Reed died Monday at his home outside Nashville of complications from emphysema. He was 71. “He was still recording right up until he couldn't any more," his booking agent, Carrie Moore-Reed, who is not related, said Tuesday. “He had been ill for some time."
Reed gained widespread fame as Reynolds' wisecracking foil starting with W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings in 1975, followed the next year by Gator and then, in 1977, the first of three Smokey and the Bandit movies in which he played Cledus “Snowman" Snow. In his last major film role, he played a harsh football coach in the 1998 Adam Sandler comedy The Waterboy.
But before he made the jump to Hollywood he had established himself as one of the most sought-after guitarists in Nashville, a songwriter who wrote hits for Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Brenda Lee and many others. He became a regular presence on the pop and country charts in the '70s and '80s with humorous hits including “When You're Hot, You're Hot," “Amos Moses," “East Bound and Down" and “She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)."
“The general population might recognize him most as Snowman in the 'Smokey' films, but they should be aware of so many important contributions he made in music," Michael Gray, museum editor for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, said Tuesday.
