Beloved actor Burt Reynolds passed away on Thursday at the age of 82 from cardiac arrest after struggling in recent years with health issues.
His death shocked the Hollywood community along with fans around the world who loved him.
His co-stars, colleagues, and people of all walks of life have been mourning the actor since the news broke, but the special women in Reynolds’ life are speaking up, with treasured memories of the handsome, talented star — known for his penetrating gaze, ironic grin, and memorable laugh.
Burt Reynolds and actress Sally Field (shown above right) first starred on-screen together in 1977’s “Smokey and the Bandit,” and dated for five years following the film.
They were Hollywood’s “it” couple throughout those years, and Sally Field still has deep affection for her ex.
“There are times in your life that are so indelible, they never fade away. They stay alive, even forty years later,” Field said in a statement. “My years with Burt never leave my mind. He will be in my history and my heart, for as long as I live. Rest, Buddy.”
In a revealing interview given to Vanity Fair in November 2015, Reynolds, for his part, called Field “the love of my life.”
“I miss her terribly,” Reynolds told the magazine at the time. “Even now, it’s hard on me. I don’t know why I was so stupid. Men are like that, you know. You find the perfect person, and then you do everything you can to screw it up.”
Reynolds’ first marriage, to actress Judy Carne, ended in divorce. They were married from 1962 to 1965, and Carne’s later life — she was known as a regular on hit ’60s show “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” — turned tragic; she became a heroin addict and was injured in a car accident, which worsened her addiction.
She passed away in 2015 at the age of 76.
Carne wrote an autobiography that chronicled these problems, called “Laughing on the Outside, Crying on the Inside: The Bittersweet Saga of the Sock-It-To-Me Girl.”
Reynolds’ second marriage, in 1988 to actress Lonnie Anderson, ended in a bitter divorce, playing out in the pages of tabloid magazines at the time. After Reynolds’ passing, Anderson — and the child they shared, adopted son Quinton — had only kind things to say about the star.
“Quinton and I are extremely touched by the tremendous outpouring of love and support from friends and family throughout the world,” Anderson said in a statement to Fox News on Thursday, hours after Reynolds died.
The statement continued, “Burt was a wonderful director and actor. He was a big part of my life for 12 years and Quinton’s father for 30 years. We will miss him and his great laugh.”
Reynolds wed Anderson in 1988. The couple, who adopted Quinton, were married for six years before calling it quits in 1994.
Dolly Parton (above left), who worked with Reynolds, is among the celebrities who are sharing their grief over the loss of Reynolds.
The country superstar and actress posted on Twitter a sweet photo of herself and Reynolds on the set of the film they made together, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” as Billboard reported.
Related: Here Is a Look at Burt Reynolds’ Five Best Performances
In the 1982 film, which was nominated for a Golden Globe, Reynolds played a sheriff in Gilbert, Texas — while Parton played a brothel owner. The two “soon slipped into an unlikely romance,” as Billboard noted.
“Oh how sad I am today along with Burt’s millions of fans around the world as we mourn one of our favorite leading men,” she wrote on Twitter.
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) September 6, 2018
“I know we will always remember his funny laugh, that mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and his quirky sense of humor. You will always be my favorite sheriff, rest in peace my little buddy and I will always love you, Dolly.”
See Burt Reynolds talk about his film “Boogie Nights” in the video below.
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