Key Facts
- Burt Reynolds had a net worth of $3 million at the time of his death in 2018.
- At his career peak in the 1980s, his net worth reached approximately $60 million (equivalent to $150 million today).
- Reynolds declared bankruptcy in 1996 due to failed business ventures and divorce settlements.
- He was born on February 11, 1936, in Lansing, Michigan.
- Reynolds died from a heart attack on September 6, 2018, at age 82.
- He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for “Boogie Nights” (1997).
- Reynolds won an Emmy Award for his role in the TV series “Evening Shade”.
Early Life and Education
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. was born on February 11, 1936, in Lansing, Michigan, though for many years he claimed to be from Waycross, Georgia. His father was a police chief, and the family moved to Riviera Beach, Florida, when Reynolds was a child. During his youth, he was known by the nickname “Buddy.”
Reynolds attended Palm Beach High School, where he made a name for himself as a talented football player. His athletic abilities earned him a football scholarship to Florida State University, where he played halfback starting in 1954. While at FSU, he roomed with future college football coach and ESPN analyst Lee Corso and joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
His promising football career was cut short by injuries—first a knee injury in his sophomore season, followed by another knee injury and the loss of his spleen in a car accident. These setbacks forced him to take nearly two years away from the university. During this time, he enrolled at Palm Beach Junior College to keep up with his studies.
When Reynolds returned to Florida State in 1957, his injuries had slowed him down considerably. After being blamed for a loss to North Carolina State University, he decided to leave football behind.
Acting Career Beginnings
Reynolds’ entry into acting came through an unexpected route. While at Palm Beach Junior College, he took an English class taught by Watson B. Duncan III, who encouraged him to audition for a play called “Outward Bound.” Reynolds won the lead role and eventually received the 1956 Florida State Drama Award for his performance.
This award included a scholarship to the Hyde Park Playhouse, a summer stock theater in New York. Though Reynolds initially saw acting as just a pleasant alternative to physically demanding summer jobs, his talent was recognized by established actress Joanne Woodward, who helped him find an agent.
Reynolds began his professional career with small television roles in the late 1950s. He signed a seven-year contract with Universal Studios, with studio executive Lew Wasserman reportedly saying, “I don’t care whether he can act or not. Anyone who has this effect on women deserves a break.”
Rise to Stardom
Reynolds’ first significant television role came when he was cast alongside Darren McGavin in the series “Riverboat” (1959-61). However, he quit after only 20 episodes due to conflicts with McGavin and the executive producer.
After struggling to find work, Reynolds landed a role as half-Native American blacksmith Quint Asper on the popular Western series “Gunsmoke” from 1962 to 1965. This period marked a turning point in his career, with Reynolds later describing it as “the happiest period of my life.”
His breakthrough film role came in the 1972 thriller “Deliverance,” directed by John Boorman. The same year, Reynolds gained additional notoriety when he posed nude for a centerfold in Cosmopolitan magazine, a decision he later regretted.
Peak Career and Box Office Success
The mid-1970s to early 1980s marked Reynolds’ peak as a box office draw. He became known for his roles in car-chase films and comedies, including:
- “White Lightning” (1973)
- “The Longest Yard” (1974)
- “Smokey and the Bandit” (1977)
- “Semi-Tough” (1977)
- “Hooper” (1978)
- “The Cannonball Run” (1981)
- “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” (1982)
From 1978 to 1982, Reynolds was voted the world’s number one box office star in the annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll, a record he shares with Bing Crosby. During this period, he commanded salaries of up to $5 million per film, as evidenced by his earnings for “Cannonball Run II” and “City Heat.”
Reynolds also ventured into directing with films like “Gator” (1976), “The End” (1978), and “Sharky’s Machine” (1981).
Financial Problems and Career Decline
Despite earning millions at the height of his career, Reynolds experienced significant financial troubles. His problems stemmed from several factors:
Poor Business Investments: Reynolds invested heavily in restaurant chains, including Po’ Folks and Daisy’s Diner. These ventures failed spectacularly, resulting in losses of approximately $20-30 million.
Extravagant Lifestyle: At the peak of his wealth, Reynolds owned multiple mansions in Beverly Hills, a 160-acre ranch in Florida with 150 horses, a mansion in Georgia, and private aircraft.
Divorce Settlements: His divorce from actress Loni Anderson in 1994 after just five years of marriage was particularly costly. Reynolds agreed to pay Anderson a lump sum of $234,794.13 plus $15,000 per month in support.
Career Downturn: After turning down the role of astronaut Garrett Breedlove in “Terms of Endearment” (which won Jack Nicholson an Oscar) to star in “Stroker Ace” (1983), Reynolds’ career began to decline. He later admitted this was “a stupid decision” made during his “stupid period.”
In 1996, Reynolds was forced to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Court documents revealed assets of $6.65 million against debts totaling $11.2 million. Among his debts was $121,000 owed to his toupee maker.
Career Revival and Later Years
Reynolds experienced a career renaissance with his role as pornographic film director Jack Horner in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Boogie Nights” (1997). The performance earned him a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Ironically, Reynolds disliked the film so much that he fired his agent for recommending it and declined a role in Anderson’s next film, “Magnolia.”
In the 1990s, Reynolds returned to television success with the sitcom “Evening Shade” (1990-1994), which earned him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Reynolds continued to work in film and television, often in supporting roles that referenced his earlier career. His final film appearance was in “Defining Moments” (2020), released posthumously.
Personal Life
Reynolds’ romantic life frequently made headlines. He was married twice:
- To English actress Judy Carne (1963-1965)
- To American actress Loni Anderson (1988-1994), with whom he adopted a son, Quinton
He also had several high-profile relationships, including with:
- Singer-actress Dinah Shore (1971-1975), who was 20 years his senior
- Actress Sally Field (1976-1980), whom he later described as “the love of his life”
Business Ventures
Beyond acting, Reynolds ventured into various business enterprises:
- Co-owned the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League (1982-1986)
- Co-owned a NASCAR Winston Cup Series team, Mach 1 Racing, with driver Harry Gant
- Opened Burt’s Place, a nightclub restaurant in Atlanta
- Owned the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre in Jupiter, Florida (1979-1989)
- Co-owned Burt & Jacks restaurant in Fort Lauderdale
Health Issues and Death
Throughout his life, Reynolds suffered from various health problems, including:
- Hypoglycemia
- Anxiety
- Temporomandibular joint dysfunction resulting from an injury on the set of “City Heat” (1984)
- Addiction to painkillers following the “City Heat” injury
- Back surgery in 2009
- Quintuple coronary artery bypass surgery in February 2010
On September 6, 2018, Reynolds died of a heart attack at the Jupiter Medical Center in Florida at the age of 82. His ashes were eventually interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on February 11, 2021, which would have been his 85th birthday.
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Legacy
Despite his financial troubles, Reynolds left behind a significant cultural legacy. He was a defining male sex symbol of the 1970s and embodied a particular strain of American masculinity characterized by charm, physical prowess, and self-deprecating humor.
His influence extended beyond film into popular culture, inspiring everything from fashion trends to car culture. The black Trans Am from “Smokey and the Bandit” became an iconic vehicle, with Reynolds’ character Bandit representing a particular brand of rebellious, good-natured outlaw.
In 2015, the Stuntmen’s Association of Motion Pictures awarded Reynolds the Richard “Diamond” Farnsworth Award, recognizing his contributions to the profession and his willingness to perform many of his own stunts throughout his career.
Though his net worth at death was a fraction of what he once commanded, Burt Reynolds remains remembered not for his financial troubles but for his charismatic screen presence and the joy he brought to audiences across decades of entertainment.
