The $10 Million Misconception: Why Everyone Thinks Burt Reynolds Posed For Playgirl (And The Shocking Truth)
For decades, the name Burt Reynolds has been inextricably linked to a single, scandalous image: a nude centerfold that supposedly appeared in Playgirl magazine. This persistent rumor, which continues to circulate even now in December 2025, is one of the biggest and most enduring misconceptions in Hollywood history, yet it defined his career and public image for over 40 years. The truth is far more fascinating, involving a revolutionary magazine editor, a career-defining risk, and the actor’s lifelong regret over a decision he believed cost him a serious acting career.
The actual pictorial, published in 1972, was not in Playgirl—a magazine that wouldn't even launch until the following year. It was a bold, unprecedented move for a major star to pose for a mainstream women's magazine, instantly cementing Reynolds' status as the ultimate male sex symbol and proving that the centerfold was not just for men's magazines anymore. This is the definitive, up-to-date look at the centerfold that changed the cultural landscape and the man who made it happen.
Burt Reynolds: A Biographical Profile and Career Snapshot
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. was an American actor, director, and producer whose career spanned six decades, marked by a mix of box-office smashes and critical flops. His persona as a charming, self-deprecating Southern rogue made him one of the biggest stars of the 1970s and 1980s.
- Full Name: Burton Leon Reynolds Jr.
- Born: February 11, 1936, in Lansing, Michigan, U.S.
- Died: September 6, 2018, at age 82, in Jupiter, Florida, U.S. (Cause of death: Cardiac arrest).
- Education: Attended Florida State University on a football scholarship. His football career ended due to injuries sustained in a car accident.
- Key Films (Pre-1972): Navajo Joe (1966), 100 Rifles (1969), Skullduggery (1970).
- Breakout Year (1972): Starred in the critically acclaimed film Deliverance and released the infamous centerfold.
- Major Box Office Hits: Smokey and the Bandit (1977), The Cannonball Run (1981), Starting Over (1979), Semi-Tough (1977).
- Television: Starred in the series Dan August (1970–1971) and Evening Shade (1990–1994), for which he won an Emmy Award.
- Critical Acclaim: Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Boogie Nights (1997).
- Marriages: Judy Carne (1963–1965), Loni Anderson (1988–1994).
The Cosmopolitan Centerfold: The Real Story of the 1972 Shoot
The legendary pictorial that launched a thousand rumors was published in the April 1972 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. This was a pivotal moment for both Reynolds and the magazine, which was helmed by the trailblazing editor Helen Gurley Brown.
The Audacious Proposition from Helen Gurley Brown
At the time, Reynolds was a rising star, coming off the success of the film Deliverance, which was released the same year. He met Helen Gurley Brown while guest-hosting The Tonight Show. Brown, known for championing the "Cosmo Girl" and a more open, liberated view of female sexuality, wanted to give her readers a male equivalent of the female centerfolds found in magazines like Playboy. She reportedly asked Reynolds directly to pose nude, and he agreed.
The resulting photograph, shot by Francesco Scavullo, was shocking for the era. Reynolds was depicted lying down on a bearskin rug, completely naked, with his arm strategically covering his groin, wearing only a mischievous, "come-hither" expression. The accompanying interview was equally provocative, featuring candid discussions about his sex life and personal views.
A Cultural Explosion and Career Catalyst
The Cosmopolitan issue was an instant sensation, selling out and immediately catapulting Reynolds from a working actor to a global sex symbol. The image was a radical statement that changed the way the public, and particularly women, thought about male sexuality in the media. It was a bold, career-defining move that cemented his persona as a confident, humorous, and irresistible ladies' man.
The Playgirl Connection: Why the Misconception Persists
The reason the "Burt Reynolds Playgirl" myth is so persistent is twofold: timing and inspiration. The Cosmopolitan centerfold was a direct inspiration for the creation of Playgirl magazine.
The Birth of Playgirl Magazine
When Doug Lambert created Playgirl in 1973, just one year after the Reynolds shoot, he openly credited the actor's Cosmopolitan centerfold as a primary source of inspiration. Lambert saw the massive, positive reaction from women to Reynolds' photos and realized there was a huge, untapped market for a magazine that offered women the same kind of visual entertainment that Playboy offered men.
Because Reynolds’ pictorial was the first of its kind—the first major male celebrity to pose nude for a mass-market women’s publication—it became the cultural shorthand for the entire genre. When Playgirl launched and began featuring its own male centerfolds, the public conflated the original inspiration with the new magazine, permanently linking Reynolds to Playgirl in the collective memory.
The Aftermath and Reynolds' Regret
While the centerfold made Reynolds a superstar, it also became a source of deep, lifelong regret. In interviews later in his life, including in the 2018 documentary I Am Burt Reynolds, he expressed that he felt the shoot caused him to not be taken seriously as an actor.
He repeatedly stated that he believed the image was the reason he never won an Academy Award for a serious dramatic role, despite his critically acclaimed performance in Deliverance that same year. He felt the public and critics could no longer separate the charming, cheeky centerfold model from the serious dramatic actor. The decision, which he once called "a mistake," cost him millions of dollars in potential endorsements and, more importantly to him, critical respect.
Despite his personal feelings, the 1972 centerfold remains a landmark moment in pop culture. It was a bold, feminist-era statement that challenged gender norms, paved the way for magazines like Playgirl, and solidified Burt Reynolds as the iconoclastic, larger-than-life star who was always willing to take a risk.
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