Burt Reynolds: Jupiter’s Favorite Son and the Biggest Movie Star in the World

Jupiter’s Favorite Son

Burt Reynolds grew up in Riviera Beach and played football at Palm Beach High and later at Florida State University, where a car accident and a knee injury ended his dreams of playing pro. He pivoted to acting, and the rest is Hollywood history. But no matter how famous he got, Reynolds always came back to Florida. He kept a home in Jupiter for decades and became as much a part of the local landscape as the Loxahatchee River.

The Biggest Movie Star in the World

For a stretch in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Burt Reynolds was the number one box office draw in America. Smokey and the Bandit, The Longest Yard, Deliverance, Cannonball Run. He had the mustache, the laugh, the Trans Am, and a charm that made it look like he was having the time of his life in every scene. He brought a Southern swagger to Hollywood that nobody had quite pulled off before.

Giving Back to the Place That Made Him

Reynolds poured his success back into Florida. He opened the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre in Jupiter, ran an acting institute that trained young performers, and supported local charities for years. He was a regular at Jupiter restaurants and never acted too big for the town that raised him. Locals have stories about running into him at the grocery store or the diner, always friendly, always willing to chat.

Forever a Florida Man

When Burt Reynolds passed away in September 2018, Jupiter lost its most famous resident and Florida lost one of its greatest ambassadors. He proved that you could conquer Hollywood and still call a little town on the Loxahatchee home.