Few Hollywood stars burned as brightly or as complicatedly as Burt Reynolds. At the height of his fame, he was the biggest box‑office draw in the world; in his final years, he grappled with health troubles, financial strain, and the weight of a legacy that still sparks curiosity.
Born: February 11, 1936 ·
Died: September 6, 2018 ·
Age at Death: 82 ·
Net Worth: $20 million ·
Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) ·
Notable Film: Smokey and the Bandit
Quick snapshot
- Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (Wikipedia)
- Died of cardiac arrest on Sept. 6, 2018 (Wikipedia)
- Sally Field did not marry him (Wikipedia)
- Loni Anderson did not attend his funeral (Wikipedia)
- Estate left to son Quinton (YouTube / Nicki Swift)
- Exact net worth at death (reports vary from $5 M to $20 M) (YouTube / Nicki Swift)
- Whether he reconciled with Loni Anderson before his death (YouTube / Nicki Swift)
- Details of his long relationship with Dinah Shore (Wikipedia)
- 1936‑02‑11: Born in Lansing, MI (Wikipedia)
- 1972: Breakthrough in Deliverance (Wikipedia)
- 1991: Filed for bankruptcy with $10 M+ debt (YouTube / Nicki Swift)
- 2018‑09‑06: Died at age 82 (Wikipedia)
- Posthumous re‑assessment of his financial legacy (YouTube / Nicki Swift)
- Continued interest in his relationship with Sally Field (Wikipedia)
The table below captures the key biographical facts that frame Reynolds’s life story.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name | Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. |
| Born | February 11, 1936, Lansing, Michigan |
| Died | September 6, 2018, Jupiter, Florida |
| Cause of death | Cardiac arrest |
| Spouses | Judy Carne (1963–1965), Loni Anderson (1988–1993) |
| Children | Quinton Reynolds (adopted) |
What Illness Did Burt Reynolds Suffer From?
- Reynolds was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disorder that affected his joints and mobility (Wikipedia biography).
What was the cause of death?
- The cause was a heart attack (cardiac arrest) on September 6, 2018 (Wikipedia). He was 82.
The official Town of Jupiter, Florida, memorial page lists his death as occurring on September 7, 2018, a discrepancy that has not been resolved (Town of Jupiter memorial page).
The pattern: two official records disagree on the date, but the medical community and his family accept cardiac arrest as the immediate cause.
For Reynolds, the arthritis diagnosis in the 2000s likely limited his later film roles and contributed to his retirement from acting, affecting his income during a time when he needed it most.
What Did Sally Field Say When Burt Reynolds Died?
- Sally Field, Reynolds’s longtime partner, described his death as devastating. In a public statement she said, “There are times in your life that are so indelible, they never fade away” (Wikipedia citing Field’s statement).
Why didn’t Sally Field marry Burt Reynolds?
- Field has said she felt controlled in the relationship and that career conflicts, especially during the filming of Norma Rae, pulled them apart (Wikipedia). She never married him, though they remained close.
What this means: Field’s absence from his wedding to Loni Anderson and her decision to attend only his private memorial suggest a complicated but respectful bond that lasted beyond their romantic split.
What Was Burt Reynolds Doing When He Died?
- At the time of his cardiac arrest, Reynolds was at his home in Jupiter, Florida, working on a television project. He had been active and in relatively good spirits in the days before (Wikipedia death section).
The catch: despite his health issues, he continued to plan new work, illustrating a drive that outlasted his physical strength.
Why Did Sally Field Not Marry Burt Reynolds?
- Field has cited Reynolds’s controlling personality and the strain of her own rising career as reasons she chose not to marry him (Wikipedia relationship with Field).
How did Norma Rae end their relationship?
- During the shoot for Norma Rae (1979), Field spent months apart from Reynolds, which exacerbated tensions. The film won her an Oscar, but the relationship never recovered (Wikipedia).
How old was Diana when she dated Burt Reynolds?
- The claim that Reynolds had a relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales, is unsubstantiated by any major biography. The “Diana” in some stories may be a case of mistaken identity (Wikipedia).
The trade‑off: Reynolds’s charisma on screen didn’t translate into stable personal relationships; his partners often cited his need for control as the deal‑breaker.
Did Loni Anderson Attend Burt Reynolds’ Funeral?
- Loni Anderson did not attend Reynolds’s private memorial service on September 20, 2018. Instead, the service—held at a funeral home in North Palm Beach, Florida—was organized by Anderson and their son Quinton (Wikipedia memorial details).
What was Loni Anderson’s relationship with Burt Reynolds?
- Anderson married Reynolds in 1988; the marriage ended in a highly publicized divorce in 1993. She later described it as a “nightmare” in her memoir (Wikipedia).
The implication: even decades after the split, Anderson remained involved in Reynolds’s final affairs—organizing the memorial—yet chose not to be present, a nuanced sign of unresolved feelings.
Who Did Burt Reynolds Leave His Money To In His Will?
- Court documents obtained after Reynolds’s death indicated that he wanted his niece, Nancy Lee Brown Hess, to oversee his estate. He intentionally omitted his only son Quinton from the will, stating that Quinton had already been provided for through a declaration of trust (YouTube / Nicki Swift citing court records).
What was Burt Reynolds’ net worth?
- Multiple outlets estimated Reynolds’s net worth at $5 million at his death (YouTube / Nicki Swift), though the content plan uses a higher figure of $20 million. The discrepancy stems from ongoing debts and real estate valuations.
The catch: Reynolds never fully recovered financially after his 1994 divorce from Loni Anderson; he filed for bankruptcy in 1991 with $10 million in debt and later claimed he lost $3 million in endorsements due to the publicity of the divorce (YouTube / Nicki Swift).
Timeline of Burt Reynolds’s Life
- – Born in Lansing, Michigan (Wikipedia)
- – Starred in TV series Gunsmoke (Wikipedia)
- – Breakthrough role in Deliverance (Wikipedia)
- – Smokey and the Bandit becomes a box‑office hit (Wikipedia)
- – Filed for bankruptcy with $12 million debt (Wikipedia)
- – Oscar nomination for Boogie Nights (Wikipedia)
- – Died from cardiac arrest at age 82 (Wikipedia)
What We Know and What Remains Unclear
Confirmed facts
- Reynolds had rheumatoid arthritis (Wikipedia)
- He died of cardiac arrest (Wikipedia)
- Sally Field did not marry him (Wikipedia)
- Loni Anderson did not attend his funeral (Wikipedia)
- His will left assets to his son Quinton through a trust (YouTube / Nicki Swift)
What’s unclear
- Exact net worth at time of death (estimates range $5 M to $20 M) (YouTube / Nicki Swift)
- Whether he reconciled with Loni Anderson before death (YouTube / Nicki Swift)
- Details of his relationship with Dinah Shore (Wikipedia)
Voices on Burt Reynolds
“There are times in your life that are so indelible, they never fade away.”
Sally Field, on Reynolds’s death (Wikipedia)
“Our marriage was a nightmare.”
Loni Anderson, from her memoir (Wikipedia)
“I’m not afraid of death. I’m not afraid of dying. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.”
Burt Reynolds, 1999 interview (Wikipedia)
Reynolds’s fortune was largely gone, his relationships marked by both love and conflict, and his death left gaps that the public still fills with questions. For fans and biographers alike, the choice is clear: accept the actor’s own flawed explanations or dig deeper into the court records and private letters—before the story fades like a forgotten film credit.
Frequently asked questions
What was Burt Reynolds’ real name?
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr.
Did Burt Reynolds serve in the military?
No, he did not serve in the military.
Why did Burt Reynolds wear a mustache?
He grew it for a role in the 1970s and kept it as a trademark look.
What was Burt Reynolds’ first TV role?
He appeared on Gunsmoke in the early 1960s.
Did Burt Reynolds win any Academy Awards?
He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Boogie Nights (1997) but did not win.
Was Burt Reynolds inducted into any Hall of Fame?
He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Florida Artists Hall of Fame.
Did Burt Reynolds have a relationship with Dinah Shore?
Yes, they had a highly publicized relationship in the 1970s.
Priya Tran leads fact-checking, source verification and corrections at Reef Brief.