How tall was Burt Reynolds

Arch Stanton said on 3/Dec/24
One of my favourite actors now. Always looked like he was a having a great time and such a great sense of humour and vibe about him. Sure, most of his films were silly, but they were fun. Burt could certainly pull off looking 6 ft 1, he was much taller than Kris Kristofferson in his boots. But I think he was being honest with 5 ft 11.

Rising174cm said on 27/Nov/24
Burt occasionally looked like he was around 6'1" or would measure 6'2", possibly a bit taller at times, in his elevator boots which had a 2.5" heel and 1.5" lift. I'd imagine those could give as much as 3.5" in actual height. But he didn't always look around 6'1" in elevators and could look nearer 6'0", maybe wearing smaller ones?

But since he was apparently lowered from a listed 6'0" to 5'10" during his football career at FSU, I think he might have been 5'10.5" and perhaps hit 6'2" in his biggest boots. He was still wearing the same type of boots, but lost noticeable height by 2000 and even more height by 2013 with Mark Wahlberg when Burt may have only been 5'7.5" without boots. By the end of his life, it looked like he had suffered too much from injuries and age to even stand 5'7" without boots.

Hong said on 14/May/23
Click Here Burt and Arness.

Sinclair said on 17/Jul/22
Reynolds struck me as 5’10.5” in Shamus but 6’1” in The Cannonball Run. It is amazing what lifts can do.

CDS said on 5/Jun/22
Just seen what I believe would've been a 2003 season 4 episode of TV's "Ed", and Burt, who probably would've been in his late sixties by then, held his own with legitimate six footer, Tom cavanagh. It was probably the last decade we saw old Burt standing up straight. But of course, if he had those infamous cowboy boots with the lifts built in?🤔 I would say though, Tom still appeared around an inch taller, especially judging by how Burt looked next to the actor who plays Ed's best friend.

Sinclair said on 21/Feb/22
RIP Burt. 82 is a good age to live to, wouldn’t you agree Rob?

Jawilder said on 16/Feb/22
5’10.25

jeff parker said on 30/Dec/21
Burt was 5"10

Richie said on 17/Dec/21
I would peg Burt Reynolds as a strong 5'10", he always wore boots with a two or three inch heal & appeared noticeably taller than his actual height.
Longest Yard shows him walking with Ed Lauter, who was a legit 6'2" flat and he was several inches taller than Reynolds, despite him wearing boots.

Rising174cm said on 14/Nov/21
I figured Burt's boots were something like a 2.5" heel and 1.5" lift. I'd guess he gained 3" actual height from those boots, but could that give him 3.5"? I think he was joking about being 6'3" in boots because he also joked in 1978 that he was 5'11", but 6'7" with his boots.

He arguably pulled off looking 6'1" with Bill Murray, Roger Moore, Ed McMahon and Jack Elam and 6'0"-6'1" range with Johnny Carson, Dom Deluise and Clint Eastwood. He did also pull off looking close in height to Jonathan Ross as late as 1993 around the time he was reported to have lost an inch due to injuries. That would make him about 6'2" in elevator boots or 6'1"-6'2" range.

He wore the same type of boots Phillip kitcher posted from the early 80s until the end of his life, but he had back surgery in 2009 and by 2013, he was looking maybe 1.5" taller than Mark Wahlberg when he managed to stand straight in elevator boots. By the end of his life, he wasn't looking much taller than a roughly 5'7" De Niro in those boots. He wasn't able to stand straight anymore but De Niro has bad posture these days and can look below 5'7". I'd guess he could have been down to 5'7.5" by the end of his life. He just edged 5'9.5" Adam Sandler and 5'10" Chris Rock with elevator sneakers in The Longest Yard remake so he may have been about 5'9" by his late 60s. If Eddie Albert was below 5'10" by the original Longest Yard then you could argue he was looking more 5'10" than 5'11" in a football uniform.

Hong said on 14/Sep/21
Click Here Here's Burt being towered by 6ft6.5 James Arness.

Mssonshine said on 5/Aug/21
I just saw him in an episode of Gunsmoke and in a scene he was standing with Arness & two other actors & he looked puny.

handsomecoverboybrady said on 23/Jun/21
Burt seemed about five-ten to me,because he never towered over any other actor .

Hong said on 9/May/21
Click Here Here's Burt on Johnny Carson in 1982,he looks more his actual height there,mustn't be wearing his lifts.

Terry said on 27/Apr/21
Looks about 6ft to me.

Tall In The Saddle said on 4/Apr/21
In terms of how a woman might judge them, I couldn't personally say who was better looking out of Beatty and Reynolds. I can only estimate male looks second hand, as an extension of my understanding of what most women might rate as attractive features. Certainly, before anything else, I can say that Beatty and Reynolds represented two, clearly different "types".

Like us men, some woman can prefer a particular type as opposed to another. Again, like us, other women might not be confined to a "type" and open to quality across the board. Pals Pitt and Clooney are interesting examples of somewhat different "types". From my experience, most women who are clearly swayed by a "type" will prefer one clearly over the other. Sure, they'll acknowledge both as quality but only one or the other really gets them gaga.

I understand young Beatty's looks were highly regarded, most importantly by a lot of women who were gorgeous themselves and who in fact dated him. As to Reynolds and the few women I am aware of with whom he was associated, viz Carne, Fields and Anderson, I personally cannot say that I found any of them particularly attractive. Fields cute, yes, but that's it. Hold the phone. I just remembered Dinah Shore. Yeah, she wasn't too bad and even into older age she looked good. I'll give Burt a tick there.

Anyway, like Errol Flynn, people can wax lyrical about Errol's conquests but, by and large, someone like Gary Cooper constantly pulled in women of far better all round quality. Coop's resume is more than impressive. Just wondering what his pick up lines might've been. "Yep" and "Nup"? :)

Ian C. said on 1/Apr/21
Burt was free to make jokes about his height ( which was abo average anyway) because he was physically superior in looks and virility to just about everybody else. There was a guy who had been getting sideways glances from girls since he was fourteen, and that he came an inch short of an arbitrary height threshold was simply immaterial. Who was better looking, Warren Beatty or Burt Reynolds? Well, Reynolds by a clear margin.

To make my point about how limited Reynolds was an actor, try imagining him playing other roles that were played by excellent actors. Try him out in the Roy Scheider role in Jaws. it just wouldn't work. Or as Popeye Doyle in The French Connection. He thought he should have been cast as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, but he would have stood out as inept in the excellent cast. Reynolds would have been miscast in just about anything where he didn't play a cocky, athletic good old boy stud. He didn't actually play real people. He played a made-up character who just kind of resembles a real person without being really like somebody you'd actually meet in real life. Movies are full of characters like that. Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry, for example, is about as real a character as Tarzan of the Apes.

He's quite good in The Longest Yard, but that is an entertaining movie, and he was well cast in it. He's good in a supporting role in 100 Rifles. In other movies he's just goofing around and earning his pay, which was perfectly okay, and the wisest use of his talents.

Tall In The Saddle said on 29/Mar/21
Well Burt did receive an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor in Boogie Nights. However, the gong went to Robin Williams for his performance in Good Will Hunting. I haven't seen all Williams' stuff but of what I have seen, I would rate his turn in WHAT DREAMS MAY COME as one of his best.

However one rates Reynolds, I definitely rate him as better than Elvis who I literally found unwatchable. It's true though, some actors have a keen eye for the right movies, scripts, directors etc. They don't just plonk themselves into any old movie even though their individual acting might shine through in same. They make wise career choices and understand that, even if it is an unjust perception, they are viewed only as good as their last performance.

PR wise, there were similarities drawn between Reynolds and Brando, at least as far as their facial features went. I've read, as per Reynolds himself, that Brando wasn't too fond of him.

Michael Caine, who is a very good actor, has happily admitted starring in some trash movies. He's equally candid about the fact that he participated in those movies purely for the money. LOL. Referring specifically to JAW THE REVENGE in which he starred, Caine said he hadn't seen it but by all accounts it's terribe. He then added, however, that he had seen the house that it built and it is terrific!

I like Kevin Costner but he has starred in some duds. Even so, given his potential realized in other movies, I will always give the man a shot.

Just IMO, two actors who have made some pretty decent choices in terms of movies and roles are Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise. I guess with each wise decision and quality result, the added advantage is being expressly sought for roles due to an increasingly impressive resume and affirmation of acting ability.

But still, Cruise did do COCKTAIL. He didn't always make all the right moves (or movies). LOL. Even though embedded in the context of the avant garde era of the 1980s, that movie was BAD for all time.

Back to Burt. I haven't given his height express consideration. Being well proportioned, perhaps he gave off a taller impression to many. In a gut feeling sense, I always considered him to be maybe 5'9" to 5'9 1/2", factoring the the obvious heel he wore. His height did appear to drop considerably, but perhaps it was normal loss combined worsening posture and finally losing the increasingly problematic big heels. I dunno, I haven't looked closely enough.

Ian C. said on 29/Mar/21
Burt was a movie star, Tall. That is a rare and impressive achievement-you can get people to buy tickets to see your movies. Quite a few movie stars are limited as actors-Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elvis Presley, Keanu Reeves- but they have achieved something very valuable that most people can't.

There are no good Burt movies, in the same way that there are no good Elvis movies. They're all dumb, but real people enjoyed them anyway. Entertaining people is a valuable skill, and Burt should have been happy with it. If he'd wanted to be recognized as an actor he should have allied himself with a great director and a great screenwriter, and been in a good movie.

Most of the people we think of as great actors got those reputations by being in good movies. Al Pacino has got The Godfathers and Dog Day Afternoon. Robert De Niro has got the Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. Peter O'Toole had Lawrence of Arabia and then pretty much nothing else of note, but everybody thinks he was a great actor. Daniel Day-Lewis may be a great actor, but he has never been a movie star. Same with Tom Hardy.

Now and then somebody is both a movie star and great actor. Marlon Brando and Paul Newman are the only ones I can think of offhand. Also, maybe Lee Marvin, who won the most deserved Best Actor Oscar in movie history for Cat Ballou.

Sylvester Stallone really did turn in an excellent job of acting in Rocky, but then went on to become a movie star. I'll bet if you asked Stallone if he was proudest of being a star or an actor, he would have picked star. Jon Voight was excellent as an actor in Midnight Cowboy, but never became a movie star. I'll bet he would have traded the good acting for stardom any day.

Burt's acting is pretty lame. He thinks he should have been nominated for Deliverance, but you can see him posturing rather than really acting. Even so, I actually went to Burt's movies when I was young because I liked Burt Reynolds. I would never have done that for Daniel Day-Lewis.

Tall In The Saddle said on 28/Mar/21
Old Burt made for a very good talk show guest. A talent in itself. In the same environment, some of the best actors are all at sea without a rigid script in front of them.

There’s a few Reynolds films I like. I thought his turn in Boogie Nights was excellent. Ironically, I’ve read that Burt didn’t like his performance in that film and was uncomfortable with it and the character overall. Suffice to say, he had issues with the director and Marky Mark in the latter stages of filming.

Perhaps Burt had even greater potential in him but wasn’t particularly open to direction and collaboration. The best actors often step outside their comfort zone and their greatest performances often arise from same as a result.

Shatner is another guy who felt he could’ve risen to greater heights if not type cast by his role in Star Trek. LOL. I like Shatner as an actor but talk about hammy which also poke its head into quirky. When the role required ham, quirk etc., Bill was the man for it. Enter Denny Crane.

Christopher Plummer is an actor who I’ve come to appreciate much better over the years. I liked his turn as Kipling in TMWWBK. Interesting that he and Shatner were good buds despite infrequent catch ups over the years. Plummer had great respect for Shatner as an actor and once recollected how Shatner upstaged him when Bill had to step up as Plummer’s understudy.

viper said on 27/Mar/21
I think Bradshaw was nothing more than 6-2

Ian C. said on 25/Mar/21
It is certainly true, Jason, that I often use a discussion of a height as an excuse to discuss other aspects of the subjects' lives and appeal. Well, they are actors, so speaking of their acting seems like a difficult thing to avoid. I guess you could have a discussion about Adolf Hitler's height without mentioning all that other stuff about Nazism and World War II, but most people might have problems confining the discussion to just his height.

Height involves a lot more than just the distance from the floor to the top of somebody's head, because height is freighted with other things, like personal appeal and social status, and especially for people in show business. This is why so many actors lie about their heights. It's why tall people brag about their heights every chance they get, and short people change the subject.

And Burt is dead, and this makes him exempt from criticism? I dunno. You have to figure that Burt Reynolds, by virtue of being a popular movie star is as much a concept as a man, and just because the man is dead, the concept is still active. If you know what I mean. (I'm not entirely sure I do.)

Jason C Brock said on 22/Mar/21
Ian C give it a rest this site is about height not opinions about acting skills. The man is dead let him rest in peace.

OriginalAnon said on 11/Mar/21
Best celebrity quotes are definitely the ones at the top of this page. Funny.

Ian C. said on 2/Mar/21
Unwisely, he allowed his boots to be shown in the movie Hooper, and they had three inch heel. In the scene, he confronts six foot three inch Terry Bradshaw in a bar, and Burt appears very close to Bradshaw in height. Then, never mind how, we get a glimpse of Burt's feet while he's kneeling, and those boots were like a woman's high-heeled shoes. It makes you wonder why Burt would bother with such a ruse, since the character played by Bradshaw is meant to be huge and physically overpowering anyway. The scene would have made more sense in the context of the plot if Bradshaw had worn big heels and Burt had not.

I can understand why Burt wore toupees. Elevator shoes really didn't make much sense. Five foot eleven is not a short man, and Reynolds was obviously physically gifted-well beyond guys like Paul Newman or even Robert Redford, who often traded on his athleticism.

Burt's general vanity and foolishness make you appreciate Jason Statham, who never fakes his height, and shuns hairpieces. Also Statham stays in his lane, playing action heroes, and we're never going to catch him trying to win an Academy Award, and looking lame in the attempt. I just saw a documentary about Reynolds, and in it there is an interview where he claimed that the only reason he was never recognized as an actor of the calibre of Brando, Pacino and DeNiro was that they made better choices of roles and he didn't. Ow. Shut up and be content with having been the highest paid movie actor in the world for five years, pal.

viper said on 27/Feb/21
He was honest in calling his height in shoes

Jtm said on 25/Feb/21
The point is he wasn’t 5’11

Ian C. said on 24/Feb/21
He was very frank about his hairpiece, so I suspect he was honest about his height as well. His autobiography is a fun read (he had a good sense of humour and considerable intelligence)and was very frank in that about his history of abusing people. The only thing he never copped to is being a mediocre actor. Which he surely was. I saw an interview where he implied that he was the equal of Pacino, DeNiro and Brando, which was just begging for ridicule.

As a movie star he was a lot like Elvis without the singing. He made lowbrow genre pictures that sold a lot of tickets to loyal fans. His attempts to be a serious actor failed. He was a lot like Jim Carrey in that regard.

Duhon said on 23/Feb/21
Prior to the 1970s and big money in sports collegiate and even pro athletes were often listed by barefoot heights.

viper said on 22/Feb/21
sf said on 13/Feb/21
If he's listed as 5'10" in college, it means he's really 5'9"..


Not necessarily. Some guys in college football are their listed height.

He's the 5-10 he was listed imo.

But then he got inflated to 5-11

Miss Sandy Cowell said on 19/Feb/21
"I'm the only actor under 6ft tall who admits to it..." said Burt back in 1972. I can't see the likes of Paul Newman saying he was 6ft, but as for saying he's ONLY 5ft11, that sounds a bit funny to people around my height. It's quite a tall height by any standards, and neck strain territory for me! 🙄

Chaos Control 6'2.5 said on 19/Feb/21
Yeah Brad’s about 179cm I guess

slim 6'1 said on 17/Feb/21
Sub 5’10” for Brad is lowballing him

Jtm said on 16/Feb/21
I would believe brad Pitt is under 5’10 more than Reynolds.

Jtm said on 16/Feb/21
I wouldn’t go as low was 5’9 flat peak but 5’9.5 wouldn’t surprise me.

sf said on 13/Feb/21
If he's listed as 5'10" in college, it means he's really 5'9"..

Miss Sandy Cowell said on 11/Feb/21
Burt should be celebrating his 85th Birthday today. 😢

I so enjoyed seeing him appearing in 'Bean - The Movie', which I saw last weekend for the umpteenth time!

5ft11. 💐

RIP Burt 🕯️ XXX
11th February 1936 - 6th September 2018

Rising174cm said on 2/Jan/21
@Rob: Yeah, but I believe Burt would have had a sense of humor about the discrepancies. The Ned Beatty quote about his lifts is funny. His lifts in the sequel "Gator" were at least as large as "White Lightning." It's interesting he apparently didn't wear lifts in "Deliverance" because he still managed to look pretty tall.

Rising174cm said on 27/Dec/20
@Rob: It's funny that he claimed to be 6 feet or taller a number of times despite being known for admitting he was under 6 feet. Couldn't make up his mind!

Rising174cm said on 25/Dec/20
And I typically agree about 5'11" claims, though to be accurate, Burt did sometimes get up the nerve to claim 6 feet. Rob posted a 1975 interview with Burt where he claimed 6 feet and in his 1994 bio, he claimed "a little over 6 feet."

Rising174cm said on 25/Dec/20
Yes, I previously thought Burt looked tall enough to be 5'11" even accounting for his lifts, but the 5'10" listing viper mentions has to be explained. Granted, it's doubtful Rob would downgrade him a whole inch, but 5'10.5" would be a good start.

viper said on 23/Dec/20
IMO he's really 5-10, what he was listed in college.

viper said on 30/Oct/20
IMO I go with 5-10, what he was listed in college

JD 51/50 said on 28/Oct/20
There is a picture of Burt in the pool with Jon Voight which imo would definitely rule out anything under 5’10”. Honestly has a built physique at the time as well. A quick google search will direct you there.

Mightyman said on 23/Oct/20
If we say he was 6ft- 6'1 in boots, then with a 4 inch lift as you can see in Hooper hes somewhere in the range of 5'8 to 5'9 barefoot. 6ft minus 4 inches = 5'8. 5'8 is a good height to be in Hollywood.

Rich Paul said on 25/Sep/20
No actor 5-11 would wear such huge lifts unless they were in reality no more than 5-9 which I believe was his true height.

Ian C. said on 3/Sep/20
Interesting that Burt played college football, and apparently was a starter at halfback. He can't have weighed more than 180 pounds, which is tiny at that position today. I think, though, that five foot eleven is an inch taller than his real height. An actor who claims five foot eleven is more often than not an average sized man who is lying, but can't quite get up the nerve to say he's six foot.

OriginalAnon said on 9/Jul/20
Burt definitely 5'11'' - more chance for slightly over and 5'10.5" like some have suggested.

Phillip kitcher said on 16/Jun/20
Hi Rob,
Thanks, they have 2 1/2 inch heels with 1 1/2 inch lifts inside, that graduate from the toes, so actually very comfortable to wear!
The Hooper boots are easier as the heel is more solid and not underslung like the others. Cheers Phillip

Phillip kitcher said on 14/Jun/20
Hi Rob, I emailed you last week with pics of the Burt Reynolds boots that I bought? Did you receive it?
Phillip

Sean95 said on 9/Jun/20
Hiya Rob, I'm in a similar situation to Burt Reynolds - wear 1.5" shoes with 2 layers lifts to gain 3.25" total. I use to even wear much higher (like 4
25" no joke) and go on tiptoes from 14. Now I have ankle and knee problems only at 25 and have accepted I need to cut down. If I get a mid sole tech shoe and cut down to say 2.75" height gain in total would I be better off in the long term?

Phillip kitcher said on 22/May/20
Phillip Kitcher
Hi, I will try and upload some pics!
I have measured inside and out and they have 4 inch lifts including the heels, which are 2 21/2 inches high.
So when he said he was 6’3” with his boots on he must of been 5’11”?

Phillip kitcher said on 21/May/20
PhillipUK
Hi, can I add any comments here? Not sure if the link os closed?
I would like to upload some pics of Burts boots that I bought from Juliens Auction? Is that possible

Miss Sandy Cowell said on 11/Feb/20
Burt Reynolds was born 84 years ago today. He passed on at the age of 82.

5ft11.

RIP Burt XX 🕯️

goldenitboybrady17491 said on 19/Dec/19
Burt Reynolds was my all-time favourite actor,and was likely five-ten or so ,making him quite short compared to the giant actors like James Arness,John Wayne,Clint Walker and others of his early acting days.

Bradley said on 12/Dec/19
The boots he wore in "Hooper" rival anything Sly has ever worn.

viper said on 5/Nov/19
I'm surprised he's not listed 5-10 here since he was listed as that in college

Ian C. said on 4/Nov/19
Burt was an interesting guy because he was obviously a compulsively honest man. He told the truth about his hairpieces, his nasty temper, his womanizing and, yes, his height. Also, he made several good tries to be a better actor than he was, although his attempts at serious acting always failed. If you like the Burt persona, a smart, fast-talking, athletic and lecherous good ol' boy, you liked his movies, and enough people did that he become a solid star for about five years. That's an accomplishment.

viper said on 8/Aug/19
Burt looks 5-10 with Rowan Atkinson

Roid Rogers said on 2/Aug/19
Burt Reynolds was 5'7" tall bare foot. Amazing how an actor's height is so grossly exaggerated

tree said on 27/Apr/19
With 181 Rowan Atkinson when he was 61 Click Here Click Here

179cm guy said on 18/Mar/19
5'11 is a fine listing for Burt although I think that it's the highest that I'd go for him.
His peak height is still debatable I feel, sometimes 5'10.5 looks as possible as 5'11.

Paul NS (6ft 0.5) said on 14/Dec/18
Burt adored lifts, but for someone who was always getting monstrous boosts, I don't get the impression he was anywhere close to cripplingly insecure about his height. You would never see someone like Vin Diesel admit to being sub 6'

Rising - 174 cm said on 11/Dec/18
@Canson: Yeah, he wore lifts most of the time right up until he passed away and even joked about it. Of course, in his prime he pulled off looking like a 6'1" guy with Bill Murray, Roger More, Ed McMahon, Jack Elam and as late as '93 was pulling off looking very close in height to Jonathan Ross. Other times with Carson, Deluise and Clint, he probably pulled off anywhere from 6'0"-6'1". You'd probably have to go back to his early films or possibly his tv days to see him liftless because he definitely wasn't looking like a six footer next to Clint Walker in Sam Whiskey from what I remember and I'm also fairly certain he was noticeably shorter than Jim Brown in 100 Rifles. The problem is, many of his early films were westerns, some of which lacked other known actors like Navajo Joe and all westerns have a lot of scenes on uneven ground. He did pose in a series of barefoot photos in his Evening Shade days with Charles Durning and Michael Jeter, but the ground was off so their heights varied. He also may have been liftless during the Longest Yard football scenes. Pretty good full photo with 6'2" listed Michael Caine at the "Live and Let Die" premiere: Click Here Caine looks to have pretty big heels himself so it at least makes Burt's footwear advantage less than usual. I don't know if there's a slight tilt in Caine's favor, but he winds up looking just over 2" taller. Funny thing is Burt wound up looking just an inch shorter in this photo at the same event. Click Here

Canson said on 9/Dec/18
@Rising: do you think Burt wore lifts at times? I got a taller impression of him from time to time

berta said on 9/Dec/18
i think burt could have been a weak 180 guy peak. sometimes he could pull of 6 foot but that was lifts. he could look 178-180 other times. 179-180 seems realistic for his peak

Rising - 174 cm said on 6/Dec/18
@Rob: Wow, 6'5" for Burt is completely insane! That reminds me of the 6'4" Vin Diesel description. Ironically, Burt did joke once that he wanted to be 6'5".

Rising - 174 cm said on 4/Dec/18
@Rob: The shorter front makes sense and you can see the same sort of design in some of those 70's videos with Carson or that Hooper intro I posted a while back. It does seem counterintuitive that Burt would sometimes admit to being 5'11" over the years while wearing boots to look taller, but I think he could see the humor in that. He could poke fun at his own vanity and image. I'm not certain one way or the other since I can see the argument for anything from 5'10"-5'11".

Rising - 174 cm said on 3/Dec/18
Here's some good footage from The Tonight Show over the years. Rob has Johnny Carson 5'10.5", Ed McMahon a solid 6'3" or 191 cm and Dom Deluise 5'9.5".

Pulled off just 2", maybe 2.5" max shorter than Ed McMahon in '73: Click Here

Looked a minimum 2", possibly 2.5" taller than Carson in '74: Click Here

Again looking around 2" or so shorter than McMahon in '78 and '79: Click Here Click Here

Still looked at least 2" taller than Carson, but probably not less than 2.5" shorter than McMahon in '92: Click Here All could have lost some height by then. Burt was much younger, but had far more injuries.

I think Burt had to have been taller than Deluise and at least as tall as Carson, but I'm not sure Carson had a full inch on Deluise so if he were downgraded to a flat 5'10" then it's easier to argue Burt at that since it'd still mean a good 2"-2.5" footwear advantage at times, but a shot like this gives you an idea of the internal lift: Click Here That looks like a possible 2" internal lift to me. Whether he got 3.5"-4" in actual height would depend on how much he could manage in the front of the boot. It is tough to argue viper's point about the 5'10" listings, though and 3.5" for the type of boots he wore isn't a great stretch. 5" shorter than Ed McMahon is also questionable, but Burt at 5'10.25"-5'10.5" as Christian and Canson have said could explain the 5'10" listings. Rob's definitely right about Burt losing 2.5" minimum, though and probably even more because I can't remember the last time he appeared without those big heels or some other kind of elevator.

James G. said on 19/Nov/18
Peak: 5’11.25”-5’11.5”

Later in life: 5’10.5”-5’10.75”

Rob?

Canson said on 13/Nov/18
@Viper: I would say 5’10 is likely. Christian alluded to 5’10.5 which is possible but something like a strong 5’10 may be a good balance (5’10.25ish)

viper said on 5/Oct/18
Not sure about 1950s.

Sport listings versus drivers license is a different animal. I really doubt Burt wanted to underlist himself on the roster

Rising - 174 cm said on 3/Oct/18
@Christian: I agree. I had thought Burt was 5'11" for years, but I had more doubts the last few years and was thinking maybe between 5'10" and 5'11". Rob had said he thought Burt might have been 5'10.5" range but then decided to give him 5'11" after I found the 1966 quote because he thought Burt was probably being honest there. This is one photoshoot from 2000 made me start thinking Burt's elevator boots could have given more than 3": Click Here Click Here Click Here Between the heel, the bulkiness in front and angle/sizable lift inside, it's one of the rare instances where I could believe it. Seeing how short he was looking late in life also made me wonder, but then the poor guy was in so much pain he could barely stand so I decided I couldn't read too much into that. There's some interesting 2001 photos with Saffron Burrows where Burt has his elevator boots, but I can't see if she had heels or flats.

@David: It's not easy, but if you're use to elevators then you can walk in 3" to 4" range. Burt was still wearing at least 3" elevator boots when he was in poor health: Click Here Here's Rob in elevator boots that add 3.8" of actual height: Click Here but the angle of Burt's boots in this '92 pic made me wonder a few years back: Click Here Of course that would have to be the case or Loni was never 5'6" since Burt tended to tower her in heels by 5" or 6" depending on the event: Click Here Here's a pretty good shot from the side: Click Here You don't necessarily need 2 cm or 1" as an outside platform like Vin Diesel's boots since some of that may be on the front of the lift inside, but in that case, you'll have to make the toe of the boot a bit higher. Not all of Burt's boots had this so some of those probably weren't more than 3", but some of them do have the type of bulkiness around the toes you'd expect. Even a normal cowboy boot has about a 1 cm platform beneath the toes.

David duFresne said on 3/Oct/18
I doubt any type of elevator that you can walk in normally could give you four inches. I don't know what's the deal with the football listings, but if I ever became famous you might find a driver's license from my twenties that says I was 5'6 when in fact I was over 5'7 but didn't know it at the time. Can you guys think of any other actor that is 5'10 that comes off tall? Brad Pitt never looked consistently tall to me, maybe in a few films he looks tallish, but that's it. 5'10 has been the white American average for some time, and I never think of a 5'10 guy being tall even if he wears boots, although I suppose Reynolds may have had quite special boots which really did magic for him.

Rising - 174 cm said on 2/Oct/18
@David: Whether you believe he was just 5'10" or the full 5'11" might depend on if you believe Burt's elevator boots give near 4" here and if he'd be 3" shorter than 6'1" Bill Murray without them: Click Here Pasquale Di Fabrizio was Burt's shoemaker for 23 years and said he made 4" boots for him, though this usually refers to the highest point of the lift/heel rather than the height given so I had thought closer to 3" myself. But 3.8"-4" elevators are possible and this shot of Burt's boots from another sketch on that same episode shows his boots might be thick enough in the front: Click Here He'd need near 4" or at least 3.5" in Cannonball Run as well unless Jack Elam was below 6'0" at 59 and Roger Moore was below 6'1" at 52. He could look taller than both in the film. Here's a shot of Burt and Moore, albeit from a bad angle: Click Here

@viper: How common were 2 inch inflations in 1950's college football? My grandfather played at Notre Dame in the 30's, but wasn't a prospect or star like Burt. I suppose it'd have to be more common than listing a guy 1 inch below his height.

Rising - 174 cm said on 2/Oct/18
@CDS: I think that's the angle from his elevator boots, especially since you can barely tip toe when you wear big lifts like that. I remember Burt looking about 6'0", maybe pushing 6'0.5"-6'1" in some scenes with Clint in City Heat if Clint was 6'3" at the time and while he couldn't wear his usual big heels for for a period piece, he did wear obvious elevators: Click Here Here they are on the set of Hooper and Burt winds up looking as tall with a camera advantage: Click Here and presumably the boots he wore in the film: Click Here

@jtm: It was actually Roman Holiday that Rob said Albert didn't look much over 5'10" in. The Columbo episode Albert appeared in would probably be a good reference for his height in the early 70's.

Christian 6'5 3/8" said on 2/Oct/18
5'10" peak for Burt isn't impossible, given that he frequently wore lifts. Maybe around 5'10.5" and was rounded down to 5'10" during college.

viper said on 1/Oct/18
He didn't grow. He was listed at 6-0 his first 2 years then 5-10 his last 2.

He's not taller than 5-10

David duFresne said on 30/Sep/18
Looks a solid 5'11 in every film I ever saw of him, I would put him at 5'11.5 in his prime. As to his football height he could have grown after his freshman year and perhaps his height was never changed. Heights are not always inflated. If he was 5'10 or even worse the 5'9 some people are suggesting there's no way he could pulled off looking like a big guy, even with his lifts. I was watching the movie Heat last night which I hadn't seen in many years and had forgot the plot. In the beginning he gets beat up by some businessman looking guy and I knew something was wrong with the scene, but I couldn't figure out what. *Spoiler* It turns out the guy had paid Burt to lose to him so he could impress his girlfriend. If Burt was only 5'9 or a flat 5'10 I don't think he could have pulled off always looking like the heavy. In One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, I didn't buy Jack being such a great fighter mainly due to his size. Otherwise he was great in his role, but that always bothered me watching it. Had he been a couple of inches taller, it would have been believable.

Jtm said on 29/Sep/18
i couldn't find a listing for eddie albert. i have also seen him in ronam holiday and the heartbreak kid but i don't remember how tall he looked in those films. all i know is that val kilmer was closer to lauter's height in real genius than reynolds.

viper said on 25/Sep/18
FSU listed him at his real height of
5-10 after giving him a 2 inch inflation of 6-0

CDS said on 25/Sep/18
Yeah, I can't imagine 5'9.5" was his peak height. 5'10" absolute lowest, and even THAT is a bit of a shock. Even with the lifts, it was amazing how he could sometimes look as tall as 6'3"(peak) Clint Eastwood in some shots. Also, did you notice in that pic with James caan, he seems to be using his classic tip toe method??😂 I think Burt must've invented that??😂

Rising - 174 cm said on 24/Sep/18
@CDS: 5'9.5" is too low, imo, especially if Dom Deluise was 5'9.5" himself, but 5'10" is definitely possible if the FSU listings are legit, if he was getting 3.75"-4" out of some of his boots and if Johnny Carson was 5'10" max rather than 5'10.5". There's a series of barefoot pics from '90-'91 with Michael Jeter and Charles Durning, though ground and posture are probably too dodgy to determine much. I had to look up John Williams and saw 6'2" listings as well, but it'd be worth watching again during the annual Twilight Zone marathon. I did watch The Crew(2000) again shortly before Burt passed away and he wasn't looking as tall as he use to on screen, imo, even though he wore boots in some scenes and his ankle here: Click Here looks like he wore lifts even in low cut shoes. Despite that, he generally didn't look more than 5'11" to me compared to 5'9" Dan Hedaya and 5'5" Richard Dreyfuss. You can see him in elevator boots that year looking maybe 2.5" taller than 5'9"-5'9.5" James Caan: Click Here Burt probably has near 2" more footwear and the difference could be just 2" if Burt has a bit of a camera advantage there. I certainly wouldn't guess him over 5'10" by that point and he could have been down to more of a solid 5'9" or 5'9.5". His height loss was even more noticeable by the time he did The Longest Yard remake and The Dukes of Hazzard film around 2004-2005 when he was 68-69 and I'd say he was 5'9" max then. I don't if he first lost height in his early/mid 50's or later, but most of his height loss seemed to be after Boogie Nights. These are dodgy pics, but get the point across that Burt towered over Marky Mark at the Boogie Nights premiere in '97: Click Here Click Here but by 2013, he could look no taller when hunched and not much taller even when he managed to stand tall: Click Here Click Here

@jtm: I only remember that Lauter was clearly taller, but I'd think that'd have to be in uniform because he wore his boots in other scenes. Burt does look taller than apparently Eddie Albert here with seemingly less footwear: Click Here Rob guessed Albert around 5'10" or so, but Albert was 67 by then and could have lost some height.

Christian 6'5 3/8" said on 23/Sep/18
@viper

That's very true, at least from my experience too. There was an offensive lineman in my college that was listed 6'7" in his freshman year, and by his senior year, he was listed 6'5". I've seen him close up on campus several times, and 6'5" is the very most he looked. Might've even been as low as 6'4.5" range.

Rising - 174 cm said on 22/Sep/18
@CDS: No idea. At first I thought the person might have gotten Burt's heights from his listings as an actor, but that doesn't seem likely since he has height listings for all of the other players, most of whom are unknown, so I assume those all came from the team media guides each year.

Jtm said on 22/Sep/18
he was at least 3.5 shorter than ed lauter in the longest yard.

viper said on 21/Sep/18
Needs to be listed at 5-10. FSU wouldn't underlist him

viper said on 21/Sep/18
I've seen UCLA recently listing their football players closer to their real height later in their career. As freshmen they may have been listed at 6-3, but then junior season they are listed at 6-2

CDS said on 21/Sep/18
Okay, I see now Burt apparently lost height while playing at fsu, and I see the pic below with 6'1" actor, john Williams. This is all a bit shocking, since I grew up thinking Burt was a 6'-6'1" star like Harrison Ford, Kevin Costner, etc.. And now to come to find out he may not have even been the 5'11" he claimed minus the boots in the 70s??! And I will say, for that fsu roster to have him listed at 5'10", my experience in organized athletics, they NEVER round down. In most cases, its an in shoe height or a rounded up height. Looking at that pic with john Williams, is it possible Burt could've been as low as 5'9.5" back then?? Before this, I thought the 5'11" height was the absolute lowest peak height for him.

CDS said on 19/Sep/18
Wow @rising: am I reading that right? Why would it have 6' listed his freshman year, and then 5'10" his sophomore and junior years??

Rich Paul said on 18/Sep/18
Burt with actor John Williams who was around 6’1’’. Click Here

Rising - 174 cm said on 15/Sep/18
Apparently, Burt has FSU listings of both 6'0" and 171 and 5'10" and 180. Scroll down to the 1954 roster and then '55 and '57: Click Here or here: Click Here He could have been 5'10". Might have been 5'10.5" too. I don't know, it's difficult to tell because he wore some of the biggest elevator boots, but looked legitimately tall in them. He could definitely look like a legit 6'1" man seeing him with Bill Murray: Click Here and Roger Moore in the early 80's so it depends if his boots added more like 3" or 3.5"-4" range. One article around 1993 said he had lost an inch within the last year due to football injuries and was 5'10". He could still look almost as tall as Jonathan Ross that year: Click Here He looked to have lost most of his height after Boogie Nights, though.

Tall Sam said on 14/Sep/18
He could have come off in the 5'10"-5'11" range, but there's no reason to doubt IMO he was at least within a quarter inch of 5'11". With his lifts, he often looked near 6'1".

viper said on 11/Sep/18
I see he was listed at 5-10 in college. Why is he listed at 5-11 here

Scoobydoo said on 11/Sep/18
R.I.P mr Reynolds , thanks for your movies we will never forget you.

Bradley said on 10/Sep/18
He wore those Munsters for decades. He must have hated 5' 10". I don't think even Sly wore monsters like those much.

Pierre said on 10/Sep/18
I watched recently in web old tv Johnny Carson's Shows with Burt and Cannonball Run Outtakes;he was looking very friendly and funny.

Nik said on 10/Sep/18
R.I.P Burt Reynolds.

184guy2 said on 10/Sep/18
Looked close in height with Roddy Piper...when using elevator shoes
RIP

Rich Paul said on 10/Sep/18
It really saddened me to read about his passing. I went back and watched some of the old Tonight Shows he guested on. Back then he was young, great looking and had a tremendous sense of humor. He was one of a kind. RIP Burt.

viper said on 9/Sep/18
Was he really 5-11

Sandy Cowell said on 9/Sep/18
I've only just found out that we've lost another of our great actors.

RIP Burt Reynolds xx

Rising - 174 cm said on 9/Sep/18
@Jtm: True. The fact he could direct and star in a cop film like Sharky's Machine and a black comedy like The End is proof of his talent. It was just a matter of the right film. Also glad to see White Lightning get some recognition in recent years from people like Tarantino.

@Arch: Yeah, I even enjoyed Burt's B movies mostly because of Burt. I still have some of my old VHS copies from years ago. And that was Burt and as contradictory as it sounds, there was an authenticity even to some of that Hollywood vanity. He regularly joked about his boots and really wasn't trying to hide it. He still wore the biggest of external heels when they were no longer common and didn't mind his boots being very visible in a photograph. Click Here A funny quote about his boots from a 1978 NFL broadcast was "I used to be 5-11. With my boots I'm 6'7", Reynolds said. "I'll give them to Andy when I leave the booth and he'll be 5'10." Could you imagine Vin Diesel making jokes like that?

Rising - 174 cm said on 8/Sep/18
@Rob: I figured I should mention that Burt is still mentioned in present tense on the Celebs Wearing Elevators page. I'm not sure if that's the type of thing you edit as an active page or more or less an archive type page, but just in case.

@Jack Brown: True. It was a knee injury that ended his football career and got him into acting in the first place, but unfortunately affected him the rest of his life. Of course, he got to do several football films later on with the original Longest Yard remaining one of the best.

Jtm said on 8/Sep/18
Rip. We will never have another movie star like him and better actor than he was given credit for.

Robert Webb said on 7/Sep/18
Rip Burt! All have done things not quite right or smart. Death not the time to bring up such. Remember all the fun, good movies Burt did. Remember all he gave. God bless, and may his son and loved ones have peace.

Bradley said on 7/Sep/18
Those things he wore in '75 with Meredith put him at 6' 1" at the least. Monster lift, beyond Sly's dreams.

Arch Stanton said on 7/Sep/18
RIP Burt, we loved you buddy. As I remember Rob saying "though some of his films weren't the best, Burt never took himself too seriously and always made the films enjoyable" or something like that right Rob? :-) Reynolds was super vain, but not surprising given how popular he was with women in the 70s and 80s, as he got older he probably felt pressured to try to look as good as he could. He was still wearing msssive cowboy boots into his early 80s.

Jack Brown said on 6/Sep/18
Burt was an outstanding high school football player. All State Fla his sophomore year. All Southern. Full ride to FSU. Don't sell him SHORT.

Rising - 174 cm said on 6/Sep/18
RIP. Was always a big fan and was sad to see his health decline the last 5 or 10 years. He was the real deal as for as stunts and Hollywood tough guys. Certainly many young entertainers could learn from watching Burt and Dom Deluise on Carson.

Whatdidthehandsaytotheface2 said on 6/Sep/18
Ride on Bandit, RIP

Stiffelio said on 6/Sep/18
RIP Great actor and nice guy. I thought he was taller than stated here.

Rising - 174 cm said on 24/Jun/18
That's true, Rob, much like RDJ has admitted to wearing lifts and others like Stallone and Gibson have at least admitted wearing them for films, but Burt must have forgotten he claimed 5'11" or figured everyone else forgot because you found the 1975 quote where he claimed 6 feet(in the same paper no less!) and as I mentioned repeated almost the same quote in his '94 bio except he was now "a little over 6 feet" and had the legs of a 5'7" man rather than a 5'3" man. Elsewhere in the bio, he claimed "over 6 feet" and I think he said he was 200 pounds when referring to his size as a bouncer.

And to think when the Dukes of Hazzard film came out in 2005, Willie Nelson surprised Howard Stern by telling him Burt still wore lifts. If Howard was surprised a 68 year old Burt still wore lifts, just imagine an 80+ year old! The only reason I could see for still wearing boots that wouldn't have been comfortable even when he was young is it's gotta be an enormous contrast to go from consistently looking eye to eye with 6'1" men to looking as short as he does now that he's shrunken and hunched. You take a 5'11" guy like Vanilla Ice and see him towering Burt nowadays even with Burt in his boots and just imagine how short he'd look without them. Aging is a difficult thing for most to deal with and I'm sure it's at least as difficult for an admittedly vain star like Burt. Personally, I think he'd have been far better off avoiding the cosmetic surgery, but then he's hardly alone there.

Rising - 174 cm said on 21/Jun/18
@Rob: Yeah, the first time I began thinking that was when he appeared with Wahlberg around 2013 and had his black boots, but could look no taller when hunched and maybe 1.5" taller the rare time he straightened up. Then seeing him with those same black boots at Tribeca last year looking barely taller than De Niro who probably isn't much taller than 5'7" now himself convinced me he'd be very lucky to measure 5'8" anymore. It's sad because if you see him at the 40th anniversary screening of Deliverance in 2012, he actually still stood pretty well and looked fairly healthy. Nowadays, you'd think height would be the least of his concerns, yet he still wears those boots.

Rising - 174 cm said on 19/Jun/18
Burt was easily taller than 5'9". The question is whether he was the full 5'11" or closer to 5'10" without his lifts, but there's no chance he was only 5'9". With that said, he might not be much more than 5'7" these days.

Frank R said on 21/May/18
Burt Reynolds was probably 5’9” (peak) in the 1970s and he only got shorter from 1980 to the present. Burt was deliberately paired with noticeably shorter female co-stars like Sally Field, 5’3”, Colleen Camp, 5’3”, and Cynthia Gibb, 5’4”. Burt Reynolds is perhaps the most ‘deceptively tall’ actor in the history of film. I’d say he’s 5’7” today standing fully upright.

Rising - 174 cm said on 20/Nov/17
Taller than 5'11" Kris Kristofferson throughout Semi-Tough, even when both dressed in football uniforms and noticeably taller when in normal clothes where Burt could have his elevator boots. Burt also looked within 2" of Brian Dennehy, though Dennehy probably didn't stand as straight, but Burt easily pulled off over 6' in that film. It's kind of hard for me to buy the 5'10" prime stuff when you see him with Kristofferson. Very likely closer to 5'11", but not even 5'8" these days.

Rising - 174 cm said on 12/Oct/17
Actually, when a survey was done from the late 50's to the early 90's, in a sample of presumably around 1000 men, the average was 5 cm at Burt's age, but then the average man does not have Burt's history of injuries from football and stunts such as Burt's back surgery, the virtual absence of cartilage in his knees the past couple of decades etc. Anyone can see Burt has lost far, far more than a mere 2-3 cm. Height loss can vary greatly. Some is dramatic, while some is insignificant. I'd bet Burt has lost at least 3" of height.

Alex2401 said on 11/Oct/17
Come on guys,get real.People don't lose 6-8cm in height over the years.2-3cm max.

Rising - 174 cm said on 22/Aug/17
Seeing Burt with Roger Moore, Jonathan Ross and Bill Murray, I think there's a good chance he could hit 188-189 in elevator boots. Of course, his barefoot height depends on how much those added. He could have only been 179 cm, but Rob's listing is probably best right now. However, 173 cm i the absolute most he could be these days and I really think 171-172 would be closer. I don't know if Rob will bother updating his current height or just moving him to peak height, though Burt is still active and his recent film with Ariel Winter did get some attention and praise.

Richardspain said on 16/Aug/17
Peak 179cm and with his elevator boots 185cm
Today 173cm

Rising - 174 cm said on 15/Aug/17
@Wtf: Burt could certainly look that tall, but that's the point of lifts and elevator boots. This scene is an example. You can see Burt has at least 2 inch heels and there's a good chance he has another inch or so inside his boots: Click Here

Btw, I haven't seen that film(Semi-Tough) in years, does anyone remember if there's a scene you can see how Burt measured up to Carl Weathers? You can see Carl has some of the 70s boots that were in style himself.

Wtf said on 14/Aug/17
WTF HE LOOKS 185cm in STICK

Rising - 174 cm said on 29/Jul/17
Burt surprisingly really didn't look 6 inches taller than Sonny Bono: Click Here Click Here

Burt must have loved Cher repeatedly calling him tall at 2:50 in the 1st video! I was assuming Burt and Sonny's lifts probably canceled each other, but. Burt is 5" taller than both Sonny and Cher in the first video and Sonny's elevator boots made him look a weak 5'7" so Burt looks about 6' with his boots, but it's possible he just wore big heels with no lifts that time. Otherwise, he might really be 5'10" range.

Btw, here's a shot of the boots Burt wore in Smokey and the Bandit: Click Here
Not his typical type of boots on the Tonight Show in '82: Click Here
This is what he was wearing for some scenes of the Longest Yard: Click Here
By the remake 30 years later, he wore these elevator sneakers just to edge out 5'9.5"-5'10" Adam Sandler and Chris Rock: Click Here Burt was probably already closer to 5'9" by that point. Just check the premieres to see Burt's sly photo tricks, including heavy use of the McKellan technique.
And these elevators for City Heat: Click Here I remember Burt looking about 3" shorter than Clint in the film.

Rising - 174 cm said on 26/Jul/17
I thought he'd looked taller than that. Keep in mind, I'm using Rob's listings for references, but Burt looked noticeably closer in height to 6'2"-6'2.5" Ronny Cox and Jon Voight, respectively than 5'8" Ned Beatty. Burt surprisingly looked a six footer once again to me, but in that case, his footwear wasn't as obvious as at other times he looked tall. Of course, Beatty could very well have been below 5'8".

It would be interesting to see Burt without elevator boots and Ned Beatty today! Difficult to believe that just 5 years ago, Burt was still able to stand well like this: Click Here He had already lost a lot of height as he was wearing those thick, big heeled black boots he wears all the time these days, so seeing him with Voight in 2012, it's likely he was only 5'8"-5'8.5" barefoot even then.

Jug said on 18/Jul/17
Looked about 5'11 in Deliverance, maybe 5'10. He had a commanding Alpha male attitude so he looked bigger.

RisingForce said on 14/Jul/17
Seeing Burt now clearly below 5'8", I had considered again that he could have been just 5'10" as some have said, but unless he was often in 4" elevator boots, I still see him more 5'11". I forgot about this until posting it on Bill Murray's page. Burt and Bill Murray on SNL around 1980: Click Here

Murray is nearly barefoot with those slippers, so if he's 6'1" flat, he wouldn't be more than 186 cm in them and if he was 186 barefoot, he wouldn't be more than 6'1.5" in them, but Burt in what could be 3" range elevator boots, looks at least an inch, maybe even 3 cm taller! He'd be at least as tall as Murray in regular shoes, so between being as tall as Jonathan Ross in the early 90s, a bit taller than Roger Moore in Cannonball Run and now a good inch or so taller than Bill Murray in slippers, I'd definitely say Burt could pass for a 6'1" man in his elevator boots.

Yeah, Brad, his Hooper boots were quite big - at least 2 inch heels and another inch or more inside. Btw, Hooper was classic Burt. Nobody would have fit that role as well as he did. Don't remember his footwear in Shamus off the top of my head, but I did like that movie. I do remember his Gator boots. You can see he has huge heels at the beginning right before the feds chase him. Some films, he actually didn't have his regular big heels or cowboy boots, but had other elevators, like Sharky's Machine: Click Here Click Here One of Burt's best films, but you can see those are some really thick boots and tell from his legs that he has big lifts in them. I assume he must have done something similar in Deliverance as well since he definitely looked over six feet, though his boots actually didn't look too odd to me: Click Here Click Here

I doubt lifts are one of the primary reasons for Burt's lack of mobility, though. It's really injuries from stunts and football as well as his painkiller addiction. Look at Robert Blake, he's still getting around find in similar boots and he's several years older than Burt.

Brad said on 12/Jul/17
Those boots with Meredith are classic Reynolds custom whoppers. I think he can't walk now because of the decades in them. He wore monsters in Hooper and Shamus. In Gator he had to, Jerry Reed wasn't gonna eat him up scene to scene and Jerry was always a full on snakeskin cowboy boot southern reb.

RisingForce said on 17/Jun/17
Thanks, Rob. Then I guess it's safe to say 5'10" max by that movie. Burt did look taller throughout the film, though. Of course, it's always been possible Burt was under 5'11", say 5'10.5", but 5'10" still seems a bit low to me. It'd certainly be the least you could argue, but a guy who regularly looked 184-185 cm with his lifts would more likely be at least 179-180 barefoot. Fortunately, there are now an abundance of talk show appearances, mostly, Johnny Carson to see Burt on.

Here's one of the better Carson episodes for comparing, from 1978: Click Here Just like the '74 appearance that's been online forever, Burt can definitely look 2-3 inches taller. If Carson really was 5'10.5", then even considering footwear, 5'11" doesn't seem unlikely for Burt.
You don't see Burt long enough with Leno to judge, but he does go back to back with Marc Summers: Click Here I don't know if Marc is 5'8", but if he's even 5'7.5" then Burt looks 6'1". Here's a still: Click Here

Here he is in 1975 with 6'3" listed Don Meredith: Click Here And as expected, Burt was wearing these boots: Click Here Click Here If the pic was how they appeared and Meredith was roughly his listed height, then Burt could look near 6'1" there again.

RisingForce said on 13/Jun/17
Anyone know how tall Eddie Albert was? We get him in a rare shot of a liftless Burt Reynolds: Click Here In fact, Albert looks to have the footwear advantage. I'll have to go back and look for that part of the film and compare Albert to Ed Lauter while I'm at it. All I've heard for Albert is 5'11", but he was 67 or so when he filmed that, so I don't know when that height refers to, if it's accurate.

Also, I found the opening scene to Hooper on youtube where you see his boots close up: Click Here

Christian-196.5cm (6ft5 3/8) said on 28/May/17
@delancey

I doubt that him wearing lifts and elevator shoes were the cause of his health issues. I know women who've constantly worn high heels for decades and haven't had any significant foot/ankle/knee problems. Not to mention the fact that women's high heels are often less comfortable even than men's elevators. I think the most important thing is comfort. Any type of ill-fitting and uncomfortable shoe that you wear for a long time will damage your body in the long run, regardless of lifts.

RisingForce said on 26/May/17
I actually had bad knees before I started wearing lifts, so for a while I didn't bother, but they do help my posture. Amazingly, Burt is still working, which is good to see, but I wish he would have aged more like Eastwood or Shatner. I've always been a fan, but it's sad to see him so frail. He can't be much over 5'7" today. He manages to stand as well as De Niro in that one pic, and De Niro really doesn't look more than 171 cm or so to me and can look like a weak 5'7" with his posture, yet with Burt's heels alone giving him probably near 2 cm shoe advantage even assuming he doesn't have lifts, the height difference doesn't even look 2 cm. And when Burt hunches more, he looks noticeably shorter than De Niro: Click Here It seems Burt really only started losing noticeable height in his 60s as well. You could tell Burt was struggling to still look 5'10" around the time of the The Longest Yard remake. Interestingly, another lift wearer Michael Douglas seems to be losing height rapidly at a similar age to when Burt started shrinking rapidly, but then his cancer might have contributed. I mean let's face it, Burt's problems are a lot greater than lifts. All the stunts and football injuries plus Burt's painkiller addiciton. If you know how much opioids/opiates damage and slow your insides as well as make your bones hurt after detoxing, even for a long time after and then factor in Burt's age, these are likely the main causes of his height loss. I mean, look at Sly Stallone. He wore lifts for years and while he did slow down around age 63, he'll still wear them for films and to a premiere lately. In Sly's case, he still maintains outstanding posture, and is in amazing shape with six pack abs at age 70, but he probably hasn't lost much more than a half inch, certainly 2 cm max. With Burt, it's a miracle he can still appear in films and promote them, I'm happy he at least has that. But seeing him with De Niro shows he's closer to 5'7" than 5'8" today and I really do believe he was a 5'10.5"-5'11" guy peak. But look at Clint Eastwood. No lifts, appears to be in good health, yet he had lost over 3" by Burt's age. James Garner didn't wear lifts either, but like Burt, he had the injuries, particularly knees. Burt's knee reportedly had virtually no cartilage by the 90s, I remember a back surgery and he may very well have had a hip replacement.

delancey said on 22/May/17
I wonder how much impact wearing elevator shoes/lifts basically his whole life has had on his spine/joint health Rob?
I know he is old but he really seems to have lost a huge amount of height, (5'11 to 5'7, 4 inches seems like a whole lot to shrink!) and he really doesn't look to be in the best health either.
Hunched over and walking with support.

I wore lifts for about a year but stopped completely. One because I came to accept my height and two because I was worried about any long term damage.

I know a lot of other factors have probably contributed to his health but it is quite interesting. Your comment below about RDJ is interesting Rob, he and many other actors may face similar health problems in the future.

RisingForce said on 12/May/17
Burt is now into Kirk Douglas height loss territory 20 years early and no taller than 5'7". De Niro may not be taller than 171 cm today, but can look like a weak 5'7" or less with his posture, yet Burt just managed to force himself up to slightly taller than De Niro in this one picture: Click Here In every other picture De Niro stood taller and De Niro isn't a guy who stands well these days himself, plus, he doesn't wear boots with 2 inch heels like the ones Burt still wears: Click Here Good to see Burt still appearing in films, but sad to see such a physical deterioration. You see contemporaries like Robert Redford or even men at least half a decade older like Eastwood and Shatner and Burt having to sit for parts of every appearance is sad to see. I'm not even sure how tall Burt would look standing his best without those boots considering how short De Niro can look these days with bad posture since even if Burt doesn't have lifts inside, he'd still have about 0.7" more footwear than De Niro. If I could guess lower for current height, I'd have to consider it.

RisingForce said on 2/Apr/17
His doctor might be another celebrity doctor to get charged with manslaughter knowing Burt has a height complex and a heart condition when he tells him he can now wear a 5'7" man's jacket to match the pants! Even just 20 years before, standing tall with Jonathan Ross: Click Here Of course, he was wearing boots at the time with an angle that reminded me of the 4" Dons: Click Here I wouldn't be surprised if he got near 3.5", but I have to say, he really did pull off the illusion of the tall man he always wanted to be.

RisingForce said on 30/Mar/17
Burt is truly dwarfed there! How tall did he look in that film in general on level ground compared to his co-stars? I thought I remembered him looking shorter at times in that film, but it could have been the ground. Btw, look at how Burt could look with Mark Wahlberg in 1998: Click Here now just 15 years later in 2013: Click Here Granted, he could still stand taller as shown here: Click Here but still the effect of height loss is astounding since his elevator boots looked similar in 1998 and 2013. He's actually lost a lot even since 2005-2007. He still didn't look that short next to Arnold and he was still healthy enough to pull off all the height tricks to push himself up in photos with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. You see the angle on some of Burt's elevators back in the day and man, those were intense!

Arch Stanton said on 11/Mar/17
@Rob, check him out at 20 minutes range with Clint Walker on the left. Click Here At 20:11 and 20:20 Clint makes him look no more than 5 ft 9 there! but I think the ground level isn't good and he's leaning a bit. Dwarfs him. I reckon Burt's obsession with his height started there haha.

RisingForce said on 9/Mar/17
It'd be kinda ironic if Burt were now 5'7" because he always said he had the legs of a 5'7" man, now he may finally be in proportion, but I imagine this isn't what he had in mind! He did manage to stand well when he got the award from Wahlberg a while back and probably looked an inch or more taller, but he did have huge elevator boots.

Duffer 5ft 11 said on 7/Mar/17
Still looked 5'10-5'10.5 next to 5'8 Kevin James in an episode of KOQ where he was, I guess, around 65 years old. Today at 80, no more than 5'9.

RisingForce said on 6/Mar/17
Rob, how much shorter do you think Burt would look than Vanilla Ice if he were standing straight here: Click Here 3 inches? He's probably into Clint Eastwood territory with height loss, especially since he's wearing cowboy boots and Vanilla Ice is probably in the ballpark of 5'11.5" but looks about 5 inches taller with Burt's hunch. He's lucky if he's still 5'8" today. Hard to believe that just about 20 years ago, Burt was still at least a solid 5'10" and claiming to be a little over 6 feet yet is towered by a man not even 6 feet tall today.

Brad said on 12/Feb/17
In director Don Siegel's autobiography he met Burt at his estate and he stood 6 feet 4!. Siegel continued ripping him on his height in other paragraphs. Burt: the king of lifts.

RisingForce said on 9/Feb/17
Quite sad. I know he's 80 now, but even at that age, I'd hope to have a much higher quality of life physically than Burt does now.

Danimal said on 10/Jan/17
Burt sadly can't even stand today at 80 years old. He's in pretty bad shape.

Click Here
Click Here
Click Here

Danimal said on 10/Jan/17
Mr. R said on 1/May/14
When Burt and Clint did City Heat, Burt was listed at 6-1 and Clint 6-4. But the running joke in the film is that Clint's character keeps referring to Burt's character as "shorty". As a matter of fact, that is the last line in the film.

Little did Clint know that he's be under 6'0" himself in 2016.

Arch Stanton said on 31/Dec/16
In At Long Last Love he was two inches taller than 5'8 Cybil Shephard in heels, so pretty much pulled off 6 ft 1.

Arch Stanton said on 31/Dec/16
In At Long Last Love he was barefoot and he genuinely looked tall range barefoot. In fact I thought he could look 6 ft without shoes in that film. He did wear lifts to look 6'1 but he was nothing under 5'11. Very honest of him to say 5'11 as he could have passed for 6ft.

RisingForce said on 11/Dec/16
I'm pretty remember Burt saying in the 90's that his father as 6'3.5" at his peak. Possible he was exaggerating since all of us who admire our fathers as Burt did tend to look at them as larger than life. Then again, that pic looks like it was taken in the early 90s, and I believe Burt's father would have been about 90 himself there, so considering Burt's lifts(and toupee!), his father's slouch and the fact that a 3+ inch height loss is easily possible by that point, his father may have at least been close to 6'3" at one point. I agree with Rob that 5'11" is probably close enough peak. A fraction under it wouldn't surprise me either, but he's closer to 5'8" now at 80 years old, 5'8.5" max today standing straight.

Arch Stanton said on 19/Nov/16
Click Here

Somehow I highly doubt his father was ever 6 ft 4 Rampage!!.

Arch Stanton said on 19/Nov/16
@Rob, check out 1 hr 00-1 hr 1 Click Here, Reynolds gets described as 6'2 LOL. Then at 1 hr 2:45 the guy says "I really dig your shoes" haha.

josh jeffords said on 10/Oct/16
Gotta love burt cheasy 70s flicks and b movies made him the legend he is.
But yeah the height was always suspect as was acting ability.
Burt does look quite small today not over 5 8 even in normal footwear.
He is next to a guy who claims 6 5 but is likely 6 3 and he towers over him in cowboy boots so he was more likely 5 11 in heels appeared 6ft on tv.
Not sure why he faked it girls loved him and not many get in bed with boots on...

mrbobh5344 said on 22/Sep/16
Just now viewed picture of Burt with Mark Wahlberg. Mark is taller in the picture... and is supposedly 5'8".... I know Burt MUST be wearing his usual lifts though feet are not seen. I doubt Burt was ever more than 5'10, at most... and today with his frail condition and advanced age is likely much.. much.. shorter. I'd lay money on 5'7" max. Sad to see him age so poorly. Wish he had 'retired' from view maybe 10 years back when he was still so charming and cool.

richie said on 13/Sep/16
Reynolds' peak height was probably no more than 5'10", he appeared in the 6'1" range albeit with huge lifts

Chad said on 19/Jul/16
Guys like Burt who constantly talk about and are obsessed with their height usually wear huge cowboy boots with massive lifts stuffed inside. Burt was about 5'9.5 at his peak .

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 30/Jun/16
Burts dad was 6ft4

Tom said on 25/Jun/16
No actor who was a true 5-11 wore the huge lifts Burt did. He was most likely 5-9.5 max. Then ended up being a 6-1 in his custom made boots with three-inch heels and lifts inside.

Frank R said on 24/Jun/16
Back when he made 'Boogie Nights' in 1997, hi height was listed at 5'7.5" in a number of sources. He's gotten shorter since then.

Anonymous1 said on 17/Jun/16
...I saw a recent pic of him filming a movie, and by golly...he still wears lifts. You can tell by the boots. Why, when he's not even able to stand much apparently, would an 80 year old guy still wear lifts. I wish he'd drop the toupee and lifts.

Berta said on 14/May/16
Peak 179 and 173 now

Randy said on 7/May/16
He's probably only a strong 5-5 now

richie said on 1/May/16
Strange why a 5'11" guy would want to wear lifts, he was definitely above average height back in the 70's, he could pull off a strong 6'2" with boots on, he edged Roger Moore in Cannonball Run and Moore was a strong 6'1" but has clearly lost height today and is probably closer to 5'9"..

Sam said on 5/Apr/16
Surprising that he gives what may be his honest peak height but then is one of the most consistent and blatant lift wearers in Hollywood history.

Arch Stanton said on 12/Mar/16
Still wearing big lifts at 80. Click Here Just by the wya he's dressed, the Italian black shirt and trousers, the White Miami Vice suit jacket and red shades you can tell the man is absolutely obsessed with his appearance and image!! Not to mention his height too haha! Him and Simon Cowell really are about as vain as you can get for a man!

merv said on 31/Jan/16
watch the opening credits to the movie "hooper"there's a close up of Burt putting on a pair of high-heeled boots which were very popular in the 70s for guys.the heels are at least 3"mabey more.the boots are unzipped at the side and you can clearly see a white lift inside the boot that's around 2".Burt wears these the entire movie.we're talkin 5 to 6 inches of lift here. I would bet that in his prime he stood around 5'9.5 to 5'10".no way was he ever 5'11"

seeker said on 25/Oct/15
Burt's peak height was 5' 10" .

Brad said on 5/Oct/15
King of lifts.

Ian C said on 21/Apr/15
I love Burt's comment that he is a tall man, just with short legs. And that's a fair comment. Height should be measured from the hips up. Why should people with long legs get to brag about being tall? Make 'em sit down and they're not so big, I always say.

Mr. R said on 11/Apr/15
I remember an episode of Evening Shade when he gets arrested and has to stand next to a height wall for his mug shot. He was 6 foot even. Take away the fake hair and the boots/lifts, we are talking closer to 5-9.

Arch Stanton said on 1/Jan/15
If the name doesn't ring a bell try Click Here

Arch Stanton said on 1/Jan/15
Rob/Sam do you remember Big Enos (Pat McCormick) from the Smokey and the Bandit series? I was watching a scene at the beginning of the original and Reynolds was in cowboy boots and that McCormick guy really looked enormous next to him when walking, almost a full head taller!. My first thought was at least 6 ft 7 and I see he's listed at that. I think it might be legit one, what do you reckon? A 6 ft 4 or 5 guy on screen can look real big but somebody around 2 metres or above you can easily see the difference I think.

Arch Stanton said on 1/Dec/14
Yes, he could laugh at himself on screen but "down to earth" is certainly one of the last things I'd call Reynolds.... His head is in the clouds, why do you think he had so much surgery and was so height conscious? Down to earth in Hollywood would be somebody like Kevin Spacey.

Danimal said on 30/Nov/14
5'11" peak and just over 5'9" today.

Arch Stanton said on 23/Nov/14
I mean he had like 2 or 3 inches on Dean Martin!!

Arch Stanton said on 23/Nov/14
Well, Edward G. Robinson or James Cagney couldn't exactly claim 6 ft now could they! The short man's milestone is either 5 ft 6 for the super short or short guys claiming to be lower average at 5 ft 8!

Arch Stanton said on 23/Nov/14
Well, he somehow pulled off looking an inch taller in Cannonball Run than Jack Elam who Rob has at 6'0...

Realist said on 30/Oct/14
Rob was he the one who who stated Hollywood adds 3-4 inches in height to everyone.

bandet said on 17/Oct/14
I take that back. He's 78!

bandet said on 17/Oct/14
Rob I think that's a bit too much shrinkage surely. If not, it's very depressing!

Sam said on 6/Aug/14
I'd buy he could have hit something like 6'1"-6'2" in his lifts, he could look close to Ronny Cox and not hugely shorter than Jon Voight back around Deliverance. Very flagrant lift use I believe in City Heat w/ Clint Eastwood as well. For all his (alleged) faults, at least he basically admits to being a lift-wearing celeb.
Marlon Brando said about him "I disagree with the thought process of people like him, who is a totally narcissistic person who epitomizes everything wrong with being a celebrity in Hollywood." LOL, oh snap.

jtm said on 18/Jul/14
probably 5'8 today

RisingForce said on 17/Jul/14
I'd be interesting to hear that estimate. I agree about elevators, and at minimum 2" heels. 2 years ago with 2" heels(and who knows what inside), he was only looking 5'9.5"-5'10" max with Mark Wahlberg when he stood straight.

RisingForce said on 16/Jul/14
Rob, how likely do you think 5'8.5" is for Burt now at 78 with all of his injuries from football and stunts? Honestly, that's what i think he's down to, and 5'9" is the most I could currently see him at.

RisingForce said on 8/Jun/14
More consistently obvious than Burt? Wow, that I gotta see. Anyway, here are some videos of Burt in the 70's. I've seen Johnny Carson's height given as 5'10" and 5'10.5", and considering posture, Burt definitely looked to be standing more than 2" taller. Click Here Later in the 70's, Burt's lifts looked more obvious. Click Here Olivia Newton John is listed at 5'6" here, but should be at least 5'9" in those heels and her head minus the hair only comes up to around his eye level at best. Not sure how tall Mike Douglas was, but Burt looks comfortably taller than him as well. I've seen enough examples to say Burt could look like a 6'1" guy and it's rare that he didn't look over 6 feet until he started shrinking which means he really did wear some of the biggest lifts around since he admitted to being just 5'11" a couple of times meaning he wasn't more than that.

Arch Stanton said on 1/Jun/14
The most consistent obvious lift wearer I've ever seen on screen is easily Bing Crosby. Every film he's in his high backs and standing with Stallone like posture whenever face to face with anybody. Yeah Casablanca had some crazy shoes on set!! Did you see Lorre's? Even worse than Bogart's! Bogart still looked 5-6 inches shorter than Paul Henreid!

RisingForce said on 30/May/14
Yeah, Kirk's lifts are famous as well. Not sure if they were ever as big, since Burt was able to look at least an inch taller than Bill Murray who was only wearing moccasins or something like that, but that's still a major boost. However, what I was really commenting on is that Burt still seems to be wearing elevator boots today at 78 years old! Kirk didn't seem too wear them that long. Problem is, in boots like the ones shown below, Burt doesn't even look 2 inches taller than Mark Wahlberg in sneakers and quite a bit shorter than Piers Morgan. The current listing of 5'9.5" is generous. I don't see how he could be taller than 5'9" barefoot now, and I'm thinking maybe even more like 5'8.5". He's lost a lot of height, but not too surprising considering his age and injuries.

Sam said on 28/May/14
Kirk Douglas I believe wore some doozies that might rival Reynolds but Bogart could have schooled them both with the monsters he wore on the set of Casablanca.

RisingForce said on 26/May/14
Hey, Rob, you should give out celebheights awards. I nominate Burt for the lifetime achievement award in lifts. Check out these recent pictures. Click Here Click Here I have boots with heels like the first pic. Legit 2" heels and obvious lifts on top of that.

RisingForce said on 1/May/14
Arch, how tall do you think Burt is today? I'd guess him at about 5'8.5" these days without his elevator boots.

Mr. R, I've seen City Heat, and thought it was funny they put that in there. Burt actually did look over 6 feet next to Clint in the movie, but he was wearing these elevator shoes. Click Here Here's a still of the ending scene when Burt tip-toed after Clint called him shorty again. Click Here

Arch Stanton said on 1/May/14
Genetics are certainly hugely complex. I mean Nick Cassavetes ends up 6 ft 6 with a 5 ft 7 father and Kiefer Sutherland ends up 5 ft 8 with a father near 6 ft 4!....

Arch Stanton said on 1/May/14
Yeah it must be pretty bad having a father in the 6'4" ball park and not even being 6 ft. I'd feel pretty hard done by, short mother or not. Kiefer Sutherland, Josh Brolin and Scott Eastwood and many others all belong to the under 6' club with a very tall father.

Mr. R said on 1/May/14
When Burt and Clint did City Heat, Burt was listed at 6-1 and Clint 6-4. But the running joke in the film is that Clint's character keeps referring to Burt's character as "shorty". As a matter of fact, that is the last line in the film.

RisingForce said on 30/Apr/14
Agreed, I think 5'11" is the best guess, but 5'10.5" is good as well. Burt never looked short, and usually looked legitimately tall, and taller than just about any other lift wearer I can think of. I'm not sure if you've seen this quote, Arch, but I think Burt's 1975 quote is excellent insight into why a man as tall as Burt would wear big lifts.

"I'm six feet tall but if I stand next to a man five-feet-three we can wear the same pants," he said. "Someone has my legs. Somewhere out there is a man with long legs and a short upper torso. He has my legs. If I had my own legs I'd be six feet 'five which is what I'd like to be because I'm bored with people who come up to me and say, 'Gee, I thought you were a great big man.'"

People forget that lifts can help proportions as well as overall height, and while some will ask "why would a 5-11 man need lifts?" That's one reason, and another is that 5'11" a solid height, but not an impressive height like so many stars were in the earlier years when Burt was breaking in to Hollywood or even Burt's contemporaries like Clint Eastwood, Warren Beatty, Sean Connery ect. Look at how much of a big deal people made over Redford's height, and he was probably a solid 5'10". Burt has also mentioned his father's height of 6'3.5" and it's clear Burt would have liked to have been a similar height. It's important to remember that lifts aren't only for people below average height, especially when you have an image.

Arch Stanton said on 29/Apr/14
5'10.5" is possible.

RisingForce said on 27/Apr/14
Yeah, he often didn't make the best career choices, and that injury during City Heat and the subsequent rumors didn't help matters. He did those lower budget action movies after that which were good for him financially since he was getting a few million for each, similar to Charles Bronson, but weren't going to lead to anything.

I agree that he seemed to be pretty honest with that early 5'11" claim, I think he was honest at times and it goes with his often self-deprecating sense of humor. Though he did also try claiming 6 foot as he got more famous and over 6 feet in his autobiography, though he admitted to being 5'11" again during the broadcast of a 1978 football game, while joking about the size of his boots, which he joked made him 6'7". What's funny is there's a 1983 article with producer Elmo Williams talking about how short actors such as Pacino, Hoffman and Dreyfuss had taken over Hollywood, and Burt must have loved this article because he went on to say "Now an actor like Burt Reynolds at 6 feet 1 is the exception." Looks like he forgot to take Burt's advice and ignore his official biography. Anyway, I think anything in the 5'10"-5'11" range is arguable for Burt's peak, though I wouldn't bet on below 5'10.5" myself.

Arch Stanton said on 25/Apr/14
Yeah he did pull off looking 6'1" a lot, but then again Savalas often pulled off looking 6ft!! All in the shoes!

jtm said on 25/Apr/14
i like reynolds but he was never taller than 5'10.

RisingForce said on 24/Apr/14
Thanks, Rob, he's clearly had his ups and downs and made a lot of bad movies, but I've always liked Burt and he's also made a lot of enjoyable films and a few true classics.

RisingForce said on 22/Apr/14
Rob, a few other movies worth mentioning at the top are The Longest Yard, Boogie Nights and Sharky's Machine, imo. Possibly, White Lightning and Gator as well. I also think the quote you found a while back from 1975 where Burt claims 6 feet and talks about his short legs would be good to add. It's more interesting then the "no actor is five eleven" quote at least, imo, and it's kind of funny to see him claiming 6 feet after repeatedly joking he was under it.

RisingForce said on 15/Apr/14
I have to wonder what the hell Burt was standing on during this photo shoot with Clint! Click Here Click Here And here. Click Here

For more recent, this is a pretty strange looking pair of shoes. Click Here But to see how much Burt has shrunk, just look at him next to Piers Morgan around 0:55 in this video. Click Here

RisingForce said on 6/Apr/14
rcorambler2, Rob has Burt listed at 5'11" for his younger years so he actually has him listed at the height you mention. The 5'9.5" is for his current height since he's in his late 70's and is clearly nowhere near as tall as he used to be. For example, Burt in elevator boots went from being able to look as tall as Bill Murray and Roger Moore, to now looking no more than 2 inches taller in elevator boots to Mark Wahlberg when he stood straight and similar in height when he hunched. With that in mind, it's no wonder he still wears big-heeled boots and lifts even at his age. He seems to be losing height at a similar rate to Clint Eastwood.

I've heard various heights reported for his football listing, so if you could post a link to something official, it'd be much appreciated.

rcorambler2 said on 4/Apr/14
I don't know where you are getting his height from , but the official football roster from FSU his freshman year list him as 5' 11"

RisingForce said on 29/Mar/14
Well, he's probably below 5'9" now since he's getting close to 80, and as of this month, still wearing boots with at least 2 inch heels, and who knows what inside. Between 5'8" and 5'9" is my current guess without lifts, if he stood straight. But as far as his peak, he was definitely taller than 5'9".

There's a picture on Getty Images of Burt and Bill Murray from 1980, and you can see that Burt in his big elevator boots looked at least an inch, maybe more taller than Murray who was essentially barefoot. That still means that Burt stood over 6'2" in his elevator boots if Murray was 6'1", so maybe he wasn't exaggerating too much with that 6'3" in boots claim. Either way, I can't see anything less than 5'10.5" peak and 5'11" seems pretty reasonable.

RisingForce said on 18/Mar/14
Here's a link to Cannonball Run, a movie Burt looked quite tall in. Click Here

At about 1:31:37 you see can see that Burt appeared ay least a cm taller than Roger Moore. Moore claimed to be 6'2" in the morning, has a peak listing of 6'1.5" here and was only about 52 and in good shape so he was probably at least 6'1". Moore is also standing a bit behind Burt at 1:28:40, but it seems pretty doubtful he was standing as tall as Burt in this movie. Similarly, Roger is standing a bit behind Burt at 1:30:31, but it appears likely again that Burt was standing taller a bit taller than Moore in his shoes.

You can see Burt appears a few inches taller than Dean Martin at 1:28:39 and 1:31:34. Dean claimed 6'1", is listed at 5'10.5" here and I'd say 5'10" is a good guess since he was about 63 at the time of the movie, but I'm pretty sure Dean wore lifts and he looks taller than 5'10" next to Roger Moore at 1:30:31.

You can see that Burt looks at least 3 inches taller than Dom Deluise at 1:30:20, 1:31:45 and the outtakes at 1:32:14.

Burt looks like a solid 6'1" guy, possibly even a bit taller in this movie, and while the heels on his boots were obviously over 2 inches and almost certainly lifts on the inside, but how much could his elevator boots have added? Likely 3 inches at the absolute most I'd think. I had been thinking that Burt could have been more 5'10.5" peak, but I have to guess that he was every bit of 5'11" and had some of the best lifts in Hollywood since he often looked over 6 feet or even 6'1" in the 70's and 80's and Rob has suggested that at the most, you'd appear 1.5" to maybe 2" taller than your typical in shoes height with the biggest elevators.

avi said on 24/Dec/13
@Arch Stanton says on 26/Oct/13
He played a half Comanche in Gunsmoke so interesting to find he's actually half native American. probably only a little though

I wonder if he wore lifts in Gunsmoke he looks to stand his own next to Arness

Arch Stanton said on 26/Oct/13
I was right, he's Cherokee.

Arch Stanton said on 26/Oct/13
Does he have any "foreign" blood in him because he can often look like he has some African American or Native American blood in him, his head shape and hairline can look more black than white.

Arch Stanton said on 26/Oct/13
Looks noticeably taller than this in Deliverance but I'd guess he was wearing lifts. judging by his arm muscles and vest, tan and hair in the film you could tell he was ultra vain even back in those days.

RisingForce said on 21/Sep/13
5'10.5" is a good guess for peak height since he regularly looked at least 6 feet, often 6'1" in lifts. But not only has he lost height, he's lost A LOT of height. Burt hasn't stopped wearing lifts, in fact, even in recent years, he's worn what appear to be obvious elevator boots, and Willie Nelson mentioned that while filming The Dukes Of Hazzard(2005) that Burt still wore lifts in his shoes.

To see how much height Burt has lost, here's the recent video of Burt in heeled boots and 5'8" Mark Wahlberg in sneakers. Click Here At 0:59 you see their shoes, and at about 1:02 you see them standing next to each other.

Just compare that to around the time of Boogie Nights in '97 when Burt was easily taller than Wahlberg, and Burt had already lost height by the time of Boogie Nights. Burt has probably lost a good 2 inches from his peak height, and I don't think he's more than 5'9" today.

avi said on 17/Sep/13
Yeah he looked tall next to James arness as well. Must of been 5'10.5 peak then wore lifts to get him to 6'1.5 . I think 5'9.5 is fair he didn't lose more than inch but maybe he didn't lose any height but stopped wearing lifts after 70!

RisingForce said on 1/Sep/13
Nah, 5'9" flat could be his current height, though. Actually, I could even believe 5'8.5" considering how he looked with Mark Wahlberg at the Guys Choice Awards. Unfortunately, he also looked frail and hunched over. Still had heeled boots, though and Wahlberg was in sneakers. Difficult to determine his height because his posture isn't good anymore, but it's clear he's lost a lot of height, which is to be expected for a 77 year old man with numerous injuries and some health problems in recent years.

eddie said on 27/Aug/13
Burt is a good example of a guy that wear lifts. 5' 9" is about right in his prime.

cannonball2 said on 25/Aug/13
Reynolds is no 5' 11" - that's a lie. He wore elevator shoes a lot during his prime. 5ft 9" is barefooted is most accurate.

juju said on 24/Aug/13
id give em a 5 10 peak

misha said on 18/Aug/13
For forty years Burt Reynolds has been clopping around in Frankenstein footwear and talking incessantly about his height. This may not constitute compelling
evidence, but no one who is really 5'11" does these things. I put him at 5'9.75" to 5'10.25" with 3 inches of lifts and heels in his magic boots. His
claim of hitting 6'3" with artificial enhancements is ludicrous - he has never looked anywhere near that tall - but I admire him greatly for publicly admitting that he has always indulged in considerable height-boosting.

Ian C. said on 3/Aug/13
Reynolds, who has a wonderful sense of humour, once said that there is not an actor in the world who is five foot eleven. Oh wait. I just read the introductory paragraph to the Reynolds page and that line is quoted. Let that be a lesson, posters. Read before you write.

jtm said on 25/Jun/13
his peak height was 5'10 and now he is no more than 5'9. don't understand why he got upgraded to 5'11.

Lorne said on 23/Jun/13
I actually like this upgrade. His obsession's a bit weird, but think he was pretty much hOnest about his height. 5'11 peak is a good shout for hi
, certainly no less than 5'10.5, but I think he was a 180cm guy who had a slightly ridiculous comPlex, and wore monster boots. But he definantly stood well over 6 feet in boots. So yeah, good upgrade...

RisingForce said on 22/Jun/13
Can you provide a link for this 5'9" listing? I've seen 2 college listings for Burt, one was 5'10" and the other was 6'0", though neither were from the official site. His boots didn't give him anywhere near 5 inches either.

Either way, Burt was definitely taller than 5'9". 5'10" minimum, and more likely 5'10.5"-5'11". There's a barefoot photo of him with Charles During who was in the 5'6"-5'7" range and Burt is about 5 inches taller. Then watch Cannonball Run, Burt in his lifts is taller than Roger Moore who was at least 6'1"! Also, here is Burt next to Dom Deluise who was probably about 5'10" in the Cannonball Run outtakes. Click Here Difficult to tell because of Dom's hat, but he looks no less than 3 inches taller.

However, I think Rob is being a bit generous with Burt's current height. I believe Burt is no more than 5'9" today at 77 years old.

Superpicker said on 31/May/13
Burt is listed at 5'9" in the Florida state sports information catalog and weighed 185 pounds when he enrolled.Must have been about 19 years old.Doubt he grew anymore.Check out the movie Hustle with Catherine Deneiuve.Those heels look to be at least 5 inches

Juju said on 23/Mar/13
Just checked his football stats. Rob even you can check on the internet. He was listed at 5 foot ten. That was his peak height.

Rob Bryant said on 3/Mar/13
My wife and I have been watching old reruns of Gunsmoke. Burt had a regular part in the early episodes. Standing next to James Arness he looks like a child. He wore cowboy boots but so did everyone else since it was a western. He was above average height for the early 1960's. Burt was between 5'-9" to 5'-10 " tops. As the years went by people got taller so Burt compensated by wearing bigger heels and putting lifts in his shoes.

Brad said on 17/Feb/13
Elevator boots for the last 40 years. The ones in City Heat are 3.5" minimum.

Larc-186.7cm-188.6cm said on 4/Nov/12
He was and still is an huge lift-wearer, he looked even taller than 6'1.5 Roger Moore in The Cannonball Run.

5'11 peak, struggling to look close to 6'0 today with lifts, he's probably around 5'9 barefoot.

Shaun said on 18/Oct/12
"He was, and still is(as shown by the pictures I posted from a couple of months ago), as big of a lift guy as there's been in Hollywood. But he wasn't short, I think he's just a guy that wanted to be legitimately tall, over 6 feet. "

He wanted to be very tall, 6 ft 5.

RisingForce said on 11/Oct/12
Speaking of Burt's jokes about his shoes, here's one I didn't post yet, and it's another 5'11" claim, this time from '78. He went back and forth on claiming 5'11" and 6' a lot.

"I used to be 5-11. With my boots I'm 6'7", Reynolds said. "I'll give them to Andy when I leave the booth and he'll be 5'10." - 8/26/78 The Evening Independent

RisingForce said on 11/Oct/12
That is a great pic, J Dog. I never noticed his footwear in that movie. He didn't seem to be in his usual 2.5"+ heels, but those are elevators, just a different style. I agree with Shaun that he looked 6'0"-6'1" next to Clint. He was, and still is(as shown by the pictures I posted from a couple of months ago), as big of a lift guy as there's been in Hollywood. But he wasn't short, I think he's just a guy that wanted to be legitimately tall, over 6 feet. Now, he really does look to be struggling with 5'9", but he's in his mid 70s. And at least he's joked about his height and shoes.

I watched a couple of Burt's better movies recently, White Lightning, and a personal favorite, Sharky's Machine. In White Lightning, he was in fairly normal looking cowboy boots most of the movie, but even had cowboy boots in prison! In Sharky's Machine, he didn't have his usual heels, but he was wearing boots.

Shaun said on 10/Oct/12
His era though with the likes John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Clint Eastwood, Charlton Heston, Christopher Lee, Rock Hudson, Clint Walker, James Arness, Stirling Hayden, Jimmy Stewart etc I can see why he felt "short" in Hollywood but many actors of that era were average height/shortish, but in that era there was definitely a thing in Hollywood about big macho guys.

Shaun said on 10/Oct/12
5'10.5" peak is reasonable but I don't think he looked less than that.

Shaun said on 10/Oct/12
great find J-Dog. I watched City Heat last night. Burt Reynolds only looked 3-4 inches shorter than Eastwood in it but as I suspected he was wearing lifts. A running gag in the film was Eastwood calling him "shorty", he makes a joke of Reynold's height early on and at the end Reynolds goes on tiptoes purposefully when Eastwood calls him shorty and he wasn't far off Eastwood's height on tip toes in lifts. Reynolds wasn't short at all around 5 ft 11 I think but I think the fact he was known to be very height conscious was why that gag was put into the film. Reynolds looked near 6 ft 1 next to Eastwood I though, although Eastwood in 1984 might have been 6'3.5".

J-Dog said on 6/Oct/12
Look at this picture from the set of City Heat, you can see Burt Reynold's footwear exposed, look at that monster heel! Meanwhile Clint Eastwood has on relatively very flat shoes on. Even if this advantage Burt still looks significantly shorter.

Here is the link Click Here

RisingForce said on 11/Sep/12
It's worth noting that he had back surgery in 2009. Considering his age, the reported height loss by age 57 and the back surgery, I'm thinking he's lost a 2 inches. 7 years ago, he seemed to be trying to look tall with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock and was struggling to look their height in cowboy boots. He still wears obvious elevator boots yet he really doesn't look very tall. I'm not 100% sure on him because he doesn't make that many appearances anymore, but it wouldn't surprise me if he's a weak 5'9" today. Here are the boots he was still wearing just a month ago. Click Here

RisingForce said on 17/Jan/12
Interesting about that '75 quote. That's very similar to a quote he made in his autobiography where he talked about having the leg length of someone much shorter. He said something along the lines of being a little over 6 ft and having being able to wear a 5'7" man's pants and saying if his legs were in proportion he'd be 6'5".

Funny how he's only 5'11" in '66, still under 6 ft in '72, but magically "grows" to 6 ft in '75 and then is over 6 ft in '94. Talk about a late growth spurt, at that rate, he must be pushing 6'2" by now. Hey, there may still be hope for me to reach 5'10" then!

RisingForce said on 16/Jan/12
I found the most direct claim from Burt regarding his height...from way back in 1966. August 3rd, 1966 in The Windsor Star to be exact.

"All actors are six feet tall or over in their biographies," he said. "Mine says I'm 6 feet 1 but I'm only 5 feet 11."

jake, 1.82 m- 1.83 m said on 5/Jan/12
Peak: 5"10.5 (1.79 m)
Today: 5"9.5 (1.77 m)

mcmallen said on 2/Jan/12
I had a picture taken next to him in the early 1990's he had on cowboy boots with riding heels and was still 4 inches shorter than me at 6'1.75" in dress shoes.

RisingForce said on 3/Oct/11
I could definitely see 5'10.5" peak and 5'9" now, Rob. Too bad you just missed the opportunity to get a picture with him. that would've been a great photo to have.

RisingForce said on 1/Oct/11
Rob, how much height do you think that Burt has lost today at 75 years old considering he had supposedly already lost an inch by age 57 due to knee injuries?

Mark said on 28/Sep/11
To Richie: Reynolds' hip height in relationship to a tabletop is irrelevant: Anyone who looks at him standing can see he has a disproportionately long torso, & short legs. (He's made fun of himself for this on the "Tonight Show".) Many men are just as disproportionately the opposite,(long legs/short torso, perhaps even you, Richie :-). Lastly, as unbelievable as it may seem, tables are built in a wide variety of heights.

RisingForce said on 5/Sep/11
I agree, Danimal. If he had lost an inch by 1993(age 57) then now at 75 years old, a 2 inch loss is definitely plausible. He still wears what look like obvious elevator boots, but looks much shorter than he did in the 70's and 80's.

5'11" peak and 5'9" now definitely seems about right to me.

Danimal said on 13/Aug/11
Bon_ says on 11/Aug/11
5'11 peak

YES and 5'9" today

richie said on 28/Jul/11
I watched white lighting and you watch him walk through the caf in the beging to go talk to his cousin and his hip isnt much taller than the table tops im 5'-9 and my hip is well above the top of my table i think he is real short movies are decieving if i filmed any one from the floor they would look really tall its all done with cameras

Misha said on 16/Jun/11
RisingForce says on 30/Jul/10
Me says on 28/Jul/10
I met Burt and he is about an inch taller than me and I am 5'5". He is a little guy, but huge on the screen.

Rising Force: "Hmmm, so I guess he had 9 inch lifts in Cannonball Run."

This brief composite speaks volumes about the core issues of determining height with any accuracy. Film can, with its unlimited capacity to play with and distort angles, make a short person look tall and vice versa. Reynolds has been known since the late Sixties as a notorious wearer of big lifts. Rising Force, do you really believe that a guy who is 5'5" cannot tell the difference between someone standing directing in front of him who barely taller than him and a legitimate 5'11"? Let me see if there are barefoot photos of Burt Reynolds somewhere out there and the discussion can continue sanely, but this man was never even at his peak near 5'11" - lifts and camera angles made him
appear much larger than he was - and I am glad for him that this could be achieved. But the idea that he was ever 6'3" in any kind of lifts is simply
preposterous, it is self-aggrandizing rubbish that is painful for me to read.

jake said on 13/Feb/11
5' 10.5 peak, 5' 9.5 current

RisingForce said on 4/Feb/11
I highly doubt he was actually listed at 5'9" because Burt was easily taller than 5'9" peak. I really think he was 5'11" peak and could be closer to 5'9" now, don't forget, I posted the article from '93 that said he had already shrunk an inch to 5'10" due to football injuries, factor in another 18 years of aging and a 2 inch loss is plausible. He looks noticeably shorter now, even with lifts.

5'11" peak
5'9"-5'9.5" now

Viper said on 27/Jan/11
Interesting how he was supposedly listed at 5-9 at FSU early on

jtm said on 27/Jan/11
yeah but they also had schwarzenegger at 5'10.

Viper said on 26/Jan/11
Didnt the Washington Post say he was 5-8?

Mr. R said on 25/Jan/11
During his heyday, Burt was listed at 6-1. Really. In the movie City Heat with Clint Eastwood, the running joke is that Eastwood continually calls Burt "shorty".

jake said on 23/Jan/11
Rob, why not add a peak and current height for the now 75 or thereabouts Reynolds?

FrankStallone said on 23/Jan/11
He has really shrunk in the last 20 years. Arnold S. is 3-4 inches taller in the pics they've been in together.

Legend said on 16/Jan/11
He's 5'8 now