The Tragedy Of Burt Reynolds Explained

Heartthrob, movie star, owner of one of the greatest mustaches of all time — Burt Reynolds wrote his name into the annals of cinema history. Despite the fame and accolades he achieved over the decades, the screen legend experienced a litany of ups and downs in his personal life. One would think that earning over $10 million a year during his heyday would set him up comfortably for the rest of his life, but Reynolds ended up being one of the action stars who went broke. Worst of all, he lost the bulk of his money during a tumultuous divorce from Loni Anderson, even though his heart belonged to someone else from his past.

Taking a page out of Buster Keaton's most insane stunts playbook, Reynolds often insisted on performing his own death-defying feats in his movies. This led to a number of high-profile injuries, including one that had people asking questions about his health and making up their own minds about what was supposedly going on with him. Before he died in September 2018, Reynolds explained how the years of grueling stunt work took a toll on his body, with him being able to identify which movie generated each ache and pain.

In his 82 years on the planet, Reynolds lived a storied and enviable life, achieving the highest of highs and creating a body of work that will be remembered for generations to come. Every triumph, though, came with its fair share of tragedy too.

Before lighting up the silver screen and receiving top billing on movie posters, Burt Reynolds was one of the celebrities you had no idea played college football. Reportedly, he had the tools to become a superstar, too. After attracting attention as an athlete at Palm Beach High School, Reynolds received a scholarship to fulfill his football dreams at Florida State University.

According to Reynolds' comments in a 2007 interview on the "Bobby Murray Tailgate Show," he experienced a stellar freshman year that showcased his abilities as the next big thing before two subsequent injuries derailed everything. "I began my sophomore year and had my knee operated on, then I had a terrible automobile accident," he said. "Lost my spleen and had the other knee operated on. So I came back, and the ball player that was playing against Dick Christy was not the ball player that I was when I was a freshman."

After a loss to North Carolina State University in 1957, Reynolds realized the injuries had drastically affected his mobility and speed. In that moment, he understood that he would never be at the level to become a pro football player. So, he decided to throw in the towel on a sporting career and pursue another passion. Reynolds spoke to his roommates, telling them: "I'm going to go off to Hollywood and become a movie star." According to the actor, they responded: "Well, call us when you do."

Despite "Smokey and the Bandit" becoming one of his most famous movies and "Boogie Nights" bringing him widespread acclaim in the later years of his career, Burt Reynolds revealed in "Burt Reynolds: The Last Interview" that his star-making role as Lewis Medlock in 1972's "Deliverance" remained his favorite. Funnily enough, he wasn't the top pick — nor even the second favorite — for the part, according to director John Boorman. Reynolds only received the gig because he commanded a smaller payday than what Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando demanded. The production also became infamous for turning into an intense series of events that pushed its actors to the limit. In fact, Ned Beatty nearly drowned on set, while Reynolds broke his tailbone during filming.

Appearing on "The Howard Stern Show" decades later, Norm Macdonald recalled a story that Reynolds told him about the production. According to Macdonald, Reynolds wanted to do the waterfall stunt, but the director suggested using a stuntman or dummy for it. Reynolds, though, pushed to do the scene, and it resulted in a painful and scary experience. "He said his shoulder immediately hit a rock, and his head hit another rock," Macdonald said. "And then he said the next thing he remembered was he was way downstream, all of his clothes have been torn off, and he looks up and he's in shock, right? Next thing he remembers, he's waking up in a hospital, [and] John [Boorman's] at his bedside."

Sally Field and Burt Reynolds' romance received a lot of publicity from the press, especially since the pair appeared to be the picture-perfect celebrity couple and seemed glued at the hip for several years. However, Field's 2018 memoir, "In Pieces," painted a different image of their relationship that was far from the glitz and glamor portrayed in gossip mags and newspapers. She wrote that Reynolds used Percodan and Valium during their time together. At one point, Field suggested that Reynolds see a therapist to assist with his levels of stress and anxiety; however, he told her that talking to a counselor was "self-delusional poppycock." After that, she didn't say anything further to him about it.

Reynolds' ex-wife Loni Anderson also attested that he would take Valium for his anxiety in her own memoir, "My Life in High Heels." Anderson wrote: "He would be a nervous wreck if he left the Valium anywhere." She claimed that Reynolds swapped out Valium for Halcion later on. In addition, Anderson mentioned that Reynolds took Percodan to treat the constant pain he experienced as a result of the injuries from his football days.

During the filming of 1984's "City Heat," which also stars Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds received an excruciating and unexpected surprise when a stuntman hit him in the face with a chair, causing serious damage. As Reynolds explained on "The Jonathan Ross Show" in 2015, the stunt performer picked up the incorrect chair for the scene, swung it at Reynolds, and broke his jaw in four places.

Since this occurred early in the production, Reynolds pushed ahead, deciding not to delay the filming with his injury. The actor received months' worth of treatment from a specialist that included the replacement of teeth and a reset of his jaw; however, rumors swirled about Reynolds' health and his noticeable weight loss. "I just got thinner and thinner," he told The New York Times. "Before the picture was over, everyone was whispering that I was deathly ill. That's when the AIDS rumors started."

At the time, there was a stigma toward HIV and AIDS from elements of society. The rumors negatively impacted Reynolds' career, and he found many of his peers abandoned him as a result. Reynolds recovered from the on-set accident and used an appearance on "The Tonight Show" to send a message to those who'd turned their backs on him. The actor held up a notebook and said inside were the names of everyone who stood by him during his recovery. When he flipped through it, the pages were all blank.

The constant rumors about his health and abandonment by his friends weren't the only issues that Burt Reynolds needed to contend with after the accident on the set of "City Heat." He also claimed he was misusing prescription painkillers and alcohol during his period of recovery. 

Speaking to TV Guide (via AP News) years later about this time in his life, Reynolds said the pain from the accident proved to be agonizing and unbearable. Resultantly, he would take five to six pills of Halcion to cope. Eventually, he reached a point where he swallowed up to 50 pills a day. Reynolds revealed that his doctors told him if he had increased his intake to include one more pill, he could have died.

Reynolds didn't see rehab as an option for him back then but recognized he needed to change his behavior after four years of misusing painkillers. So, he decided to quit the hard way and just stop. Reynolds explained that it wasn't the wisest idea, as he went into a coma for eight to nine hours. At one point, the doctors feared he wouldn't wake up again, and they prepared his then-wife, Loni Anderson, to say her final goodbyes to him.

Burt Reynolds married fellow actor Loni Anderson in 1988. However, they split in 1993, and their divorce turned into tabloid fodder. Reynolds went on record to say it was a mistake to marry Anderson. He admitted there had been unfaithfulness on his part but claimed she cheated on him first. It also coincided with a period of time in which Reynolds experienced money issues, which weren't exactly aided by the messy and expensive divorce.

Despite the split from Anderson hurting him — both personally and financially — Reynolds admitted to People in 2015 that she hadn't been the one. He reserved that accolade for Sally Field, whom he dated in the '70s and early '80s. "It was real," he said. "I really cared for her. She's very, very special." It wouldn't be the only time Reynolds would speak about Field in that way, as he repeatedly expressed regret at their relationship not lasting and saw her as the one who got away.

Speaking to Variety in 2022, Field explained that the feeling wasn't mutual. "He was not someone I could be around," she said. "He was just not good for me in any way. And he had somehow invented in his rethinking of everything that I was more important to him than he had thought, but I wasn't. He just wanted to have the thing he didn't have. I just didn't want to deal with that."

In 2009, Burt Reynolds underwent back surgery. As is common with the after-care treatment for these types of procedures, Reynolds received prescription pills to deal with the pain that would likely arise from his surgery. In September 2009, though, Reynolds' manager, Erik Kritzer, released a statement to the media (via Reuters) that the actor had checked himself into rehab after he "realized he was a prisoner of prescription pain pills."

Reportedly, Reynolds — along with a relative — drove to the rehabilitation facility where he checked himself in voluntarily. From there, the actor completed a month-long program before heading back home.

In November 2009, Reynolds spoke about how positive he was feeling about his life after the back surgery and his stay in rehab to kick his misuse of prescription pills. Speaking to The West Australian, the actor explained how he needed to undergo an operation due to all the injuries he experienced while making movies and from his college football years. "The pain in my back is still there, but the drugs definitely are not, and I'm learning to live through the pain," he said. "If someone asks me to rate the pain from 1 to 10, I always say 12. But I'm handling it."

A year after his back surgery, Burt Reynolds went under the surgeon's knife once again in March 2010. This time, it was for a quintuple bypass surgery. Upon announcing that the actor was recovering at home and the surgery had been successful, Reynolds' manager, Erik Kritzer, stressed that the procedure had been in the works for at least a month and was not something unplanned, as had been reported by certain outlets. Kritzer explained how Reynolds went in for the operation on a Monday and was released the next day.

However, the actor painted a different version of events when he spoke to People about his surgery. According to Reynolds, he visited his doctor for a regular check-up, and his physician discovered he was at serious risk of having a heart attack due to the arteries being closed. Alarm bells rang, and time was of the essence. "My doctor said I needed to undergo bypass surgery immediately," Reynolds said. "I went home and shaved then had the operation the next day." The actor added that he felt good after the surgery, declaring his wish to "live to be 199."

In September 2018, eight years after his bypass surgery, Reynolds died from a heart attack at the age of 82.

There are many actors who were tragically injured on set. As someone who loved to perform their own stunts and became a bona fide action hero for doing so, Burt Reynolds experienced more than the average amount of injuries throughout the years. Appearing on "The Jonathan Ross Show" in 2015 (via The Mirror), Reynolds opened up about the effects of decades' worth of stunt work on his body. (Lest we forget, he also had a history of devastating injuries dating back to his college football days.)

"I did all my own stunts, which is why I can't walk very well now," he said. "At certain times in the morning I regret it, trying to get out of bed. I can point to certain places and know it's from certain pictures." In addition, the actor joked about how this had a detrimental impact on his love life, as he only had limited mobility to get jiggy in the bedroom.

Speaking to Business Insider in 2016, Reynolds reiterated the serious effects the stunts had on his body and explained that, in retrospect, he wished he hadn't done the waterfall stunt in "Deliverance." "When it's cold and I'm limping around I think, 'Why didn't I let Hal [Needham, Reynold's stunt double] make some money and I just sit down?'" he said. "But you can't go back. It was a dumb macho thing."

Take a look at Burt Reynolds' illustrious filmography, and it's impressive how he never slowed down in his life, continuously performing until he died in 2018. Right before he passed away, Reynolds accepted the role of ranch owner George Spahn in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood."

According to Tarantino, it was Reynolds' last-ever role; however, the actor never made it in front of the cameras before he died. Tarantino added how they rehearsed together in the lead-up to the film, before sharing a bittersweet story about the actor. "The night he died, what he was doing before he passed on is he was running lines with his assistant," Tarantino told CBS Sunday Morning. "That's, like, sad and beautiful at the same time. He was so happy. I can honestly say he died happy. I am not saying he died happy because of me, but he was definitely happy when he passed on."

After Reynolds died, Tarantino cast Bruce Dern as George Spahn in "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood."

To learn more about Reynolds' career, check out the untold truth of "Smokey and the Bandit" and find out how Marlon Brando's feud with Burt Reynolds almost changed "The Godfather" forever.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues or mental health, contact the relevant resources below: 

• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
• The Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.