The Burt Reynolds Story - Chapter Four

[@TheRelaxingRide]

loving this series ... can't ... stop ... watching

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thanks so very much. Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@idratherberidingnow]

Just ran across this series and have really enjoyed. Like you, he has two of my all time favorite movies. Hooper and Smokey & The Bandit as well as Sharkey’s Machine. Thanks for putting this together for the fans.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thanks good sir! Cheers! Gator

[@CaptainSpalding72]

STARTING OVER with Jill Clayberg is fantastic. THE END is great too.

[@tromageorge]

Another great chapter. I have rewatched each one about 3 times each. Can't wait for the next.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Wow! That’s awesome... thanks so much! Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@giantrobot234]

So for some reason, KZbin recommended your video series on Burt to me. I'm not a fan nor have I ever been. your video series is so comprehensive and engrossing that I instantly fell into this man's turn. Yesterday I watched Boogie Nights, and Smokey and the Bandit 1 and 2! This man is a legend. Thank you for creating your series and giving such a different perspective into his life and character. Please don't stop with the videos. And if you can, I think a video examining his relationship with Sally Field would be fascinating!

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write that. I work really hard on these and it makes it all worth the while to see someone like yourself enjoy the end product. The next chapter (5) will go into much detail on Sally. It has been one of the more difficult and challenging segments to write. Probably the main reason for the delay. But your words inspire me to dig deeper and get that chapter going. Thanks again. Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@giantrobot234]

@@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews I'm subbed so I can't wait for it to come out! Thanks again for introducing me to a legend I never really knew much about! Keep up the GREAT work!

[@bigbandit9384]

Great job Love the way you dubbed in you and bert sitting together that was fantastic 😎✌

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thanks! That was a challenge! More of that to come! Check out Cannonball Run in Chapter 5. Put myself in the van with him at the end. Wasn't easy. Cheers! Gator

[@johnard611]

@@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews I really appreciate all the video and picture editing magic you've employed to make this series of docs so entertaining! In this episode, the Burt as hunchback and replacing Nicholson on the "One Flew over the Cuckco's Nest" poster tickled my funny bone.

[@tomcosburn4114]

What a great documentary - lots of cool, rare interviews and interesting facts - and everything mentioned that Burt Reynolds ever did - would love to see Chapter 5

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thanks Tom! These chapters are getting more challenging as I go so they are taking a while longer. Hopefully Chapter 5 doesn’t disappoint. Looking at July for release. Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@tomcosburn4114]

@@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews Excellent Craig !!! Look forward to seeing it - keep up the great work

[@johnard611]

@@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews I watched episodes 5-8 before 1-4 and think you rose mightily to those challenges and produced some awesome content!

[@tigerghost82]

Hey man, thanks a lot for all of the work you out into this. Very enjoyable.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thanks Seth. Wish I had done this when Burt was sill alive, but better late than never. Very much appreciate that you took the time to comment. Cheers! Gator

[@tigerghost82]

@@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews Cant wait for the next chapter. Been on a Burt Binge the last few days, maybe a chapter going deep into his many relationships would be great too. Seeing photos of him with sally brings warm feelings, even though it was over before i was born.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

@@tigerghost82 Chapter 5 in progress... Hopefully January.

[@brians9151]

This one was my favorite!! I too am a HUGE Hooper fan. I’ve seen it so many times. Looking forward to seeing the next one. !!!

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Brian Silver Thanks pal... Hooper might be my favorite as well. At least tied for first... Cheers buddy! Gator 🐊

[@johnard611]

Hooper is a very fun movie! I had seen enough of Bogdanovich's clever film promotional shorts to really dig Robert Klein's performance although I don't think I realized it was a homage until I watched this episode.

[@TheGraphitt]

Great Job man! I've been introducing my kids to all Burt's films.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

That's awesome! My Dad took me to the Drive-Inn back in the 70's for my first time and it was a double feature.... Gator and Smokey... The end result was 40 plus years of obsession and this crazy You Tube Channel. Thanks for watching! Cheers! Gator

[@johnard611]

@@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews That's awesome! My mother took me to alot of drive-in movies but we never had much luck seeing good movies or our favorite actors. My high school bought the old drive-in in Savannah to build a sports complex in the summer before my senior year and me and the rest of the football players helped dismantle the playground (which in retrospect seems like a stupid thing to get rid of). Unfortunately the field wasn't yet in good enough shape to play football on for my last season. But I did have one of the best move-going experiences of my life when Terminator 2 later somehow first-run premiered at my local drive-in in Statesboro, GA.

[@3847CAK]

Outstanding Gator! I particularly liked the way you used the Carson interview as a preview to the the film clips. Loved the nostalgic ending sitting with Burt. That was also totally cool where your wife and her Mom were by his star. I'm now officially a Burt Reynoldsophile! Can't wait for chapter five. Gator out!

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Craig Knapp Thanks Mr. Knapp. Your words are so very much appreciated. Glad you noticed all the little things. Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@johnard611]

@@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews I love the Carson segments too, I watched so many of those with my mother when I was growing up and that's probably a big reason I'm not a morning person :) I also love, love the "Shitty Siskel and Ebert movie review" segments since I can empathize with both the reviews and Burt's feelings about them.

[@slightlymad22]

Love it, really happy with how it has turned out 😁

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Indeed! A mini masterpiece! Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@CalTxDude]

I just found your incredible spot here on KZbin and I am enjoying every single second!! I have been a Burt Reynolds fan since Dan August! Thank you for doing what you do!!

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thank you so very much for taking the time to write. I put endless hours into these and really appreciate those who can see that effort. The channel is still new and hoping to find more true fans like yourself to help fuel my energy to get thru future chapters. I too grew up on the great Burt Reynolds and wish I had done this before he passed. But hopefully he is looking down on us appreciating the love. Cheers! Gator

[@helenamendoza8938]

After you are done maybe you could do something like this for Jerry Reed or Hal needham I would love for you to continue this. I have enjoyed every minute of this and like you I’m a huge Burt fan!

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Helena Mendoza Thank you so very much. Those are such kind words. I might do one on Sylvester Stallone. But still got a ways to go on this one. Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@agentrobtaylor]

Dude! Capping the teeth at sinner Burt is awesome!

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Rob Taylor Thanks Rob... I was cracking up doing that... Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@rebeccaspeight5237]

Excellent work 🤩

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thanks so much! Really appreciate that. Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@Edington]

Really great quality here on your expose!! I love these excellent work!

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Edington thanks again! You are too kind.

[@nathandoden7698]

I'm 40 but was raised to appreciate classic movies. I love Burt and appreciate this channel. Any idea when chapter 5 is coming? God bless brother in JESUS NAME Amen.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thanks Nathan. So very excited when I hear that people are enjoying this channel. Chapter 5 has been started but had to pause as I got a tremendous opportunity to meet and interview Burt’s personal assistant who was with him for over 17 years. Her name is Elaine Blake Schell (formally Elaine Hall) and this will hopefully finish up in the next 2 weeks. I think fans of Burt will really love hearing her stories and insight on his amazing career. Thanks again for your kind supportive words. Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@strictlysega]

i was looking up hooper and found your series,, absolutely loved it,, will be subscribing as chapter 5 looks to be huge. I hope you cover city heat, Malone, Heat and the man who loved women. I thought he was great with Blake Edwards.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thanks so much! I’m wrapping up Chapter 5 over the next couple weeks. Will cover “Smokey 2” and “Cannonball Run” along with Burt’s time in the theater and a deep dive on his relationship with Sally Field. Hopefully Chapter 6 gets closer to covering some of your mentioned favorites. Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@rlaw1971]

When do we get chapter 5 ???? Some really good work ...

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Probably January... Just finished a video that took 2 months... Getting back into Chapter 5 now. Thanks! Gator

[@stevenroberts5741]

This was an excellent series of videos. I've been a life long Burt fan. Loved how you mixed in Burts own reading of his life....added a real depth, insight and at times sadness with the retrospective nature of his reflections. Thank you 👍🏻....... .....p.s. When is there going to be chapter 5?

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Hello Mr. Roberts. Thank you for the tremendous compliment and for taking the time to write. I put an enormous amount of effort in these and it's very rewarding to see Burt fans enjoy it. Chapter 5 is in progress but has been slowed by a number of things including the in-depth interview I did with Burt's personal assistant and some commitments I had to 2 other documentary series. That combined with a 2 month illness have really slowed the process. The chapter is mostly written and underway, but like all my videos, it won't be released until it lives up to the standard of the others. Again, thanks so much for your comments. Cheers! Gator

[@johnard611]

@@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews Sorry to hear about your illness, hope things are better now. I really enjoy the interview segments with his personal assistant and am glad she was there to help save his life when he needed someone.

[@RoadRunnergarage8570]

Jan Micheal Vincent was also the main character in the trucking film White Line Fever..

[@Alex_machin_animator]

Is there a chapter 5? I’m hooked!

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Hi Alex. Chapter 5 should release in June. It will be a fun segment covering Smokey 2, Cannonball Run, Paternity and Sharkey’s Machine, along with segments on Sally Field and Burt’s Dinner Theater. I take my time with these as they are very in depth and I try to make them top quality entertaining pieces. Thanks so much for your support. Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@Alex_machin_animator]

GATOR McKLUSKY cool! This is really a labour of love! I appreciate your dedication!

[@paulorlando5877]

The End is great.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thanks... I loved doing that ending. Cheers! Gator

[@johnard611]

The End is a big reason I still enjoy dark humor now and again. The scene where Rob Reiner keels over killed me!

[@21joerice]

I'm not seeing Chapter 5 pop up, so maybe you haven't gotten to it yet, but I said to you in my other post that I'd share some of my thoughts on Burt when I got through the videos, so I'd like to do that now. Forgive me if this is lengthy, but Burt is probably the only Hollywood actor that I'd bother doing this for....To begin, I'm not an expert on Burt, just a lifelong fan. Haven't done all the research or read his books (maybe I should do that next), but I want to explain why he stands out in my mind. I was born in '78, so he was one of those Hollywood folks you just grew up knowing who they were, and he was already coming into his veteran status by that time. Smokey/Bandit I've always considered my favorite movie, though White Lightning is a much better movie, but I love the genre, so anything along that line is fine. Skipping ahead over a lot I could say, one day in September of 2018, I was driving around listening to the Smokey/Bandit soundtrack I had just recently ordered off Amazon, checked my phone at a stop light, and saw the news...my hero was gone. The next day, I received from Amazon the DVD I had waited so long to see, "The Last Movie Star".....I believe that movie is the crowning achievement of his career. The part was written for him, it addresses so many truths about him (Adam Rifkin's 'making of' documentary on the DVD is great), and it endeared me to this man I never met even more. For it cemented so much of what I already thought. Amazingly, what made Burt special among stars was his humility. It's also been pointed out a few times in your videos, and it drips from his interviews. Think of how many times Burt says "I'm sorry" or "I wish I hadn't done that". He regrets flying off the handle, the things he did and said to certain directors, the way he treated women, and not least of all, some of his career moves. He is able to look back and admit, to your face, that he made mistakes. That is rare in show biz. Most would claim arrogantly "I'm not sorry for anything I ever did because it made me who I am today, blah, blah, blah..." He did the exact opposite, all the way up through his last interviews. In "The Last Movie Star", he faces his fans and admits to wrongdoings that they knew about, and some they did not. Christians call this repentance. He decides to change, even at his elderly age, teaching that it's never too late to start again from right where you are. If the language and couple of scenes in this movie were cleaned up, it'd actually be a great faith-based film. (I even bought a copy for my pastor.) I never heard whether or not Burt ever made a profession of faith, but I did find through a Google search that he had a fairly traditional Baptist funeral, so perhaps he did. But either way, I'm thankful that this "man's man" that we loved can still remind us that no matter how high our stature in life, in the end, it's not all about us.....thank you for a place to share these thoughts.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Hey Joe. Really nicely said. I have stayed away from "The Last Movie Star" since first seeing it as I know it will upset me. When I get to that Chapter, I'll be forced to do a deep dive into it and expose all that it is. I encourage you to watch Kevin Smith's video of his reaction to that film and Burt's passing. It's also something I will touch on in the final chapter. Clearly he meant a lot to you and I think we have similar stories about how we came to respect the man and his legacy. Chapter Five is coming along and I hope to release it in July. I take my time with these as they need to be special and unique from the other stuff out there. Thanks so much for your post and hope you enjoy the rest of the content here. All my best, Gator

[@21joerice]

@@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews Thanks, Gator! Looking forward to #5. I also watched the interview with Elaine. Very interesting! Ttyl!

[@rhondaswanson8804]

A

[@kyleryan3582]

Who remade the song. Gator. Thats an awesome take on the song.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

That’s my band “Wheelhouse Junction” song. I begged my guys to cover that as I always loved it. I have 2 bands and play drums for both. Also produced and engineered the albums. I had my other band do “East Bound and Down”. That band is New Messiah. You can find all of that stuff on my other You Tube page. Here’s a link to the Gator song/video. You can check out the you tube page from that song link. Thanks for the kind words! Gator 🐊 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmHZqWdnhK6oqqM

[@paulorlando5877]

The song from Stroker Ace by Charlie Daniels I always liked too,kinda like the Gator song.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Yeah! That's a great tune for sure! Cheers! Gator

[@goodwood-rc4nx]

lottie lenya the lady mentioned in mack the knife song

[@ernieevans9664]

Just 500 views seems like more people would watch

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thanks Ernie. My channel is new. Only 445 Subs... Still trying to get the word out. Hoping that it grows and the views grow with it. Cheers! Gator

[@ernieevans9664]

Your welcome. I just grew up watching burt and I know he was talented a real movie star.

[@HollywoodNobody]

When do we get part 5

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Soon... January? I hope... Cheers! Gator

[@HollywoodNobody]

@@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews Oh, that's fantastic! I'm really enjoying them! And how did you manage to get your hands on the audiobook version of Burt's first book? I'm been trying like mad to find it!

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

@@HollywoodNobody I had the audio cassettes from when it first came out... transferred it to CD years ago. Lost the cassettes in a house flood.

[@nigelbenton880]

Decent bio and looking forward to chapter 5 but can anyone explain why this guy has taken on the name of Burt's character in Gator. Unless his name really is Gator McKlusky

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thanks Nigel... I’m glad you are enjoying my documentary series. Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@Katzenhase]

That scene at 28:48 annoys me because it showed the "old" vulgar Burt Reynolds. The whole picture (Starting Over) showed Burt as an actor and then Alan J. Pakula put that unneccessary scene in the movie. I always think that scene doesn´t fit in the movie.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Good point. Cheers! Gator

[@oldschoolmuscle4436]

Your video productions are astoundingly awesome. I always found it interesting how Burt continually surrounded himself with short (Alfie) and gay/effeminate (Nabors, O'Reilly, Deluise) actors as though he had a height and masculinity complex.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Thanks so much! Really appreciate that. Cheers! Gator 🐊

[@RoadRunnergarage8570]

I think Alfie Wise was one of the cops in Smokey And The Bandit..... He has some interesting comments on Buford T Justice's "Piece Of Crap On My Highway!!".. lol😅!!

[@carlosgarza4807]

👍🏼💖🙏🏼

[@averybryant6997]

R.I.P. Kris Kristopherson..........😢

[@paulorlando5877]

Semi-tough is like North Dallas Forty,imo.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Agreed... But I think the best parts of ST are better than the best of NDF. Cheers! Gator

[@johnard611]

@@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews I really need to re-visit Semi-Tough since I don't remember much about it. But I caught North Dallas 40 many times on HBO when I was growing up and it was an eye opening look at how football uses you up the longer you play it. It was a big reason (besides the fact that I was too slow and short to be a starter) why I didn't walk-on at my college. But that decision kinda turned out to be my "turning down Terms of Endearment" because one of my high-school teammates (whom I blocked against every practice for 3 years) did walk-on and got to play in a few blow-outs our freshman year and eventually got a ring when Georgia Southern won one of its six national football championships that season.

[@hushmoney2058]

Dom 1933 to 2009

[@hushmoney2058]

The Man who loved Women was a Great Movie as well as Sharkey's Machine ....

[@CaptainSpalding72]

Burt also lost his touch by making that goddamn SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT II, CANNONBALL RUN II, STROKER ACE. Three shit steaks that ruined his career forever.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

Agreed, but each have flashes of very fun and worth while entertaining moments IMO. Cheers! Gator

[@airgunfun4248]

Should never drink and drive how the hell am I gonna get anywhere???

[@AsnoldoAizpurua]

" the best"

[@CaptainSpalding72]

Burt lost it when he turned down TERMS OF ENDEARMENT. Had he done it and won the Oscar, he would have went to the stratosphere, working with all the big deals of the day, Spielberg, Scorsese, Altman...

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

indeed. Cheers! Gator

[@johnard611]

I was surprised to learn from a previous episode that Spielberg had been attached to White Lighting for a couple of months. Its fun to imagine what might happened if he had stuck it out and filmed the movie with Burt.

[@CaptainSpalding72]

The gimmick shit doesnt work.

[@GATORMcKLUSKYreviews]

"Gimmick"? what do you mean?

[@johnard611]

I personally think Gator's "gimmicks" work very well and are consistent with Burt's own tendency to parody himself in things like Silent Movie, that Mike Hammer episode, and Archer.