carne told a small group of folks how when she was married to him, Burt used to beat the hell out of her. From that point on, it became somewhat more difficult to like Burt Reynolds.