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Alfie Wise, star of the big and small screen, has died
Outlets report that the Smokey and the Bandit star died of natural causes in July
After starring in S Club 7 in Miami, Wise retired from acting and became a real estate agent in Florida
Film and television star Alfie Wise has died. He was 82 years old.
The retired actor, known for supporting roles in many of his friend Burt Reynolds’ action-comedies, died of natural causes on July 22 at Palm Beach, Florida’s Thomas H. Corey Veteran Affairs Medical Center, per The Hollywood Reporter. He is survived by fiancée Stephanie Bliss. The Altoona Mirror first confirmed the news.
Wise was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania in 1942, serving in the U.S. Navy before making a debut in the 1972 TV film Call Her Mom. Around the time the Pennsylvania State University graduate starred in parody kids show Uncle Croc’s Block, he began collaborating with Reynolds (who died in 2018 at age 82) in what would be 10 total action-packed films including 1977’s Smokey and the Bandit and 1981’s The Cannonball Run, plus 1989 TV drama B.L. Stryker.
The actor’s most recent screen credit was CBBC sitcom S Club 7 in Miami, filmed with the British pop band where he lived in Florida. Wise then retired from acting, becoming a real estate agent in the state.
American Broadcasting Companies via Getty
Lee Majors and Alfie Wise in ‘The Fall Guy’ in 1982
“We are deeply saddened to share that our agent, Alfie Wise, has passed away,” wrote Donohue Real Estate in a July 30 Facebook post. “Whenever there was a company get-together, Alfie was always there, smiling and chatting with everyone… We will greatly miss Alfie’s sense of humor, positive attitude, and charming personality.”
“Sad to have heard my Pal Alfie Wise passed away,” wrote B.L. Stryker and S Club 7 casting director Lori Wyman in an Instagram tribute. “Funny, talented guy!”
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Alfie Wise in ‘Call Her Mom’ in 1972
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In a May 1988 issue of PEOPLE covering Reynolds’ wedding to Loni Anderson (who died Aug. 3 at age 79), Wise commented on his longtime friendship with the screen star. “Eighteen years of my life,” he quipped to Reynolds. “I thought [the wedding] would be you and I!”
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