(Image Source: ABC)
Soon, for big-screen icon Burt Reynolds, walking from the front door of his home to the street will be “The Longest Yard” as his home faces foreclosure for approximately $1.2 million in missed mortgage payments.
The film star, who got his big-screen start in 1961’s Angel Baby, has seen a lot of success in his career, starring in everything from Deliverance and Smokey and the Bandit to White Lightning, The Cannonball Run, and Boogie Nights. Unfortunately, that success hasn’t always contributed to financial security for Reynolds, who has had a few messy divorces and breakups.
It’s a shame he’s losing his awesome Florida home, nicknamed “Valhalla” where, in Norse mythology, warriors went after they died (oh, the irony). It famously features its own screening room where the star’s TV shows and films are constantly screened, but also has its own heated pool and helipad. The 12,000 sq. ft. of living space includes five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a fitness room, game room, guest house, and carriage home. It originally cost Reynolds $700,000 way back in 1980 and was last on the market for almost $9 million – although it’s probably worth a lot less than that.
Reynolds may not be the most famous celeb out there, but surely he can afford to make a puny $1.2 million in mortgage payments, right? Well, a lot of the wealth the Bandit has generated over the last few decades evaporated in a series of relationships, bad investments (like a restaurant chain called PoFolks that cost him $15 million in the ‘80s), and a $10 million bankruptcy in 1996.
This is not unusual these days. It’s common to see celebrities spending left and right, blowing their money and subsequently losing their homes – no matter how posh and upscale they may be. Singer Toni Braxton lost her home last year to foreclosure; music mogul Timbaland barely avoided foreclosure at the last minute in February by paying up before the auction.
Things aren’t looking so hot for Mr. Reynolds. Maybe it’s time for Smokey and the Bandit 4?
