The Absolutely Insane 1996 Bankruptcy Of Burt Reynolds

Loni Anderson died yesterday at the age of 79. I can pretty much guarantee that every obituary written about Loni today will mention two things in the opening paragraph:

1. She became a star thanks to her role as sultry receptionist Jennifer Marlowe on the sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati," which ran from 1978 to 1982.
2. She was married to—and endured a bitter divorce from—Burt Reynolds.

Loni and Burt's five-year marriage may have ended in 1993, but the financial fallout lingered for years and played a significant role in one of the most dramatic celebrity bankruptcies of the 1990s.

In December 1996, Burt Reynolds declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It was a shocking predicament for an actor who had been one of the biggest stars on the planet for two decades. Burt's divorce was perfectly normal and cliché in many ways. He overspent on his lifestyle and was caught off guard by a lawsuit and an expensive divorce. But in many more ways, the circumstances that led to Burt being millions of dollars in debt are pretty insane and unique. Here's the full insane story…

(Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

The Golden Years of Burt Reynolds

Burt Reynolds became a household name after his breakout role in the 1972 thriller "Deliverance," which showcased his rugged charisma and acting chops in equal measure. What followed was a meteoric rise that made him the most bankable star in Hollywood. Throughout the 1970s and into the early '80s, Reynolds headlined a string of box office smashes—including "Smokey and the Bandit," "The Longest Yard," and "The Cannonball Run"—that cemented his status as a cultural icon.

From 1978 to 1982, Burt achieved an astonishing feat: he was the No. 1 box office draw in the world for five consecutive years. No actor before or since has matched that streak. He had the mustache, the swagger, the laugh—and for a time, he was the biggest thing in entertainment.

His film career made Burt fabulously wealthy. By his own estimation, at the peak of his career in the late 1970s/early 1980s, Burt's net worth topped $60 million. That's the same as around $200 million today after adjusting for inflation.

Lavish Lifestyle

Burt Reynolds didn't just live like a movie star. He lived like five of them. His real estate portfolio was jaw-dropping: several mansions in Beverly Hills, a sprawling waterfront compound in Florida known as Valhalla, a 160-acre ranch in Florida housing a personal herd of 150 horses, a mansion in Georgia that he reportedly never even occupied, a lakefront property in Arkansas near where he filmed "Evening Shade," and even a mountaintop cabin in North Carolina—possibly a keepsake from the "Deliverance" era.

He didn't travel by plane. He owned a private jet and a helicopter, which he used to shuttle between his homes. At the height of his fame, he was living at a pace that would have stretched even oil tycoons.

When he married Loni Anderson in 1988, he didn't move her into an existing mansion. Instead, he purchased an entirely new Beverly Hills estate just for the two of them. No expense was spared. The life was massive, glamorous, and entirely unsustainable, and it was all tied to the image of Burt Reynolds as Hollywood royalty.

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Bad Investments

And it wasn't just real estate, trophy wives, and toys that caught Burt's eye. He also fell into a fairly cliché trap of investing in businesses he didn't fully understand and had no experience running.

In the 1980s, Burt's business manager convinced him to invest in a chain of family-style country restaurants called "Po' Folks". It actually wasn't a terrible idea on paper. The chain was doing well financially and had the backing of what seemed to be a strong parent company. So Burt and a partner, who ran a country music label in Nashville, bought a few franchises. Ok, maybe not a few. They bought 30.

As it turned out, Burt and his partner were sold somewhat of a lemon. The parent company was a disaster, and customers hated the food. To make matters worse, Burt and his partner were absentee owners. Burt had his film career, and the partner was busy making music back in Nashville. They just weren't around to run the machine, so everything suffered.

They hired a consultant to help get them out of the business, but somehow this "expert" actually convinced the two to invest in ANOTHER (different) chain of restaurants. Burt would later concede that this move took what could have been a $5-6 million write-off and turned it into a $20-30 million loss for both men. To make matters especially bad, Burt had guaranteed the restaurant leases personally, as opposed to protecting himself with an LLC. So every month he bled money. It was bad.

Marriage to Loni Anderson

In the prenup to his 1988 marriage to Loni Anderson, Burt listed his net worth at $15 million. And while that was a big drop from a peak of roughly $60 million just a few years prior, it was still a big chunk of change, worth the same as $40 million in today's dollars.

But financial warning signs didn't stop the couple from living like royalty. Rather than scale back, Burt doubled down on extravagance. He kept the sprawling estates, the private jet, the helicopter, and the 150-horse ranch. And when it came time to settle into married life, he didn't move into one of his many Beverly Hills homes. Instead, he bought a brand-new mansion just for the two of them.

Their relationship, filled with red carpet appearances and tabloid headlines, was also reportedly turbulent behind the scenes. Burt later admitted the marriage was a mistake and that they had grown apart almost immediately. "I shouldn't have married her in the first place," he said in a later interview. "I didn't listen to my gut." In his 2015 memoir, he was even more blunt: "The truth is, I never did like her."

Evening Shade Syndication Gamble

In 1990, when he agreed to star in the CBS TV series "Evening Shade," Burt asked to borrow $4 million from the network. His thought process was that he'd do the show for a few seasons, living off the loan. Then, when the show sold into syndication, he'd pay back his debt and maybe make a few million for himself. The show needed five seasons or 100 episodes to qualify for syndication. The show was canceled in 1994 after four seasons, having produced 98 episodes. 🙁

Suddenly, Burt found himself in hock to CBS to the tune of $3.7 million. Money he did not have. To make matters worse, in June 1993, Loni filed for divorce. He was ordered to pay her a large cash settlement, $15,000 per month in spousal support, and he had to continue covering the mortgage on their $2 million home. They had been married for five years.

Bankruptcy Bombshell

By 1996, Burt Reynolds was deeply underwater. He was being sued by CBS over an unpaid $3.7 million loan tied to his ill-fated TV series "Evening Shade," which failed to reach the 100-episode threshold needed for syndication. At the same time, his expensive divorce from Loni Anderson had left him on the hook for a large settlement, $15,000 per month in spousal support, and the mortgage on their $2 million home. All of this came while Burt continued to maintain his sprawling real estate holdings, horses, and private aircraft.

When he finally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 1996, Reynolds declared approximately $6.65 million in assets and $11.2 million in liabilities. Among his creditors were CBS, the IRS, Chase Bank, Creative Artists Agency, William Morris, a former manager, and, somehow, his toupee maker, to whom he owed $121,000.

Despite being advised to walk away from many of his obligations, Burt insisted on paying his debts. He later recounted telling his business managers, "Pay them." His father reportedly told him, "I don't give a shit. Pay them." That personal code of honor may not have been financially strategic, but it helped him retain core assets—especially his beloved Florida estate, Valhalla.

By 1998, he had emerged from bankruptcy. He wasn't rich, but he wasn't destitute either.

A Modest Comeback & Legacy

His career wasn't totally dead, but he also wasn't making huge money anymore. For the 1996 movie "Striptease", which earned $113 million, Burt's co-star Demi Moore was paid a then record-breaking $12.5 million. Burt was paid just $200,000. He earned a similarly paltry salary for 1997's "Boogie Nights," which earned him an Academy Award nomination and helped reinvigorate his career for a few years.

But the financial troubles never really let up. In 2011, he reportedly lost one of his properties after defaulting on payments. He showed up on California's list of top tax delinquents, and by 2014, he was selling off cherished memorabilia—including the Pontiac Trans-Am from "Smokey and the Bandit," the canoe from "Deliverance," and even a gold watch given to him by Sally Field—to settle debts.

His beloved Florida estate, known as Valhalla, slipped into foreclosure around this time. Burt had originally purchased the 3.4-acre waterfront compound in Hobe Sound in 1980 for $700,000. By 2015, it was sold for just $3.3 million, far below its once-lofty $15 million asking price. Whether or not it was a formal foreclosure sale remains unclear, but Reynolds did lose ownership of the home. Fortunately, the buyer—his neighbor and friend Charles Modica—allowed him to remain on the property for the rest of his life, charging him only a nominal rent.

Burt died of a heart attack on September 6, 2018, at the age of 82. He spent his final years renting back a piece of the dream he had once owned outright. He wasn't broke, but he was a long way from the $60 million fortune he once commanded.

If there are any lessons here, I'd say avoid investing in restaurants or any business you don't fully grasp and aren't willing to run yourself. Don't get divorced. Don't live beyond your means… Honestly, it's all the lessons. Say what you will about Burt Reynolds, he certainly did not live a boring life!