Burt Reynolds: After 50 years, still making the magic happen
Burt Reynolds slid onto the stage at the start of last week’s master-acting class to a smattering of applause. No grandiose introduction. No red carpet. No fanfare.
The famous actor in the custom boots, matching sport coat and natty neckerchief took a short step from stage left and appeared on the black-box set. A brief lecture began about the 1986 film ’Round Midnight. As it rolled, Reynolds pointed out Dexter Gordon’s long pause in the middle of an unconventional scene.
“I love how he takes this down,” he told an audience of local actors enrolled at the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film & Theatre in Jupiter.
The star of more than 125 movies leads an intimately designed, intensely structured class every week for local thespians eager to learn the craft. The magic happens amid the memorabilia-laced Burt Reynolds & Friends Museum.
Housed in an old, crumbling building in the shadow of the Indiantown Road bridge, the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film & Theatre needs a new home. An event to benefit the recently established building fund will take place Nov. 6.
Star of the silver screen
The iconic bootlegger in Smokey and the Bandit and masterful director in Boogie Nights commands respect from his students. They reverently call him “boss” and “sir” class and comply with every directorial decision he declares from his front-row perch.
“I don’t like what he’s wearing,” Reynolds told Tim Lynch, who plays a shabbily dressed Max Prince in a scene from Laughter on the 23rd Floor. “You might want to sip your coffee at some point,” he suggested to Greg Goldsbury’s Lucas Brickman in the Neil Simon play.
“What I try to do is prepare them for not just acting, but how to get the job and how to behave on the job so that the overall impression of the students is very positive,” Reynolds said. “So far, the feedback from casting directors is that BRIFT actors are always very professional, which makes me very proud.”
The homegrown hero and Palm Beach High School graduate boasts a film career so dominant that he became the first actor to earn $1 million per movie.
“Not all have been great experiences, but I share the good, the bad and the ugly with my students and hope they can also learn from my experiences,” Reynolds said.
Suzanne Niedland, co-founder of BRIFT and chairwoman of the board, has watched actors come alive during his master-acting classes.
“We have actors whom Mr. Reynolds has taken from little or no experience who are now booking parts on Burn Notice and The Glades,” Niedland said. “It’s been very exciting to see them this season. BRIFT is getting a reputation.”
Peter Marzilli, an actor from Jupiter, scored a part in Burn Notice earlier this year. The television show on the USA Network films in Miami Beach and Coconut Grove.
“Mr. Reynolds’ approach to his class in general is different and unusual from any other class in that, in a very short period of time, if you show up at his class ready and are willing to work at his level, he immediately takes you on as more than just a student,” Marzilli said. “He treats you like a family member. He’s really willing to give you his heart, if you’re willing to do your part.”
In addition to Burn Notice, Marzilli has earned roles in five independent films.
“It’s really a thrill to be able to communicate with somebody who’s been acting for 50 years on a level where they respect you,” he said. “I just love to be around Mr. Reynolds.”
BRIFT student Vincent Chimato also earned a spot on the sizzling South Florida spy series.
“When I first started at BRIFT, I was just helping with editing,” said Chimato, an Abacoa resident. “I ended up acting. Between all the technical experience and having Burt around, I advanced quite quickly.”
He said he learned an invaluable lesson from Reynolds during last week’s class.
“He was talking about actors,” Chimato remembered. “He said, ‘If you’re a good actor, it takes a long time for the word to spread. However, if you’re a bad actor, the word spreads really fast.’ That’s something that hit home.”
Actress Jane Rumbaua, of Palm Beach Gardens, landed a recurring role on an Atlanta-based TV show called High Rise. It debuts next year on Fox.
Rumbaua has studied under Reynolds since his master-acting classes began at BRIFT in February 2009.
“I believe training and staying sharp is very important for any actor,” she said. “Not only did I stay creative, Mr. Reynolds is just a great mentor and teacher. He really taught me a lot about performing, and he’s given me confidence.”
An array of actors
Reynolds’ actors have as wide a range in the industry as he does playing roles. Some work behind the camera. Some write and direct plays. Others travel to Los Angeles to act. A few teach.
One will cover herself with 13,000 firecrackers and light them on fire on Oct. 31.
Cynthia “The Great Cindini” Morrison, a recent graduate of Reynolds’ class, will perform the stunt at X-Scream Halloween in West Palm Beach.
“Whatever religion you are, please pray” will be Morrison’s sole line as she ignites the explosive devices attached to her body.
A jousting champion, knife thrower and fire eater, Morrison’s daredevil tricks used to include an elaborate, gut-wrenching explanation before each performance. Not now. She learned from Reynolds that “less is more.”
“From the time I said that line to the time I lit those firecrackers, you could hear a pin drop,” she said. “Just saying those few words had a bigger impact on the crowd than the introductory speech.”
While Reynolds pulled his share of stunts back in the day, none involved chucking a knife at another human being for a paycheck. The eccentric actress took his class because she wanted to improve her stage presence.
“Mr. Reynolds is amazing,” Morrison said. “He’s loving, he’s concerned, and he cares. He loves his art, and he wants to share it. That’s what makes his classes so magical.”
Product of Palm Beach County
Reynolds lives on the Palm Beach County/ Martin County line in a house that’s on the market for $8 million.
“My home is not for sale because I want to move away,” he said. “I simply do not need such a large estate anymore.”
Born in Waycross, Ga., Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. has considered Jupiter his home over the course of an incredible career and continues to nest in the area. He said he wants to move to a smaller place on the water, either in Jupiter or Tequesta.
“This area has everything, literally,” he said. “We have the most beautiful beaches in the world, great weather, great offerings of arts and culture, and the people here are laid-back, friendly and totally different than the people in any large metropolitan city. I feel very comfortable living in this area.”
Decade after decade, Reynolds contributed to the growth of the Palm Beach County cultural scene, and its reputation for film and theater escalated.
“When I opened my theater in Jupiter with an acting apprentice program several decades ago, Jupiter was a sleepy little town, and I loved bringing my friends from Hollywood and New York City here and putting them on the stage,” he said. “I would love to re-create that experience in a theater, which doubles as a sound stage, that BRIFT can call home, and I can keep teaching while allowing students to work alongside some greats in the industry.”
After 50 years – and counting -- in the business, Reynolds’ relishes his down time.
“Being in the spotlight for the last 50 years isn’t always easy, and it feels as though I have been judged by others my entire life,” he said. “I have somehow maintained my sanity -- although some may question that.”
His favorite restaurant is Jetty’s, and his favorite venues include Maltz Jupiter Theatre and The Lyric Theater in Stuart, where he will appear in “An Evening with Burt Reynolds” in January.
The tales and reminiscences that Reynolds will spin in upcoming showcase fall upon the keen ears of his students every week.
“As a director, a stunt man and an actor, he really is a jack-of-all-trades,” said Matthew Pollifrone, a studio-camera operator at WPTV-TV. “Mr. Reynolds is an icon among a generation, a legend in the industry and a prince among men.”
Murder mystery tour
The Nov. 6 fundraiser will incorporate the creativity of actors-in-training, the art of improvisation and the mystery of a murder.
“I’m Going to Saks To Solve a Crime of Fashion” stars Todd Vittum as Det. Richard Head and features a cast of a dozen BRIFT actors. Det. Head hears shots fired in the Saks Fifth Avenue shoe department and pleads with a crowd of witnesses to help him solve the crime.
“You can really try to solve the crime, or you can be passive as an observer,” Vittum said. “Either way, you’re going to enjoy it.”
A series of vignettes throughout the two-level store will deliver clues in a real-world iteration of the famed board game.
“Each vignette will have actors performing a scene that would give you clues as to who the real murderer is,” said Karen Chimato, co-chairwoman of the event. “You have to basically solve the crime and how it occurred.”
“I’m Going to Saks To Solve a Crime of Fashion” could become BRIFT’s signature event.
Society sleuths will enjoy food and beverages – the signature vodka drink is Perfect Poison -- and can bid on more than 20 silent-auction items that include an autographed model of the Bandit’s black Trans Am, tickets to “An Evening with Burt Reynolds” on Jan. 11, 2010, and a chance to attend a master-acting class with a friend and join Reynolds onstage for a photo.
Proceeds from the fundraiser – the organization’s first – will benefit the building fund.
