Burt Reynolds was a big name in the industry, and he was also a complex man to be with. He had a strange persona, as his decisions would be topics to talk about.
He had struggled with balancing his family life and other things. The things he chose to left his family in his will, is showing the complexity of his character.
In 2013, Reynolds was taken to ICU after complications caused by flu. Despite he was in a critical condition, his love for acting stayed the same.
Nancy Lee Hess, Reynold’s niece, talked about him and said, “He was tough. Anyone who breaks their tailbone on a river and finishes the movie is tough. And that’s who he was.”
“I did all my own stunts, which is why I can’t walk now,” Reynolds said in 2015.
Before he passed away, he was expecting a role in the Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
For his entire life, Reynolds struggled financially. He received millions from the movies he starred, but couldn’t manage the money. “I’ve lost more money than is possible because I just haven’t watched it,” Reynolds said.
“I’ve still done well in terms of owning property and things like that. But I haven’t been somebody who’s been smart about his money. There are a couple of actors who are quite brilliant with the way they’ve handled their money, but they’re not very good actors.”
In 1993, Reynolds divorced from actress Loni Anderson, and he was courted to pay $15,000 monthly for their son.
In 2015, as the final payment, Reynolds paid $154,520. Until that year, Burt Reynolds struggled a lot. He declared bankruptcy in 1996, as he was unable to keep up with the payments. He was paying $47,000 monthly after divorcement, and $9,000 monthly mortgage for the house he bought for Loni Anderson.
He had adopted a son, Quinton Anderson Reynolds, while he was married to Loni. He described him as “my greatest achievement,” adding, “He’s a wonderful young man and is now working as a camera assistant in Hollywood.”
“He was only six when we split up… I think he’s heard some things from his mother that weren’t great about me,” Reynolds said of his son.
Quinton followed Reynold’s footsteps in the industry, and he tried to build his own career without using his father’s fame and name.
“He never asked for any help with his career—he did it all himself, and I’m so proud of him,” Reynolds said.
When Reynolds passed away at the age of 82, in 2018, it was revealed in his will that Quinton was cut out of his will.
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