Burt Reynolds 911 Call Reveals He Had Chest Pains Before He Died
The 911 call that sent an ambulance to the Burt Reynolds estate told the dispatcher that the 82-year-old actor was having chest pains and difficulty breathing, USA Today is reporting.
In the call to the Marin County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office, an unidentified male caller calmly tells the dispatcher that the Cannonball Run actor is having chest pains and difficulty breathing. The caller then asks if the victim (Reynolds) is awake, and the caller responds “semi.”
“[Reynolds] is breathing, but he’s not answering questions.”
The call was made just after noon (Eastern time) on Thursday, according to TMZ. Paramedics were immediately dispatched to Reynolds’ Jupiter, Florida home. He later died at a hospital.
You can listen to the 911 call below.
https://youtu.be/eX0vCVphvHM
Reynolds had been in ill health for a number of years before he died. Besides being of advanced age, Reynolds was also bedeviled by old stunt injuries, as well as having undergone quintuple bypass surgery in 2010. Friends and family reported that he had been frail and ill before he died, yet his sudden death still reportedly came as a surprise.
As People reported at the time, Reynolds’ 2010 bypass surgery came at a time when he had already been ailing from a prescription drug addiction.
“This has been a challenging time for me personally, and I really appreciate the outpouring of love and support from my fans, friends and family.”
Burt Reynolds's hairy-chested centerfold was the nude heard around the world https://t.co/PIpSMN4UNf
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 7, 2018
At the time of his operation, Reynolds had to put down rumors that he had been rushed to the hospital. Through his spokesman at the time, Erik Kritzer, Reynolds said that the operation was planned and routine.
“Mr. Reynolds has been released from a hospital in Florida in which he had a planned bypass operation. He wants to thank everyone for their good wishes and states that he has a great motor with brand new pipes and he is feeling great. Doctors plan on a speedy recovery.”
Besides being in ill health, Reynolds spent the last decade of his life broke – although how broke remains a matter of dispute.
In 2015, according to TMZ, Reynolds sold his Florida mansion, after having tried for years to unload it to settle lingering financial problems. Fortunately, the man he sold it to, friend and neighbor Charles Modica, was a fan of Reynolds and allowed Burt to live in the home, saying that moving would be “traumatic” for the sick and elderly man. He was able to live out his days in the beloved home thanks to the generosity of his pal.
