Burt
Reynolds has been getting plenty of press recently with the announcement that
he would be auctioning off many personal items and memorabilia collected during
his incredible 50-year career. More press followed afterwards when his personal,
1978 Trans Am fetched a whopping $480,000 on the auction block! Whatever reason
there may have been for the auction – financial or personal - Burt’s star power
still shines brightly.
While
I am always happy to see Burt garner some well-deserved press, I am sad to see that
a few of the items being auctioned used to be on display in his museum in
Jupiter, Florida. I cherished the three treks that I made to the Burt Reynolds Institute
for Film and Theater (BRIFT) - originally named the Burt Reynolds and Friends Museum
– because Burt’s films meant the world to me as a young boy in the early ‘80’s.
I was hoping that when the museum shuttered its doors after my third visit that
it would reopen in the near future. While that is still possible, a few of the
items that I had the joy of seeing in person have now gone to the highest
bidder.
So,
in tribute to Burt and his fantastic museum – here are my thoughts on the Burt
Reynolds Institute for Film and Theater from a post I wrote in 2006. At the end of the article is a link to many of the pictures that I took from the museum - lots of cool "Bandit" goodies!
I
started off 2006 by finally visiting the Burt Reynolds and Friends Museum (BRM)
in Jupiter, Florida. I had waited a long
time to do this so, when I went to visit my Parents down in the sunshine state
this year, it was with a mission and I can honestly say that the museum was so
much better than I could ever have anticipated.
Despite the photos I have seen of it, this is a place that deserves to
be seen in order to gain a full appreciation for the man, his work and the
movie world in general.
I have always thought that having a museum
while still being alive was a bit too self-congratulatory; you have already
garnered enough press and accolades to last five lifetimes; do you really need
to house it all in a shrine for the entire world to see? Once in the museum, I began to see that this
was hardly the case, in fact, I was surprised at how classy and down to earth
the entire presentation was. Mr.
Reynolds notable achievements are undoubtedly impressive but that is not the
impetus behind the museum. The BRM is
more like a chapter in an ever growing book on the movie industry shown through
the work of one man.
Pulling up to the museum from U.S 1, I had
to wonder if the place was even open as you cannot see much from the
outside. There is only one window
(actually, sliding glass doors - more on these doors later) in the back of the
building opposite the parking lot and the front doors are of opaque, smoked
glass. I cautiously tried the doors and
was dumbfounded as the doors swung fully open and my eyes struggled to take in
everything as I walked into the elegant lobby area. The BRM is beautifully decorated and their
collection is simply stunning.
Obviously, fans of Mr. Reynolds work will be ecstatic over all that is
housed here but anyone with even a passing interest in film, pop culture or
sports will find themselves charmed by what they find within.
There is memorabilia on every wall, counter
and display case ranging from movie posters, magazine covers, promotional
materials such as soundtrack albums and toys, honorary acknowledgements from
numerous cities throughout the US as well as awards from every Performing Arts
academy in existence. Since the BRM’s
official name is the Burt Reynolds and Friends Museum, there is also a vast
collection of sports memorabilia, and autographs from many of Mr. Reynolds
close friends such as Frank Sinatra, Liz Taylor, Jackie Gleason and countless
others. To give you a few highlights,
you can find autographed baseballs from Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams and Reggie
Jackson, a pair of boxing gloves from Muhammad Ali and original Cowboy regalia
from Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. They
even had the canoe from the classic film, “Deliverance”, which Burt had fully
restored.
Since pledging my unwavering allegiance to
all things “Smokey and the Bandit” on this website last year, there should be
no surprise as to where my attention will now be heading.
I practically had an out of body experience
over the amount of “Bandit”, “Cannonball Run” and even “Hooper” items on
display! They even had the “Stroker Ace”
jacket along with a belt and buckle set.
Granted, I think “Stroker Ace” was a cinematic abomination of a movie
but it was cool to see items like this from the production. I loved seeing the “Cannonball” toy cars (in
the original packaging!) that I had not seen since I was a kid. What memories they brought back; I remember
staring longingly at them in the store and the thrill when I was finally able
to bring them home. They also had a few
candid photos from the set that were a joy to see as well as press kits and the
soundtrack album for “Hooper” which I didn’t even know existed. There was an extremely rare ‘preview’ poster
announcing an upcoming movie called, “The Stuntman” which eventually morphed
into “Hooper”. Oddly enough, it says
that “shooting is scheduled to begin early in 1976”, which is when they were
shooting “Smokey and the Bandit”. My
guess is they had no idea that “Bandit” would be such a colossal hit because it
would be two years before “Hooper” ended up on the silver screen.
There was a large section dedicated to
Bandit merchandise, as would be expected, and it was better than I could have
hoped for. There was most of Burt’s
“Bandit 2” outfit; the red Trans Am jacket, a pair of flowered cowboy boots and
the infamous ‘gay Caballero’ shirt! There
were also the prerequisite movie posters, mint condition toys and rare
promotional stills including a candid shot of Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed and
director Hal Needham sharing a laugh. Of
course, it is also autographed by all three!
Two of the rarest items in this collection had to be the brass belt
buckles from the first and second movies respectively. My inner truck driver went ‘hog wild’ over
these two insanely cool relics.
There was only one thing that could have
marred an otherwise perfect trip to the BRM: I did not get to see the car. Apparently, the 1980 Turbo Trans Am (or Son
of Trigger as it was known in the credits of ‘Bandit 2’) is stored elsewhere
and occasionally even travels to car shows.
I called the museum and tried to pick a day when the car would be there
and it was supposed to show up towards the end of my visit. Unfortunately, after its last appearance, it
rained and they did not want to bring it out again! How sad to see the celebrated Pontiac’s
beautiful, hardwood stage empty. If the
car was there, I was ready to beg with all of my might for a chance to sit in
it for just a few seconds to fulfill yet another childhood dream that has been
with me for far too long. Of course, if
I can inject a little automotive snobbery here, the ’77 Trans Am from the first
movie is really the car I want to see but, I’ll settle for the sequel car!
I must also mention the BRMs kind and
welcoming staff, who were simply fantastic and so eager to show me and my
parents around the facility. I felt like
I was being given a private tour of a friend’s home rather than a museum. They seemed so appreciative that I had made
this a destination on my trip from New York City. I also think they got a kick out of me taking
so many photos, that I had to run across the street to get more batteries for
my camera!
I can say with all certainty that this will
be a place I intend to visit on every future trip to Florida; it really was
that good. I cannot recommend it enough;
this place needs and deserves to be seen.
And next time I’m sitting in that car!
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