Actor Burt Reynolds faces foreclosure on Florida home

Actor Burt Reynolds (L) hugs Charles Durning after he accepted the Lifetime Achievement award at the 14th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles January 27, 2008.

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) - Veteran actor Burt Reynolds is facing foreclosure on his longtime southeast Florida home, according to a lawsuit filed by a mortgage firm.

The 75-year-old is known for starring roles including in films "Deliverance" and "Smokey and the Bandit" from the 1970s. He also won a Golden Globe for his role as a porn king in the 1997 film "Boogie Nights".

The mortgage on the house in Hobe Sound that is facing foreclosure was taken out in 1994, a year after Reynolds' widely publicized divorce from actress Loni Anderson.

Reynolds, who had heart bypass surgery last year, stopped making the mortgage payments a year ago and owes Merrill Lynch Credit Corporation almost $1.2 million, according to the lawsuit filed August 9 in Martin County.

Merrill Lynch also named two other financial institutions that might have an interest in the property.

A local newspaper reported in 2009 that Reynolds placed the 12,500 square foot, waterfront house, which he called Valhalla, on the market for $8.9 million.

The lawsuit lists a Little Rock, Arkansas, address for Reynolds. Neither the actor nor his manager could be reached for comment.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston)