9/16/2009

in

Burt Reynolds' manager confirms that the actor has been released from rehab.

Pahull Bains

The 73-year old star of "Deliverance", "The Longest Yard" and "Boogie Nights" had recently checked himself into the Hanley Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., for treatment for addiction to painkillers.  
  
Erik Kritzer, Reynolds' manager, says that the actor's struggles began with pain medication prescribed following back surgery.  
  
According to Kritzer, Reynolds soon "realized that he was in the prison of prescription pain pills." He went on to say that Reynolds hopes his story of addiction will help others in similar situations and that they won't try to solve the problem without professional help.  
  
In the 1980s, Reynold's career was nearly ruined when an injury and subsequent prescription drug abuse led to false rumors that he was infected with the AIDS virus. He had hurt his jaw while filming the movie "City Heat" and was diagnosed with temporomandibular joint disorder, which affects the area that connects the jaw to the skull and can result in considerable pain. Reynolds then confessed to a reliance on the sleeping aid Halcion.  
  
"For two years I couldn't get a job," Reynolds told The Associated Press in 1990. "I had to take five physicals to get a job. I had to take the pictures that were offered to me. I did action pictures because I was trying to prove that I was well."  
  
According to the Associated Press, Kritzer has no details as to when the star was admitted or released from the Hanley treatment center in Florida. The center declined to comment on the actor's stay, citing patient confidentiality.