Actor Burt Reynolds’ car, cowboy boots going up for auction
LOS ANGELES: One of Burt Reynolds’ favourite cars is going up for auction in June along with some of his cowboy boots, hats, sports jackets and other items from his estate, Julien’s Auctions said on Friday.
The two-day auction in Beverly Hills, authorised by the actor’s family, comes almost a year after the death at age 82 of the charming star who was one of Hollywood’s favourite actors.
The highlight of the auction is a 1979 Pontiac Trans Am car that Reynolds used on photo shoots and drove on the Bandit Run cross country rally, which re-enacts the journey at the centre of his 1977 film “Smokey and the Bandit.”
The car, which Reynolds coowned with his business partner Gene Kennedy, is expected to fetch up to US$500,000 at auction, Julien’s said in a statement.
Two pairs of leather cowboy boots — one red and one yellow — are also offered for sale with estimates ranging from US$800 to US$2,000 a pair, along with two cowboy hats.
Reynolds started out as a football player at Florida State University (FSU) before injuries suffered in a car crash wrecked his hopes of a professional career.
But his attachment to FSU remained strong. The auction includes several custom or personalised FSU baseball, basketball and varsity jackets. Other highlights include an oil on canvas painting of the actor’s favourite horse titled “Cartouche,” which carries an estimate of US$20,000 — US$30,000. Other art works, furniture and dozens of personal items are also being offered for sale.
The auction will take place in Beverly Hills on June 15 and 16, and will be preceded by a public exhibition of some of the items from June 10-14.
Reynolds, who was also known for the 1960s television series “Gunsmoke” and the movies “Deliverance” and “Boogie Nights,”” died of a heart attack in Florida in September 2018.—