Burt Reynolds’ Ex-Wife Loni Anderson Snubs Late Actor’s Only Brother At Second Funeral
Just two days Burt Reynolds' close friends gathered at church in Florida to say their goodbyes, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned his ex-wife Loni Anderson, son Quinton and niece Nancy Lee Brown Hess held a separate private memorial for the late actor Friday — without his only brother, Jimmy!
Jimmy is "heartbroken his own family shunned him," a source revealed. "He is so sad and upset he couldn’t say goodbye alongside his family,” Jimmy’s wife Maria Reynolds told RadarOnline.com exclusively.
A source close to the family said the reason Burt’s brother was kept off the VIP list was solely Loni’s decision.
The WKRP in Cincinnati star, 73, had a tumultuous relationship with the Boogie Nights actor, who died at the age of 82 on Sept. 6 after suffering a heart attack, and has been upset at Burt’s family for years after he allegedly abused her physically.
Anderson wrote about the alleged abuse in her 1995 autobiography, My Life in High Heels. In it, she revealed Burt’s battle with drug abuse, including Percodan for pain, Valium for anxiety and Compazine for their side effects.
"The physical abuse I always blamed on the drugs," Anderson wrote, detailing the alleged beatings that left her bruised all over her body.
“She claims Jimmy didn’t do enough to protect her,” said Maria, who blasted Burt’s 2015 memoir But Enough About Me, calling it “fiction.”
And Jimmy has long regretted not coming forward sooner, she added.
“Jimmy knew all Burt’s secrets, but that doesn’t mean he agreed with him or accepted all of it,” said Maria.
Burt, who was cremated and his remains scattered at sea, had been estranged from his adopted brother, now 83, for some time.
Yet, their distance doesn’t make Loni’s snub any less hurtful.
“No one at the funeral knew Burt like his brother,” said Maria.
“He looks back now and, of course, apologizes. But to leave him out of the funeral is horrible. It breaks his heart.”
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