I'm glad the public got to see the personal side of Burt Reynolds. A true moviestar, that was very underrated by Hollywood.

Elaine sounds like an absolutely wonderful person. The fact that she had such a great working friendship with Burt is a testament to his personality.

Great insight and interview with Elaine Blake. After watching this I came out knowing more about the man and less about the legend of Burt Reynolds. I loved that he created a theatre for upcoming actors and they got to learn from prominent actors in the business. There will never be another actor like Burt Reynolds and he will be greatly missed.

I met Elaine in January 1982 as I had won a trip to Disney World and we, of course, arranged to go to the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre. She was kind and accepted the gifts I brought to him, and I am so glad I got to spend a few minutes with her. Sadly, Burt had gone back to CA for a surgery and I missed him. We moved to CA a few months later in 1982 and eventually, just about 10 years later, I met Burt in California and my life was complete. LOL... If things had gone differently...who knows?? lol Anyway, we saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, that Burt had directed, and it was AWESOME. Starred Martin Sheen and Adrienne Barbeau and also Will Sampson. What a wonderful production. Thank you, Elaine, for your time and love for Burt and his fans.

Wow that was great!

Just an awesome interview and a genuine thank you to Elaine. Important to keep Burt's memory alive.. He did so much for what was once our little seaside town of Jupiter, Florida. Burt always made himself available to the community, could be seen dining out or at the corner store. Sad to say goodbye as it has been with Dom Deluise, Dean Martin, Bert Convey, Farrah Fawcett, Jerry Reed and so many other of "Burt's friends."

That was deep. Great job.

Great interview! Enjoyed hearing his story from someone who was there.

OMG...I've been watching your videos about Burt Reynolds for the last couple of weeks and thought that these were cool little mini-documentaries. Tonight, well, this morning I put this video of yours on with this enchanting woman and watched it from start to finish with delight, sadness and every emotion in between. I've been a fan of Burt's since I was 7 years old and my Dad took me to see Smokey and the Bandit. 1977 saw my life change when seeing Bandit and Star Wars for the first time. I loved each of these films for different reasons, and as crazy as it sounds, those films had a major impact on the person I eventually became. In the days before home video, I used my Radio Shack tape recorder to record the audio from the ABC Sunday/Monday Night Movie TV broadcast of Bandit and I would play that recording over and over. I had the film's dialogue memorized before I was able to get an RCA CED Videodisc of it a few years later. Of course I had the original soundtrack album and played the grooves out of it. My mother went to a GM car dealership in 1980 and she was buying a blue Oldsmobile sedan and on the wall behind the saleman's desk was a framed poster of the new 1980 Black Trans Am and the salesman asked me what I thought of the new car my mother was buying and I told him that it was boring...I pointed to the gold trimmed Trans Am and said THAT'S the car I'm going to buy some day. And he laughed it off and said that I'd never be able to afford a car like that. I proved him wrong, three times over years later. Burt Reynolds was a superhero to me. After Bandit and it's sequel, I loved Burt in Hooper, The End, Gator (although Jerry Reed really scared me in that one!) , and ALL of the films Burt made after that. Comedy or Drama I loved the man's work and idolized him. In the year 2000, I was working as an auto racing track marshal here in Toronto and was officiating as a safety marshal at the Molson Indy for my 10th year or so, and we knew that Burt and Sylvester Stallone were filming scenes for a new racing picture called "Driven" and I was SO excited that I MIGHT get the chance to see Burt during the filming. Better still, the film crew asked our marshalling group for volunteers to stay for a couple of extra days of filming after the Toronto race was over and I jumped at the chance. I had my Trans Am on property during those days and HOPED that I would meet Burt. But alas it was not meant to be. I continued to follow Burt's career up until the end, and I was absolutely devastated when I learned of his passing. I was even more hurt that his loss and amazing career was BARELY celebrated on the mainstream media. Where artists like Aretha Franklin had 10 to 15 minute long celebrations of their careers, followed by several segments and reactions from celebrities that went on for days. I remember here in Toronto that most of the news shows gave about 40 seconds of air time to Burt's passing. I couldn't believe it. Everything this man did for television and movies, and to assist up and coming young actors in Hollywood and he gets short changed in the end. I was so upset and I still complain about this whenever his name comes up with friends or when we're watching his films. Man G.M. I watched this interview with Elaine and was riveted to my couch. I learned things about Burt that I never knew. You and this fantastic woman took us through Burt's career, his private life, and gave us a window to look through that was simply MAGIC. Crafted with love and care, touching on sensitive subjects, but still with respect and dignity for the man. THIS is what I wanted to see when we lost the man and the legend! As a 50 year old man now, I had tears in my eyes by the end of your interview. What a fantastic tribute to Burt! I cannot thank you enough for this. You did what Hollywood and the media failed to do to honor this man on his final curtain call. A guy who gave us some of our most thrilling on screen action, stunts and unrelenting laughter. Your videos have done the man proud, and this one, WOW, this was your crowning achievement. A simple fireside chat with an extremely wonderful woman who obviously loved the man as much as we did as his fans. Nothing scandalous, but still real enough, and honest. FANTASTIC video my friend! Thanks to you and Elaine for this! It touched my soul and took me back to my first viewing of Smokey and the Bandit and hearing Burt's iconic laugh in the opening scene and the first time I watched that car drive out the back of Bandit Two. And I have to confess, whenever East Bound and Down or Texas Bound and Flyin' comes on my car stereo, my foot hits that gas pedal just a LITTLE bit heavier for just a few minutes...especially when I'm in my T/A! I'm a new subscriber and look forward to seeing what you have in store for the future!

This was one of the best interviews I ever watched. I feel like I got a real feel for who Burt Reynolds really was. Great job by both the interviewer and the guest.

Wow! That was a great indepth look at Burt and the relationships he fostered. I was one of the lucky ones who worked at the Burt Reynolds DInner Theatre when it first opened along with my sisters....Jupiter was a small quiet fishing town. What an amazing opportunity that he brought to so many young people. Besides the great talent he brought, the relationships formed during those special years are still strong to this day. Thank you for this interview - I learned a lot while enjoying the memories.

How ironic it was that Burt lost so much money in the Pofolk's restaurants. Wow! How fun it must have been taking a nice trip down Burt's career with such a wonderful woman. I can hear the joy in her voice as she talks about her old boss. I never knew his nickname was "Bud." I also learned more about Burt Reynolds’ generous heart and immense talent. This interview was visual, informative and entertaining. Great job Gator! Gator out!

As A Burt Reynolds fan, I really appreciate you doing this.

All the hard work paid off, it looked great

What a lovely person. That you for uploading this wonderful interview.

Wonderful interview! I worked for Burt at the theatre back in the 80's and worked with Elaine at that time. First, she was wonderful to work with. So many of her stories to me right back there! And she hit the nail on the head at the end of your interview. As someone who worked for him, I had great respect for him up until his passing. Thanks so much for publishing this video.

I want to say THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH for making this incredible series about our all-time hero, Buddy Reynolds. And this interview in particular is so insightful, thank you for all the effort and you can bet I'll watch these again and again. Simply beautiful and brilliant. Burt was and always will be the greatest of all time.

I love that you have a passion about Burt Reynolds.You need to watch the last movie star and give your honest opinion and how Burt transformed as a person by the end of his life.Great channel.

Awesome interview Elaine !

Incredible interview, Gator. Great job in the timeline of Burt's life. Hats off to Elaine for being so real & honest.

Excellent work and so interesting to watch well done

Love your stuff GATOR! so excited to get my Box of Burt from Umbrella yesterday and happy your selections were on most of the films!

Like always you bring us Burt Reynolds fans an amazing video please keep up the amazing work. I appreciate the hard work dedication and enjoyment you put in to your videos. I hope you and your family have a great Christmas 🎄 and new year’s!! Looking forward to the next upload.

Totally amazing interview with great questions & insight. Strange how Elaine’s stories seemed so familiar as I think back on Burt’s career & how sad as she seemed to be someone who truly cared about his well-being. Again, great job!

I loved it. Her memory is awesome. The details made me feel like I really got the whole story. Really great interview !!

Excellent video Gator!!

Excellent - very interesting account by Elaine Schell about her experiences as an assistant to Burt Reynolds. Yes, it was sad that he had some rough times during the later part of his career (years later I was upset to hear that he was forced to close down his dinner theatre in Jupiter) - but as you said, despite his tragic passing he has left us with an amazing body of work which millions of us fans can enjoy for years to come.

Great interview and really nice to hear the stories and perspectives direct from someone who was there with him. Nice to hear the unbiased views in particular in terms of some of the situations and events only previously presented through the lens of the media. 👍🏻

Hey brother. Thank you SO MUCH for these videos. I LOVE Burt! Thank you for sharing this amazing stuff!

Still waiting on the next part in the series!!

What a Fun Dude !

watching white lighting right now

That was the most boring interview I’ve ever heard. Don’t they realize it’s Burt we’re interested in, not them?