The co-star who accused Burt Reynolds of murder: “He always denied any involvement”
To preface, Burt Reynolds was never officially accused or implicated in a murder investigation. In fact, the death that gave rise to a longstanding Hollywood urban legend wasn’t even a murder at all, which did nothing to prevent the murmurs from spreading among those with a soft spot for conspiracy theories.
What is true is that David Whiting was discovered dead on February 11th, 1973, at the age of 26, in the middle of production for The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing, director Richard C Safarian’s adaptation of Marilyn Durham’s novel of the same name, which starred Reynolds in the lead role of Jay Grobart.
The circumstances surrounding his demise were immediately considered suspicious, especially as more facts came to light. Whiting was the personal assistant of actor Sarah Miles, who took second billing behind Reynolds in the western about a recently released outlaw and convicted killer who sets out to protect Miles’ Catherine Crocker from her vengeful husband.
The night before Whiting’s body was discovered, cast and crew members – Miles among them – had been out celebrating Reynolds’ birthday. Whiting remained in the hotel room he was sharing with Miles, and when she returned, an argument broke out, and he assaulted her. Seeking distance, she spent the next few hours in Reynolds’ room, with Whiting’s body found the following morning.
The preliminary investigation cited the cause of death as an overdose before a local coroner suggested it was a suicide. While the official cause of death was ultimately determined to be an accidental overdose of methaqualone, the injuries he’d sustained – which included scratches, bruises, and a one-inch wound on the back of his head – couldn’t be accounted for in the coroner’s report.
Whiting’s mother, Louise Campbell, was adamant that Reynolds had murdered her son. That wasn’t a line of inquiry that the authorities followed, but Miles claimed that she knew the Deliverance star had killed Whiting because her son, Tom Bolt, had witnessed the incident and told her.
Miles informed Robert Emery’s Backstage podcast that Tom had “said Burt did it the next day”. That was quite an accusation to make, especially when Bolt explained to The Telegraph that not only does he not recall the moment he allegedly confirmed Reynolds as Whiting’s killer, but he severely doubted that it actually happened.
“All of this seemed removed from me, despite some strong memories of that time in Arizona,” he explained. “Or it did, at least, until a recent podcast interview in which Mum, who is now 83 and retired, suggested the reason she knows Burt killed David – a belief she firmly holds – is because I told her, which must mean I witnessed it.”
“I don’t think for a minute this is true,” he clarified. “I think it’s just what Mum felt like saying on the spur of the moment in the interview. But it’s interesting that I’ve had a recurring nightmare throughout my life that I’ve murdered someone.” Still, the initial outcry – largely stemming from Whiting’s mother – was enough to create the unsubstantiated rumour that Reynolds was responsible and had it covered up.
Bolt recalled that the actor “always denied any involvement” and cooperated with the authorities during the investigation, with Miles’ only evidence to the contrary a supposed memory that the person who purportedly pointed the finger at Reynolds can’t recall and doesn’t believe.
