After Reynolds played the tough, deadpan sheriff in the first movie, he went on to play a bit part in a 1979 episode of “Starsky & Hutch,” a two-time role as a cab driver in “Taxi,” and a one-off character in a 1983 episode of “St. Elsewhere.” Unfortunately his acting career appeared to peak with “Smokey and the Bandit,” rather than being the start of something even bigger. Within the past ten years his only roles have been in an unrated, little-known comedy-horror movie “Dahmer vs. Gacy” in 2010, and the fairly obscure wrestling drama “Heels” in 2016.
Outside of those two movies, precious little of Reynolds has been seen in the past forty years. He hasn’t been acting regularly since the early ’80s, with that “St. Elsewhere” episode being his final role until “Dahmer vs. Gacy” seventeen years later. We don’t know anything about his personal life or if he’s working on any other projects at the moment; he hasn’t appeared on any talk shows or given any interviews.
That’s not to cast his post-“Smokey” life in too negative of a light, of course. Life out of the public eye certainly has its blessings, and he still had a ton of undeniable success as an actor in the ’70s and ’80s. Whatever Reynolds is up to these days, we’re sure he knows his role as Sheriff Branford is still remembered fondly by many.