Burt Reynolds Is Responsible for One of the Greatest ‘Golden Girls’ Jokes Ever

If you just watch an actor’s body of work removed from cultural context, it can be difficult to gauge just how large they loomed in pop culture. With news of Burt Reynolds’ passing at the age of 82, the understandable urge will be to immediately stream any number of his culture-defining hits. Deliverance, Boogie Nights, Smokey and the Bandit, The Longest Yard, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Cannonball Run – all of those movies show Reynolds as the magnetic hunk of tanned Hollywood mega-talent that he was. But while watching them will give you a direct dose of Reynolds’ trademarked brand of sexy, cocky swagger, you might not get a feel for just how big a deal he was. Surprisingly, if you want to see the effect Burt Reynolds had on people, you might want to check out an episode of The Golden Girls.

Reynolds’ downright iconic cameo comes early in the show’s run, a Season 2 episode titled “Ladies of the Evening.” In it, the girls win three tickets to the premiere of Burt Reynolds’ new movie as well as passes to the after-party. The effect Burt Reynolds has on all of them is the stuff of myth and legend. They all fall under his sway, just at the thought of being able to breath in his musk. Blanche can only refer to the actor as “Mistuh Burt Reynolds,” emphasizing her husky accent. Blanche, Rose, Sophia, Dorothy–they all want a piece of Burt, and Sophia’s angry she’s getting left out.

Things don’t go as planned. Blanche, Rose, and Dorothy stop by for a drink on the way to the premiere at a hotel bar–but the hotel turns out to be a brothel. And the girls get roped up along with all the other ladies of the evening and tossed in the slammer. Instead of bailing them out, Sophia snatches the tickets and hops over to the premiere. As she tells her roommates the next day, she had a totally Hollywood night schmoozing with Reynolds’ entourage members Lonnie Anderson and Dom DeLuise. The girls don’t believe her… that is, until the doorbell rings.

Enter: Burt Reynolds, as if carved from the finest wood, a burly and handsome slab of man standing in the doorway. The normally unimpressed Dorothy is stunned, absolutely stunned. Sophia runs to the door for her date with Burt, thus leading to one of the absolute best jokes in all of Golden Girls history:

Such was the power of Burt Reynolds.

Watch Golden Girls "Ladies of the Evening" on Hulu