Burt Reynolds will auction off hundreds of his own personal belongings, as the 1970s box-office-champion movie star who ended up in bankruptcy in 1996 continues trying to pull himself out a financial hole. Reynolds came out of the bankruptcy within two years, but even now the Hollywood icon faces foreclosure on his palatial Florida estate after reportedly missing mortgage payments for two years.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Reynolds was considered Hollywood’s most bankable star and was the highest paid actor in the movie industry for five straight years (a streak equaled only by Tom Cruise), a run sparked by his 1977 box-office smash Smokey And The Bandit , along with its two sequels.
But he also lived the life of a movie star, and it cost him . His expensive lifestyle, plus a divorce from actress Loni Anderson and a restaurant investment that went bad, set off a chain reaction of financial setbacks that have plagued the now-78-year-old actor ever since.
On December 11 and 12, Burt Reynolds will auction off about 600 of his personal belongings, ranging from his Golden Globe award trophy to an expired American Express card with his name on it.
The auction bearing the name Property From The Life And Career Of Burt Reynolds and run by Julien’s Auctions — which bills itself as “The Auction House To The Stars” — will be held at the Palms resort in Las Vegas. But items are up for bid online now, at this link .
“I’ve collected so many things that I truly adore but at this stage in my life I find it very difficult to manage them all,” Reynolds said in a statement about the auction. “The fact of the matter is that it truly is the time to downsize and for these items that I have loved over the years find new homes where they can be cared for and appreciated.”
Among the other Burt Reynolds items up for auction from the personal collection of the Deliverance star include a gold watch given to the star as a gift from actress Sally Field, who was in a romantic relationship with Reynolds for about five years at the height of his fame.
As recently as 2012, Reynolds, who has been married twice, looked back on his relationship with Field, calling her the love of his life and saying that the ending his romance with the Norma Rae Oscar winner was one of his life’s biggest regrets.
The Burt Reynolds auction also features his high school football trophies and the red jacket he wore in the Smokey films.