LANGLEY, B.C. — When she started working at her family’s photography business, Susan Swindells never expected to find an envelope full of noteworthy negatives in her father’s old files.
“That’s my dad’s writing,” Susan points to a name written in pencil on the envelope full of negatives. “(It says) Burt Reynolds.”
When Susan holds the negatives up to the light, she can see it’s a picture of people posing at a wedding.
“Burt Reynolds at a wedding in Victoria?” Susan recalls thinking. “It can’t be right.”
But after Susan developed them, she saw her dad’s writing wasn’t wrong. Burt was the best man.
“(My dad) had no idea who he was until later,” Susan says.
Her dad — Roy Swindells, who ran Jus Rite Photos back then — was hired to photograph the wedding back in 1962, a decade before Deliverance turned Burt Reynolds into a star.
“So (my dad) was just treating him like the best man,” Susan laughs. “Having him carry camera equipment or whatever.”
Susan went searching for answers online and discovered Burt was best friends with the groom who’d fallen in love with a woman from Victoria. The actor later cast his B.C. buddy in small parts in major movies like Smokey and the Bandit.
“I was telling people about it, and some people go, ‘Who’s Burt Reynolds?’” Susan smiles. “My younger coworkers had to look it up.”
While Burt’s fame — since becoming one of biggest stars in the ‘70s and ‘80s — may have faded, Susan says her love and admiration for the man who took the pictures endures.
“My dad is my idol,” Susan smiles. “(He’s) been gone for 20 years. This brings (him) back to life.”
While capturing a celebrity on camera is certainly superficially satisfying, Susan has learned that preserving the memories we make with family and friends is the most meaningful.
“It’s something that can be a shared thing, looking at pictures (together),” Susan smiles before flipping through old family photo albums. “I love it!”
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