Pain Pill Addiction, Women and Bankruptcy: The Biggest Bombshells from the Burt Reynolds Documentary

Mar. 15, 2025

Burt Reynolds in ‘Deliverance’.Photo:Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

During the early 1970s,Burt Reynoldswas not only one of the most famous actors in the world, with a string of hit movies likeSmokey and the Bandit, but he was also one of Hollywood’s biggest sex symbols — one who’d posed fully nude for a centerfold inCosmopolitanin 1972 mainly because he thought it would be a lark.

“He made being a movie star look fun,” said director Adam Rifkin, who directed him in 2017’sThe Last Movie Star.In the documentaryI Am Burt Reynolds, now airing on The CW, friends and family likeLoni Anderson, and colleagues like Rifkin, Jon Voight, Bruce Dern, share intimate stories of Reynolds, whodied of heart failurein Jupiter, Florida in 2018.

All of them agreed on one thing: Reynolds had a hilarious, larger-than-life personality, was very, very handsome, and could charm the pants off everyone he met. Plus, he was a terrific actor, especially in the comedic roles he was drawn to.

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Below, a look at some of the biggest revelations on the Hollywood superstar fromI Am Burt Reynolds.

His Friends Called Him Bud

He Was a Hit With Women — Even in His Teens

Paramount Pictures/Courtesy of Getty Images

He Was a Football Star Before He Was a Film Star

Early in His Film Career, He Did Spaghetti Westerns in Italy

He Was Funny and a Huge Hit on Late Night Talk Shows

Before he was a big box office draw, Reynolds was a regular onMerv GriffinandJohnny Carson’s shows, known for his quick wit and sparkling personality. It was during a guest hosting gig that he metCosmopolitaneditor Helen Gurley Brown, who invited him to posenude for a centerfoldin her magazine. Reynolds agreed, thinking it would be funny and make a bold statement about the patriarchy. Plus, he had the body…

He Regretted Doing the Cosmopolitan Centerfold

He Was a Real Floridian and Southern Boy at Heart

Though he eventually made enough money to buy a Palm Springs house, Reynolds sold it and instead bought a 160-acre ranch in Jupiter, Florida where he felt most at home. In the documentary, his colleagues note that he was unabashedly a southern boy, and that one of his pet peeves was defending the fact that he was a southerner to his Hollywood cohorts. WhenSmokey and the Banditwas first released, it tanked in Los Angeles and New York, but once it was released in the South, it hit number one.

He Took Pills for Pain and They Became a Problem

Reynolds had been a football player and a certified stuntman before becoming a movie star, and years of injuries left him riddled with back pain. He started taking prescription pills, and according to hisDeliverancecostar Jon Voight, “He wasn’t careful about it.” He battled addiction to pain pills throughout most of his life, eventually going to rehab in the late 1990s. He once told his friend, “Don’t let me end up like Elvis.”

Burt Reynolds and Sally Field in the film ‘Smokey and the Bandit’.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

He Considered Sally Field ‘The One That Got Away’

Though he had a long term relationship (and short marriage) with his ex-wife Loni Anderson, Reynolds has said that he felt his former costar and flingSally Fieldwas the one he should have married and had kids with. As to why they split, the ladies’ man didn’t go into details in any interviews but simply told director Adam Rifkin, “I screwed up.”

He Always Wanted Children

Loni Anderson, who married Reynolds in 1988, says he’d always longed to be a dad, and was thrilled when they adopted son Quinton in 1988. He did his best to be a good dad, but Quinton admitted that he often showed his affection with items or gifts, rather than physical affection. Anderson says that stemmed from Reynolds' own relationship with his stoic dad. “I would have killed for a hug from him,” Reynolds once said of his own father.

Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson in 1987.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

He Blindsided Anderson with Divorce Papers

He Was Bad with Money and Went Bankrupt in 1996

Burt Reynolds in 2017, a year before his death from heart failure in 2018.Noam Galai/Getty Images

Noam Galai/Getty Images

Fans Briefly Assumed He Was Dying of AIDS

After an accidental on-set punch left him with a hairline fracture in his jaw, Reynolds developedTMJ, which caused him great pain and distress. He couldn’t eat, and he suffered from depression over it. He had weekly painful dental treatments to fix the problem, but he lost so much weight during the time that he looked gaunt, not unlike his colleagueRock Hudson, whowas dying of AIDS. The rumors flew that Reynolds was suffering the same fate.

He Longed to Win an Oscar for Boogie Nights

Burt Reynolds in Boogie Nights in 1997.New Line/Kobal/Shutterstock

New Line/Kobal/Shutterstock

Reynolds turned down the role of the porn star director in the drama more than once, but the film’s screenwriter and director Paul Thomas Anderson convinced him he could win an Academy Award for it. Reynolds also needed the money, and finally agreed. It was his resurgence, and he did indeed get nominated for a Best Supporting Actor award. However, he lost toRobin Williams, who won forGood Will Hunting.The loss plagued him. In an interview, when asked what he thought God might say when he walked into heaven, Reynolds replied with a smile, “He should’ve won.”

source: people.com