Burt Reynolds and a Mysterious Death on an Arizona Movie Set

Mystery and tragedy unfolded on the set of a movie in Arizona, involving the late Burt Reynolds.

This little-known incident began with a birthday celebration in a small town and ended up making headlines worldwide.

The story revolved around the death of David Whiting, a 26-year-old man, and his connection to British actress Sarah Miles.

While Reynolds was never implicated in the incident, he was called upon to provide testimony during the coroner's inquest, leading to raised eyebrows and speculation.

The events took place in Gila Bend in 1973, where Reynolds and Miles were filming “The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing.”

On February 10th, some members of the cast, excluding Whiting, traveled to Ajo, located 43 miles away, to celebrate Reynolds' birthday at a venue called the Pink Palomino.

Later, a few individuals returned to Gila Bend after midnight and continued their festivities at the Travelodge motel lounge.

According to reports from The Arizona Republic, Miles stated that she went to Reynolds' room for a nightcap before returning to her own room before 3 a.m.

It was then that she encountered Whiting, who aggressively questioned her whereabouts.

When she refused to answer, Whiting slapped her across the face, causing her to scream and wake up a woman in the adjacent room, who was looking after Miles' young son.

In a desperate attempt to seek help, Miles asked the woman to fetch Reynolds.

As Reynolds made his way to the scene, Whiting fled from the room.

Miles spent the remainder of the night in Reynolds' room.

However, the story took an even more sinister turn when Miles discovered Whiting's lifeless body the following morning.

The room was filled with a pool of blood, and Whiting's shirt and sweater were heavily soaked.

An empty vial and numerous red tablets were scattered across the floor.

Examiners found scratches and abrasions on Whiting's hands and body, prompting Miles to change her story eleven days later during investigations.

She revealed that she and Whiting had fought, detailing how he became jealous and angry when she drank with other men.

According to The Republic, she claimed that a physical altercation occurred, with Whiting forcibly dragging her out of a bathroom and assaulting her.

When Miles discovered Whiting's body, she immediately called Reynolds for assistance.

Reynolds admitted to removing the vial from Whiting's hand but could not recall what he had done with it.

The cause of death was ultimately ruled as an overdose, leading Whiting's mother, Newell Campbell, to request that both Miles and Reynolds testify at the inquest.

However, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the movie studio behind the production, objected to this, citing additional production costs of $25,000 if their stars were required to testify.

In March 1973, Reynolds and Miles provided their accounts of the incident during the inquest.

The official cause of Whiting's death remained an overdose, but no explanation was ever given for the significant amount of blood found at the scene.

This perplexing and tragic event continues to be one of the lesser-known stories from Burt Reynolds' life, leaving many questions unanswered about the circumstances surrounding David Whiting's untimely demise.

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