Jerry Reed (R.I.P.)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Jerry Reed, a singer who became a "good ol' boy" actor opposite Burt Reynolds in car chase movies like "Smoky and the Bandit," is dead at age 71, according to his longtime booking agent.

Carrie Moore-Reed, who is no relation to the star, says Reed died early Monday morning of complications from emphysema.

Reed was a gifted guitarist who later became a songwriter, singer and finally an actor.

As a singer in the 1970s and early 1980s, he had a string of hits that included "Amos Moses," ''When You're Hot, You're Hot," ''East Bound and Down," and "The Bird".


In the mid-1970s, he began acting in movies like "Smokey and the Bandit," ''Gator" ''Hot Stuff," ''High Ballin" (with Peter Fonda), "The Survivors" (with Walter Matthau), "BAT-21" (with Gene Hackman) and "W.W. and the Dixie Dance Kings."