Alfie Wise has died at the age of 82.
He passed of natural causes on July 22 at the Thomas H. Corey Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Palm Beach, Florida, his fiancee Stephanie Bliss told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday.
The Hollywood movie and TV actor was best known as a good friend and costar of ’70s icon Burt Reynolds.
The Pennsylvania native worked with Reynolds on 1974’s The Longest Yard, 1977’s Smokey And The Bandit, 1978’s Hooper, 1981’s The Cannonball Run, 1981’s Paternity, 1983’s Stroker Ace and 1984’s City Heat.
And Wise appeared on Reynolds’ TV shows BL Stryker and Evening Shade.
Apart from Reynolds’ films, Wise appeared in Midway (1976), Swashbuckler (1976), Hot Stuff (1979), Rad (1986) and Catherine’s Grove (1997).
Alfie Wise has died at the age of 82. He passed of natural causes on July 22 at the Thomas H. Corey Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Palm Beach, Florida , his fiancee Stephanie Bliss, told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday
The actor was best known as a costar of Burt Reynolds. He worked with Reynolds on 1974’s The Longest Yard, 1977’s Smokey And The Bandit, 1978’s Hooper, 1981’s The Cannonball Run, 1981’s Paternity, 1983’s Stroker Ace (pictured) and 1984’s City Heat
The poster for Smokey And The Bandit, which was a blockbuster film
And Wise also appeared on several popular TV shows such as Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, The Jeffersons, The Sandy Duncan Show and Tour of Duty.
‘He loved his friends, and he really kept us very close,’ Wise said of Reynolds in an interview with The New York Daily News shortly after Reynolds’ death in 2018.
‘His films were like an ongoing block party.
‘I think the audience caught on to that. You always knew you were going to have a great time with a Burt Reynolds movie.’
He also served as Reynolds’ assistant during their many years together.
‘I’ve been very lucky to get to know and work with such a good friend,’ he said in the late ’70s in a story published in his hometown Altoona Mirror. ‘Burt is one of the true gentlemen in the business as well as a caring and warm man.’
Wise was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He attended Keith Jr. High School and Altoona Area High School, graduating in 1960.
Next was college at Pennsylvania State University which was followed by serving in the United States Navy.
1972: (L-R) Wise, Mike Evans, Connie Stevens in Call Her Mom
The cast of The Cannonball Run in 1981. Back row, left to right: Wise, Jack Elam (hidden), unknown, Joe Klecko, Jamie Farr, Mel Tillis, Bert Convy, Adrienne Barbeau, Michael Hui, Rick Aviles, and Warren Berlinger. Centre (in orange) Dom DeLuise. Front row, left to right: Tara Buckman, Dean Martin, Farrah Fawcett, Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Jackie Chan and Sammy Davis, Jr
Wise with Lou Ferrigno, James Naughton in 1983’s TV show Trauma Center
He began his screen career in 1972, appearing in the television film Call Her Mom.
In the same year, he appeared in the sitcom television series The Sandy Duncan Show.
Later in his career, in 1983, Wise starred as paramedic Sidney Pacelli in the ABC medical drama television series Trauma Center, starring along with James Naughton, Jack Bannon, Lou Ferrigno, Wendie Malick and Dorian Harewood.
He retired from acting in 2000 and became a real estate agent in Jupiter, Florida.