American actor Burt Reynolds has died at 82, his publicist has said.

The star, well-known for his role in 1972 cult classic Deliverance, died on Thursday in Florida, after suffering a heart attack.

Reynolds, who also enjoyed a successful career in television, counted the Longest Yard (1974) and Smokey and the Bandit (1977) among his credits.

Tributes from across Hollywood and the acting world poured in on news of Reynold's death.

Among the first to pay tribute was Wesley Snipes, who referenced a line from Smokey And The Bandit.

Snipes tweeted: "Meeting you was one of the greater joys of my adult life and artistic career. You were the 'Man' then, now and forever in my book.

"10-4 Bandit, you've got nothing but open road now."

US comedian and TV presenter Steve Harvey tweeted a framed photograph of himself with Reynolds.

Harvey wrote: "Very sad to hearing about the passing of Burt Reynolds. He was a great actor, a philanthropist and a pioneer of the cool mustache.

"Thank you, Burt. You will be missed."

Known for his tough-guy persona, throughout the 1970s Reynolds was almost as famous for his thick moustache as he was for film performances.

One of his breakthroughs came in the thriller Deliverance, in which four men from Atlanta canoe down the remote Georgia wilderness, only to narrowly escape death.

The film was also famous for its notorious male rape scene and the playing of "Dueling Banjos" by a banjo-clad country boy.