Burt Reynolds reportedly spent his last days at his longtime Florida home, even though he sold it in 2015 to his neighbor, who was kind enough to let the Hollywood icon stay there.
In 2015, Reynolds sold the Hobe Sound, Florida home to Charles Modica for $3.3 million, as Variety reported at the time.
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Modica, who lives next door, told TMZ Friday he always intended to let Reynolds live there out of respect for the work Reynolds did in Florida, so, Modica only charged Reynolds “pennies” for rent. Modica told TMZ he could not recall the exact rent he charged Reynolds, but assured the site it was a “super small sum.”
Modica said he has no plans to sell the beachfront home at this point because it is a good investment. He believes it is now worth between $4 million and $5 million.
The property sits on a 3.4-acre lot and includes a 12,000-square-foot main house, a two-bedroom guesthouse, a pool with the Florida State University logo, a dock, a personal movie theater and a helicopter landing pad. Reynolds bought it in 1980 for $700,000 and lived there during his marriage to Loni Anderson. He started trying to sell it in 2005, but was unsuccessful until Modica agreed to buy it.
Reynolds famously went through financial difficulties after he divorced Anderson in 1993. It took 22 years for their financial ties to be severed. In September 2015, it was finally resolved when Reynolds sent Anderson a $154,520 check. Unfortunately, that same year, Reynolds also had to auciton off pieces of his prized memorabilia collection.
Reynolds died on Thursday at age 82. He reportedly suffered a heart attack.
The legendary actor was best known for his films Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit, The Cannonball Run, White Lightning, The Longest Yard, Best Friends, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Stroker Ace. He earned his only Oscar nomination for 1997’s Boogie Nights, and continued working up until his death. He died shortly before he could start work on Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. His last completed film, Defining Moments, opens in December.
In his last interview, with the Florida Weekly, Reynolds said he was proud of his most recent movies, which gave him a chance to show a new side of himself to audiences.
“I’m really proud of the work I’m doing,” Reynolds said. “You have to be given the parts before you can take the chances. I’m being given the parts now.”
Reynolds also established the Burt Reynolds Institute, which hosts acting lessons and creative writing courses, in Jupiter and was dedicated to developing the area.
Photo credit: Carlos Marino/Getty Images
