LOS ANGELES – Burt Reynolds finally reached his final resting place on February 11 in a historic Hollywood cemetery.
A small private ceremony, with relatives participating remotely via Zoom, took place that morning at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where Reynolds’ cremated remains were placed in a grave beside a lake almost 2 years after his dead.
A temporary gravestone reading simply “Burt Reynolds” now marks the site, but a bronze or stone bust of him is being ordered, in hopes that it can be unveiled and opened to the public in September at the On the third anniversary of his death, Hollywood Forever told President and Co-owner Tyler Cassity to The Associated Press.
After this Thursday’s ceremony, a wreath and flowers draped over the grave, and a lone fan appeared with a tiny Trans Am, the car that has become synonymous with Reynolds through the “Smokey and the Bandit” movies, and l ‘placed on the grave.
An outstanding player of college football in Florida State, Reynolds went on to act and then became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the 1970s and 1980s, known for his mustache, cocky laugh, and maverick boast. He has appeared in films including “Deliverance”, https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2021/feb/19/reynolds-remains-returned-to-hollywood/ “Starting Over”, https: // www. nwaonline. com / news / 2021 / feb / 19 / reynolds-stays-returned-to-hollywood / “White Lightning”, https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2021/feb/19/reynolds-remains-returned-to -hollywood / “The Longest Yard”, https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2021/feb/19/reynolds-remains-returned-to-hollywood/ “Semi-Tough”, https: //www.nwaonline .com / news / 2021 / feb / 19 / reynolds-remains-returned-to-hollywood / “Breaking In”, https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2021/feb/19/reynolds-remains-returned- to-hollywood / “The End” and “Boogie Nights”, for which he was nominated for an Oscar.
Reynolds died at the age of 82 on September 6, 2018 in a hospital in Jupiter, Florida. He was cremated a few days later. A memorial with a small group of family and friends was held in Florida two weeks later.
It’s unclear why it took 2 years for the grave to be established, and Reynolds’ surviving parents, seeking privacy after his death, have not been told of the process.
His niece Nancy Hess is the overseer of his estate, whose legal and financial affairs were settled and closed in December.
Reynolds is near actor Tyrone Power’s grave in the cemetery which also houses the graves and mausoleums of Judy Garland, Cecil B. DeMille, Rudolph Valentino, and Douglas Fairbanks. Reynolds’ grave is across the lake from rockers Johnny Ramone and Chris Cornell.
The cemetery, founded in 1899 and located near the Paramount Pictures lot, has become a landmark and cultural center in Los Angeles.

Burt Reynolds fan Dan Redmond from Calamesa, Calif., Places a Trans Am model from the 1977 film “Smokey and the Bandit” on a temporary gravestone for the deceased actor at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Thursday, February 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. Reynolds’ cremated remains were moved from Florida to Hollywood Forever, where a small ceremony took place on Thursday. A permanent grave will be erected for Reynolds in a few months. (AP Photo / Chris Pizzello)

A temporary gravestone for the late actor Burt Reynolds is pictured in the Garden of Legends section of Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Thursday, February 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. Reynolds’ cremated remains were moved from Florida to Hollywood Forever, where a small ceremony took place on Thursday. A permanent grave will be erected for Reynolds in a few months. (AP Photo / Chris Pizzello)

Francisco Ventura, an employee of Hollywood Forever Cemetery, lays flowers around a temporary gravestone for late actor Burt Reynolds in the Garden of Legends section of the cemetery on Thursday, February 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. Reynolds’ cremated remains were moved from Florida to Hollywood Forever, where a small ceremony took place on Thursday. A permanent grave will be erected for Reynolds in a few months. (AP Photo / Chris Pizzello)

Burt Reynolds fan Dan Redmond from Calamesa, Calif., Places a Trans Am model from the 1977 film “Smokey and the Bandit” on a temporary gravestone for the deceased actor at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Thursday, February 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. Reynolds’ cremated remains were moved from Florida to Hollywood Forever, where a small ceremony took place on Thursday. A permanent grave will be erected for Reynolds in a few months. (AP Photo / Chris Pizzello)

A temporary gravestone for the late actor Burt Reynolds is pictured in the Garden of Legends section of Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Thursday, February 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. Reynolds’ cremated remains were moved from Florida to Hollywood Forever, where a small ceremony took place on Thursday. A permanent grave will be erected for Reynolds in a few months. (AP Photo / Chris Pizzello)