Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson, pictured here in 1987, had a highly publicized and bitter divorce. (AP Photo/Bob Galbraith)
NORTH PALM BEACH, Fla. – About 80 friends and relatives of Burt Reynolds shared memories of the late actor at a private memorial service in South Florida.
Reynolds' ex-wife, Loni Anderson, and their son, Quinton Reynolds, were among the speakers at Thursday's service at Quattlebaum Funeral Home in North Palm Beach, family spokeswoman Cheryl Kagan told The Associated Press.
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The "Smokey and the Bandit" star died Sept. 6 at Jupiter Medical Center. He was 82.
Bobby Bowden, former longtime football coach at Florida State University, where Reynolds was a player, opened the service with a prayer and went on to tell stories from throughout the actor's life.
Florida State Seminoles head coach Bobby Bowden poses for a photograph, flanked by actors Ricardo Montalban (left) and Burt Reynolds (right), sometime during the 1980s. Reynolds played football at Florida State.
Anderson, who had a famously difficult divorce from Reynolds, shared happier moments from their 12 years together, calling their adopted son Quinton their "greatest collaboration."
Once Hollywood's No. 1 box-office draw, Reynolds spent five years (1978 to 1982) attracting the world's audiences to movie theaters. He used his star power to stay close to home, routinely making movies south of the Mason-Dixon Line and attracting other A-list celebrities to South Florida during the height of his success.
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Before he was an actor, Burt Reynolds was a running back for the Florida State University football team.Actress Dinah Shore and Burt Reynolds are shown, Nov. 5, 1971 in Los Angeles.American actor Burt Reynolds is shown in London against a backdrop of the House of Parliament, Sept. 27, 1972.Burt Reynolds is surrounded by fans during the 1974 premiere of "The Longest Yard" in Tallahassee, Florida.Burt Reynolds signs autographs for fans while actor Lee Majors looks on during a trip to Tallahassee in 1974.Burt Reynolds, Sally Field and Jerry Reed in a scene from the 1977 film "Smokey and the Bandit."Actor Burt Reynolds, right, pinches the cheeks of comedian Dom DeLuise in Atlanta, Dec. 2, 1977 during a "roast" of Reynolds by various celebrities. Proceeds of the event were collected to aid the victims of the Toccoa Falls dam collapse according to sponsors.Burt Reynolds smiles after getting into the car waiting to take him to the airport after an appearance at Florida State University in Tallahassee in 1978.Actor Burt Reynolds poses for photographers at the unveiling of his statue, right, at Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park, California, Oct. 7, 1978. Reynolds was voted into the Museum by vote of visitors attracted to the display each year. The statue is a wax likeness of Reynolds in his role of the movie film "Deliverance."Burt Reynolds and Sally Field attend the off-Broadway play "Buried Child," Dec. 23, 1978 in New York's Greenwich Village.Actor Burt Reynolds is shown on the set with cast members of NBC's "Saturday Night Live," in New York, April 12, 1980. From left to right: Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner, Reynolds, and Bill Murray.Florida State University President Dr. Bernard F. Sliger, left, shares an amusing thought with actor Burt Reynolds, right, during graduation ceremonies, Jan. 14, 1981 in Tallahassee, Florida as Reynolds was conferred with an honorary degree.Model and actress Rachel Ward cuddles with Burt Reynolds, leaning her head on his chest, in a promotional photograph for "Sharky's Machine" in 1981.Florida State Seminoles head coach Bobby Bowden poses for a photograph, flanked by actors Ricardo Montalban (left) and Burt Reynolds (right), sometime during the 1980s. Reynolds played football at Florida State.Actor Burt Reynolds becomes the 162nd Fame on the Chinese theater roster when he puts his hand and footprints in the forecourt of Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Sept. 24, 1981 in a ceremony preceding the world premiere of "Paternity" in which he stars.Actress Bette Davis with actor Burt Reynolds as she receives the Rudolph Valentine Awards, May 14, 1982.Burt Reynolds gets an eyeful of co-star Dolly Parton, July 15, 1982 in North Miami Beach at the Florida premier of their movie "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." The opening performance was a benefit for the Burt Reynolds Theatre Foundation, a school run by Reynolds for aspiring actors. The school is located in Jupiter, Florida.Burt Reynolds holds hands with friend Loni Anderson at a luncheon in Hollywood, March 27, 1987.Burt Reynolds and his bride Loni Anderson wave to spectators in front of a stagecoach after their wedding, April 29, 1988 in a closely-guarded ceremony on the actor's 160-acre horse ranch west of Jupiter, Florida.Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson leave the 27th New York Film Festival closing night at New York's Lincoln Center, Oct. 10, 1989. Reynolds' new movie "Breaking In" was featured during the festival. (AP Photo/Mario Suriani)Mark Wahlberg, right, gestures to his pregnant co-star Julianne Moore as fellow cast member Burt Reynolds looks on, Oct. 15, 1997, at the premiere of "Boogie Nights" at Mann's Chinese Theatre in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles.Actors Burt Reynolds, left, and Matt Damon share a few words before the start of the 70th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, March 23, 1998. Reynolds was nominated for best supporting actor in "Boogie Nights" and Damon was nominated for best actor in "Good Will Hunting.Burt Reynolds poses with Adam Sandler (left) and Chris Rock (right) at the premiere of "The Longest Yard" remake at the Chinese Theater on May 19, 2005 in Los Angeles.Burt Reynolds receives the Golden Key Award for Career Achievement from the Key West Film Festival in November 2016."Key Largo" singer Bertie Higgins (left) and "Smokey and the Bandit" actor Burt Reynolds speak to the media before the 2017 Florida Music Awards kickoff party at the Ocean Manor Hotel & Resort in Fort Lauderdale.Burt Reynolds and "Dog Years" director Adam Rifkin attend the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival's opening night screening at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Nov. 3, 2017 in Hollywood, Florida.Burt Reynolds on the red carpet at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino before the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival's opening night screening of "Dog Years," Nov. 3, 2017 in Hollywood, Florida.
Before he was an actor, Burt Reynolds was a running back for the Florida State University football team.
He opened the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre in Jupiter in 1979 and recruited his famous friends -- Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Charles Durning and Carol Burnett among them -- to perform there.
Reynolds ran the theater until 1989, but it remained in operation until financial problems forced its closure in 1996. Purchased by the nonprofit Palm Beach Playhouse Inc., it reopened as the Maltz Jupiter Theatre in 2004.
Jupiter was also the site of the now-shuttered Burt Reynolds & Friends Museum, which closed in 2012 to make way for the Harbourside Place development. Not far from where the museum once stood is Burt Reynolds Park.
Reynolds also owned a 160-acre ranch in nearby Jupiter Farms, where he married Anderson in 1988. The ranch also served as a location in his short-lived ABC series, "B.L. Stryker."
Other guests at Thursday's service included Lee Corso, the ESPN football analyst who was a teammate and roommate of Reynolds in college, and former Boston College and NFL quarterback Doug Flutie.
The memorial service was held just one day after a private celebration of Reynolds' life at Family Church in West Palm Beach. Field, who co-starred in "Smokey and the Bandit" and dated the actor for several years, attended.
A death certificate showed Reynolds was cremated in Fort Lauderdale.
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