Burt Reynolds Really Was a Prolific Douchebag, Wasn’t He?
In a forthcoming book, Sally Field revealed her ex was so threatened by her success that he refused to attend the Oscars with her the year she won.
This week, the book of Burt Reynolds’ douchebaggery just got a little thicker—this time, through a contribution from the one, the only Sally Field.
In 50 Oscar Nights, a forthcoming book from award-winning TV host, journalist, and film expert, Dave Karger, the two-time Oscar-winning actress recalled that Reynolds—who was her boyfriend at the time—“was not happy” that she nabbed an Oscar nomination (and a lot of notoriety) for her role in Norma Rae.
First, Field says that when she planned to attend Cannes in support of the film, he “did not want me to go to at all,” and patronized her, asking, “You don’t think you’re going to win anything, do you?’”
It gets worse. By the time the 1980 Academy Awards arrived, Reynolds flat-out refused to attend the ceremony with Field: “When the Oscars came around, he really was not a nice guy around me then and was not going to go with me.”
So, what’s a girl to do when her boyfriend won’t support her on one of the most important nights of her life? Why third wheel with her friend and his wife, of course! When Field didn’t know what to do as the awards drew nearer, actor and comedian, David Steinberg, and his then-wife, Judy, jumped in.
“Then David said, ‘Well, for God’s sakes, we’ll take you,’” Field recalled. “He and Judy made it a big celebration. They picked me up in a limousine and had champagne in the car. They made it just wonderful fun.”
Well, jokes on Reynolds, because not only did she win the dang thing, but she later revealed that he was her worst onscreen kiss. Reynolds, however, only continued to hold a candle for her until his death—even describing her as the “love of his life.”
“I miss her terribly,” Reynolds told Vanity Fair in 2015. “Even now, it’s hard on me. I don’t know why I was so stupid. Men are like that, you know. You find the perfect person, and then you do everything you can to screw it up.” Don’t I know it…Oh, and in a very unsettling reveal, Reynolds also maintained that he’d loved Field since she was seven in a truly bizarre 2018 interview with Hoda Kotb. Like too many men in Hollywood (and elsewhere), Reynolds had a bit of a bad history when it comes to relationships. Both of his ex-wives—Judy Carne and Lonie Anderson—alleged that he was physically abusive on multiple occasions.
Fortunately, it seems karma followed him in the form of near-financial ruin, not one Oscar, and, well, a lingering legacy of “screwing up” with one of America’s sweethearts.