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Burt Reynolds has heart op

Actor Burt Reynolds has undergone heart bypass surgery and is expected to make a quick recovery at home, his manager said on Wednesday.

Reynolds, 74, a Hollywood star in the 1970s whose hits include The Longest Yard, Smokey and the Bandit and more recently Boogie Nights, had quintuple bypass surgery last week, according to Entertainment Tonight. He is now being cared for at his Florida home.

"Mr Reynolds has been released from a hospital in Florida in which he had a scheduled bypass operation. He wants to thank everyone for their good wishes and doctors plan on a speedy recovery," his manager Erik Kritzer said in a statement.

Kritzer denied media reports that Reynolds had been rushed to the hospital.

Last year Reynolds spent time in a drug rehab clinic to overcome an addiction to painkillers prescribed to him after back surgery, according to his manager.

He went public at that time to encourage others to seek professional help with such addictions.

Reynolds also has spoken about relying on sleep medication to ease the pain of a joint disorder following a broken jaw.

He won a Golden Globe for his role as a porn king in 1997's Boogie Nights and also starred in Deliverance.

In the 1990s, Reynolds starred in the hit television show Evening Shade. Recently he was a guest star as businessman Richard Chubby on NBC TV comedy My Name is Earl. - (Reuters Health, March 2010)

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