Alfie Wise, who teamed with Burt Reynolds in many of his films including The Cannonball Run, Smokey & The Bandit, Stroker Ace, among others, has died. He was 82.
Wise passed away on July 22 of natural causes at the Thomas H. Corey VA Medical Center in West Palm Beach, FL, according to media reports.
Born in Altoona, PA, on Nov. 17, 1942, Wise graduated from Altoona Area High School in 1960 and went on to attend Pennsylvania State University[before serving in the U.S. Navy. He first appeared on screen in 1972 in the television movie Call Her Mom and appeared that same year in CBS sitcom The Sandy Duncan Show.
He went on to appear in numerous television shows in the late 1970s and 1980s including ABC medical drama Trauma Center as paramedic Sidney Pacelli. He guest-starred in series including Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, The Jeffersons, Tour of Duty and recurred as Oliver Wardell in B.L. Stryker, the marina owner who was the butt of Reynolds’ title character’s jokes.
Becoming great pals with Reynolds, he also appeared in his films Hooper (1978), The End (1978), Starting Over (1979), Paternity (1981), The Longest Yard (1974), City Heat (1984) and Heat (1986) as well as an episode in Reynolds’ CBS sitcom Evening Shade.
He retired from acting in 2000, last appearing in the CBBC television series S Club 7 in Miami.
He most recently worked as a real estate agent at Donahue Real Estate in Florida, which paid tribute to him in a post on Facebook.
“We are deeply saddened to share that our agent, Alfie Wise, has passed away,” the agency wrote. “Whenever there was a company get-together, Alfie was always there, smiling and chatting with everyone. Not only was Alfie a pleasure to work with as a successful Realtor, but he was an accomplished actor. He frequently worked with his friend, Burt Reynolds, including in the classic film Smokey and the Bandit. You may also have watched him as a regular in the TV shows BL Stryker, Trauma Center, and S Club 7 in Miami. We will greatly miss Alfie’s sense of humor, positive attitude, and charming personality. We send our thoughts and prayers to his loved ones.”
