The Burt Reynolds museum in Florida

This weekend I visited the Burt Reynolds & Friends Museum, a neat little museum in South Florida that is home to the actor's awards, gifts from his 50-year career in show business. 

The museum has lots of neat photos of Reynold's early life in Florida and his football days at FSU.

SPORTS 

Yearbook photos, humanitarian honors, and lots of sports memorabilia, including singed footballs, baseballs (Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial among them), jerseys, caps, you name it. 

 

Signed photos from Walter Payton, Jack Nicklaus, Sugar Ray Leonard, and tons more. Here's one from Russell Crowe from a movie called Mystery Alaska where he played a hockey player. 

 

Westerns

An entire wing is devoted to his Western films and memorabilia from the western shows (including Gunsmoke) and movies (100 Rifles) in the early part of his career.

Signed photos from the cast of Gunsmoke

1970s movies

A canoe used in Deliverance. The museum curator told me that last year, the four main actors from the film (Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ronny Cox, and Ned Beatty) hosted a Q&A here and filmed a segment for the upcoming 40th anniversary DVD of the film.

1980s films

Lots of cool stuff from his movies, including hits like Smokey and the Bandit 

Hundreds of autographed photos

AWARDS

I love seeing awards on display like this. It's so neat to see. After you watch the Oscars or an awards show and see the star win, you hardly ever see the trophies again. Here, Burt has put them all on display for his fans to enjoy. 

Golden Globes

Nomination certificates

Another nomination

Reynolds's sole Emmy win for Evening Shade

Here's an Oscar nomination certificate for Boogie Nights (1997)

Lots of People's Choice Awards

Here is an award recognizing Burt as the #1 Top Box Office Star of the Year (there are 5 of these)

New York Film Critics Award

V-J Day: August 14, 1945 - 65 Years Ago Today (plus photos of WW 2 museum)

Today marks the 65th anniversary of V-J Day, a day to always remember.

To listen to some audio clips from original radio broadcasts,the website "Spirit of 45" has some great clips on their audio page. You'll hear exciting clips, such as the experience on Times Square as reported to NBC and the original Command Performance Armed Forces radio broadcast with President Truman, Bing Crosby, Bill Mauldin, Frank Sinatra (singing "The House I Live In"), Dinah Shore (singing "America"), Frances Langford ("We Gather Together"), Bob Hope and more. Orson Welles offers a moving prayer. Listen to the programs here.

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Earlier this summer I visited the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. It is an awesome three story museum with exhibits dedicated to every major battle of the war. Here are some pictures:

If you ever get the chance to get to New Orleans I highly recommend allowing at least one full day at the museum. There is so much to see. There are lots of video and audio exhibits as well, including oral recollections from surviving veterans and those on the homefront, who recorded their memories for this museum.

Photo below: It's a little blurry, but the black bars across the flags are shelves with a figure of a soldier representing several thousand fighters - demonstrating how the American military forces compared with those of Japan and the Nazis.

Next door to the museum is a great restaurant called The American Sector.

Visit to the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California (photos)

I visited the Reagan Library and Museum on the 4th of July 2008; here are a few photos from the trip that I thought you might enjoy seeing.

"Ya Basta" is a Spanish phrase that means "Enough is enough!" in English

There are exibits devoted to Reagan's movie and television career.

There was a mini-theater where you can step into and watch movie clips.

There are some items (mostly photos and posters)
from Nancy Davis' film career.

Replica of the Oval Office

Presidential items, gifts, etc.

In 1982 President Reagan received photographs of young Polish girls

holding a sign which reads, "Our father is sitting in prison for Solidarity"

Sports memorabilia on display

Motorcade vehicles, helicopers, etc.

There's even a retired Air Force One that you can walk through.

It's really awesome to see up close.

The plane overlooks this valley; you can step out and enjoy the scenery.

There is even an Irish Pub there, with two bartenders on duty.

I bought some "Lenin-Aid" (red lemonade)

More Presidential gifts, memorabilia

Chunk of the Berlin Wall.

President Reagan's final resting place. I remember seeing this on

television in 2004 during the televised memorial.

Overlooking the valley. It's really breathtaking.