Burt Reynolds struggled through his final years over money — but he was once willing to spend big bucks to drop horse manure on The National ENQUIRER offices! In fact, the Grinch-like star took delight in taking aim at The ENQUIRER’s annual Christmas display that thrilled local kids in Florida! Burt would later proudly to his late-night hijinks in 2015 while calling in to Dan Le Batard during the ESPN host’s radio show. The malevolent mission took place after Burt had moved permanently to his Florida home, while The ENQUIRER had its headquarters in the neighboring coastal town of Lantana. It had become a Sunshine State tradition for children to gather at ENQUIRER headquarters to see an annual holiday display featuring animated figures, 280,000 twinkling lights, and the world’s tallest Christmas tree. But none of that mattered to Burt…
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"I didn't think it was right that they had the largest Christmas tree in the United States," the screen legend told Dan, complaining that The ENQUIRER's multiple scoops on
his troubled career and love life "had been killing me." Burt recalled: "I had about 100 horses at the time, and that's a lot of horse [manure]!"
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"So," continued Burt, "I took two huge nets and filled them both — and about 3:00 in the morning, my ranch foreman and I took the helicopter down to the wonderful National ENQUIRER — which was just down the street here from me in Lantana. I dumped [the manure] right on top of the tree, and it just cascaded down. It was a beautiful sight!"
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Photo credit: Getty Images
Of course, The ENQUIRER staff didn't let Burt have the last laugh. Staffers at the time later confirmed that an crew of volunteers came together to clean up the display — so that thousands of children could be moved by the Christmas spirit that same day. A laughing Burt, however, remained unrepentant, saying: "It just felt so good!"
"I didn't think it was right that they had the largest Christmas tree in the United States," the screen legend told Dan, complaining that The ENQUIRER's multiple scoops on
his troubled career and love life "had been killing me." Burt recalled: "I had about 100 horses at the time, and that's a lot of horse [manure]!"
"So," continued Burt, "I took two huge nets and filled them both — and about 3:00 in the morning, my ranch foreman and I took the helicopter down to the wonderful National ENQUIRER — which was just down the street here from me in Lantana. I dumped [the manure] right on top of the tree, and it just cascaded down. It was a beautiful sight!"
Photo credit: Getty Images
Of course, The ENQUIRER staff didn't let Burt have the last laugh. Staffers at the time later confirmed that an crew of volunteers came together to clean up the display — so that thousands of children could be moved by the Christmas spirit that same day. A laughing Burt, however, remained unrepentant, saying: "It just felt so good!"
Photo credit: Getty Images
