Alfie Wise, the quick-witted character actor best known for his frequent on-screen appearances alongside Burt Reynolds, has died at the age of 82.
According to his longtime fiancée Stephanie Bliss, Wise passed away of natural causes on July 22 at a VA hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida, as first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Wise first teamed up with Reynolds in the 1974 classic The Longest Yard, and their chemistry sparked a two-decade run of collaborations on some of Reynolds’ most iconic films. That list includes Smokey and the Bandit, The Cannonball Run, The End, Hooper, Starting Over, Paternity, Stroker Ace, City Heat, and Heat.
But their friendship ran deeper than just screen time — Wise also worked as Reynolds’ personal assistant, making him a fixture both behind the scenes and on set.
After Reynolds died in 2018, also at age 82, Wise paid tribute to his longtime friend in The New York Daily News, saying, “He loved his friends, and he really kept us very close. 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.”
The duo even brought their magic to television, working together on the late-’80s detective series B.L. Stryker and a 1991 episode of Reynolds’ sitcom Evening Shade.
Originally from Altoona, Pennsylvania, Wise served in the U.S. Navy after graduating from Penn State. There, he produced entertainment shows aboard ships before eventually heading west to Hollywood — where he carved out a steady career as a reliable comic presence and Reynolds’ go-to scene-stealer.