Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Robert Redford - Wikipedia A Conversation with Robert Redford

Robert Redford - Wikipedia


Robert Redford

Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Redford
Redford in 1971
Born
Charles Robert Redford Jr.

August 18, 1936
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
DiedSeptember 16, 2025 (aged 89)
Sundance, Utah, U.S.
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Actor
  • film director
  • producer
Years active1959–2025
WorksFull list
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1958; div. 1985)​
  • Sibylle Szaggars
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2009)​
Children4, including James and Amy
AwardsFull list
Signature

Charles Robert Redford Jr. (August 18, 1936 – September 16, 2025) was an American actor, director, and producer. He received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, five Golden Globe Awards (including the 1994 Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award), the 1996 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, a 2002 Academy Honorary Award, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2005, the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the 2019 Honorary César. He was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2014.

Redford started his career in television acting in Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone before making his Broadway debut playing a newlywed husband in Neil Simon's comedic play Barefoot in the Park (1963). Redford made his film debut in War Hunt (1962) before finding leading man stardom acting in Barefoot in the Park (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), The Candidate (1972), and The Sting (1973), the last of which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Redford's stardom continued in films such as The Way We Were (1973), The Great Gatsby (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), All the President's Men (1976), The Electric Horseman (1979), Brubaker (1980), The Natural (1984), and Out of Africa (1985). He later acted in Sneakers (1992), All Is Lost (2013), Truth (2015), Our Souls at Night (2017), and The Old Man & the Gun (2018). Redford portrayed Alexander Pierce in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Avengers: Endgame (2019); the latter was his final on-screen appearance.

Redford's directorial film debut was the family drama Ordinary People (1980), which won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. He directed seven other feature films, including the drama The Milagro Beanfield War (1984), the period drama A River Runs Through It (1992), the historical drama Quiz Show (1994), the neo-western The Horse Whisperer (1998), and the sports fantasy The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000). Redford founded the Sundance Institute in 1981, which hosts the annual Sundance Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in the United States. He was known for his political activism for environmentalism, Native American and indigenous people's rights, and LGBT rights.

Early life and education

Charles Robert Redford Jr. was born on August 18, 1936,[1] in Santa Monica, California, to Martha Woodruff Redford (née Hart; 1914–1955), who was from Austin, Texas, and Charles Robert Redford Sr. (1914–1991), an accountant.[2] He had a paternal half-brother, William.[3] Redford was of Irish, Scottish, and English ancestry.[4][5][6] His patrilineal great-great-grandfather, a Protestant Englishman named Elisha Redford, married Mary Ann McCreery, of Irish Catholic descent, in Manchester, Lancashire. They emigrated to New York City in America in 1849, immediately settling next in Stonington, Connecticut. They had a son named Charles, the first in line to have been given the name. Regarding Redford's maternal lineage, the Harts were Irish from Galway and the Greens were Scotch-Irish who settled in the United States in the 18th century.[4] Redford's family lived in Van Nuys while his father worked in El Segundo. As a child, he and his family often traveled to Austin to visit his maternal grandfather. Redford credited his environmentalism and love of nature to his childhood in Texas.[7]

Redford attended Van Nuys High School, where he was classmates with baseball pitcher Don Drysdale.[3][8] He described himself as having been a "bad" student, finding inspiration outside the classroom in art and sports.[3] He hit tennis balls with Pancho Gonzalez at the Los Angeles Tennis Club to help Gonzalez warm up for matches. Redford had a mild case of polio when he was 11.[9]

After graduating from high school in 1954,[10] he attended the University of Colorado in Boulder for a year and a half,[3][11][12] where he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.[13] While there, he worked at a restaurant/bar called The Sink, where a painting of his likeness now figures prominently among the bar's murals.[14][better source needed] While at Colorado, Redford began drinking heavily and, as a result, lost his half-scholarship and was expelled from school.[11][12] He went on to travel in Europe, living in France, Spain, and Italy.[3] He later studied painting at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and took classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (Class of 1959) in Manhattan, New York.[3][15]

Career

1959–1966: Early roles

Redford and Patricia Blair in The Virginian (1964)

Redford's acting career began in New York City, where he worked both on stage and in television. His Broadway debut was in a small role in Tall Story (1959), followed by parts in The Highest Tree (1959) and Sunday in New York (1961). His biggest success on Broadway was as the stuffy newlywed husband of Elizabeth Ashley in the original 1963 cast of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park.[16] Starting in 1960, Redford appeared as a guest star on numerous television drama programs, including Naked City, Maverick, The Untouchables, The Americans, Whispering Smith, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, Dr. Kildare, Playhouse 90, Tate, The Twilight Zone, The Virginian, and Captain Brassbound's Conversion, among others.[17][18]

Redford made his screen debut in Tall Story (1960), reprising his Broadway role.[19] The film's stars were Anthony Perkins, Jane Fonda (her debut), and Ray Walston. After his Broadway success, he was cast in larger feature roles in movies. In 1960, Redford was cast as Danny Tilford, a mentally disturbed young man trapped in the wreckage of his family garage, in "Breakdown", one of the last episodes of the syndicated adventure series Rescue 8, starring Jim Davis and Lang Jeffries.[20] Redford earned an Emmy nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Voice of Charlie Pont (ABC, 1962). One of his last television appearances until 2019 was on October 7, 1963, on Breaking Point, an ABC medical drama about psychiatry.[4]

In 1962, Redford received his second film role in War Hunt,[21] and was cast soon after alongside screen legend Alec Guinness in the war comedy Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious, in which he played a U.S. soldier falsely imprisoned by a German civilian even after the war had ended. In Inside Daisy Clover (1965), which won him a Golden Globe for best new star, he played a bisexual movie star who marries starlet Natalie Wood, and rejoined her along with Charles Bronson for Sydney Pollack's This Property Is Condemned (1966)—again, as her lover, though this time in a film which achieved even greater success. The same year saw his first teaming (on equal footing) with Jane Fonda, in Arthur Penn's The Chase. The film marked the only time Redford starred with Marlon Brando.[22]

1967–1979: Career stardom

Redford in Barefoot in the Park (1967)

Fonda and Redford were paired again in the popular big-screen version of Barefoot in the Park (1967)[3] and were again co-stars a dozen years later in Pollack's The Electric Horseman (1979), followed 38 years later with a Netflix feature, Our Souls at Night. After this initial success, Redford became concerned about his blond male stereotype image[23] and refused roles in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Graduate.[24] Redford found the niche he was seeking in George Roy Hill's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), scripted by William Goldman, in which he was paired for the first time with Paul Newman. The film was a huge success and made him a major bankable star,[3] cementing his screen image as an intelligent, reliable, sometimes sardonic good guy.[25]

While Redford did not receive an Academy Award or Golden Globe nomination for playing the Sundance Kid, he won a British Academy of Film and Television Award (BAFTA) for that role and his parts in Downhill Racer[26] (1969) and Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969). The latter two films and the subsequent Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1970), and The Hot Rock (1972) were not commercially successful. Redford had long harbored ambitions to work on both sides of the camera. As early as 1969, Redford had served as the executive producer for Downhill Racer.[3] The political satire The Candidate (1972) was a moderate box-office and critical success.[27]

Redford in 1973

Starting in 1973, Redford experienced an almost unparalleled four-year run of box-office successes. The western Jeremiah Johnson's (1972) box-office earnings from early 1973 until its second re-release in 1975 would have placed it as the 2nd-highest-grossing film of 1973.[28] His romantic period drama with Barbra Streisand, The Way We Were (1973), was the 5th-highest-grossing film of 1973.[28] The crime caper reunion with Paul Newman, The Sting (1973), became the top-grossing film of 1974[29] and one of the top-twenty highest-grossing movies of all time when adjusted for inflation, and it also landed Redford the lone nomination of his career for the Academy Award for Best Actor.[3] The following year he starred in the romantic drama The Great Gatsby (1974), also starring Mia Farrow, Sam Waterston, and Bruce Dern. The film was the 8th-highest-grossing film of 1974.[29] Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) placed as the 10th-highest-grossing film for 1974, as it was re-released due to the popularity of The Sting.[29] In 1974, Redford became the first performer since Bing Crosby in 1946 to have three films in a year's top-ten-grossing titles. Each year between 1974 and 1976, movie exhibitors voted Redford Hollywood's top box-office star.[3]

In 1975, Redford's hit movies included a 1920s aviation drama, The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), and the spy thriller Three Days of the Condor (1975), alongside Faye Dunaway, which finished 16th and 17th in box-office grosses for 1975, respectively.[30] In 1976, he co-starred with Dustin Hoffman in the 2nd-highest-grossing film for the year, the critically acclaimed All the President's Men.[31] In 1976, Redford published The Outlaw Trail: A Journey Through Time. Redford stated, "The Outlaw Trail. It was a name that fascinated me—a geographical anchor in Western folklore. Whether real or imagined, it was a name that, for me, held a kind of magic, a freedom, a mystery. I wanted to see it in much the same way as the outlaws did, by horse and by foot, and document the adventure with text and photographs."[32]

All the President's Men, in which Redford and Hoffman play Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, was a landmark film for Redford. Not only was he the executive producer and co-star, but the film's serious subject matter—the Watergate scandal—and its attempt to create a realistic portrayal of journalism also reflected the actor's offscreen concerns for political causes.[3] The film landed eight Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture and Best Director (Alan J. Pakula), while winning for the Best Screenplay (Goldman). It won the New York Film Critics Award for Best Picture and Best Director. In 1977, Redford appeared in a segment of the war film A Bridge Too Far (1977). He took a two-year hiatus from movies before starring as a past-his-prime rodeo star in the adventure-romance The Electric Horseman (1979). This film reunited him with Fonda, finishing at No. 9 at the box office in 1980.[33]

1980–1998: Directorial debut

Redford's first film as director was the drama film Ordinary People (1980), a drama about the slow disintegration of an upper-middle class family after the death of a son. Redford was credited with obtaining a powerful, dramatic performance from Mary Tyler Moore, as well as superb work from Donald Sutherland and Timothy Hutton, who also won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The film is one of the most critically and publicly acclaimed films of the decade, winning four Academy Awards, including Best Director for Redford himself, and Best Picture.[34][3] Critic Roger Ebert declared it "an intelligent, perceptive, and deeply moving film."[35] Later that year he appeared in the prison drama Brubaker (1980), playing a prison warden attempting to reform the system.[36]

Redford with Melanie Griffith and Sônia Braga, promoting The Milagro Beanfield War at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival

Soon afterwards, he starred in the baseball drama The Natural (1984).[3] Sydney Pollack's Out of Africa (1985), with Redford in the male lead role opposite Meryl Streep, became a large box office success (combined 1985 and 1986 grosses placed it at No. 5 for 1986),[37] won a Golden Globe for Best Picture,[38] and won seven Oscars, including Best Picture. Streep was nominated for Best Actress, but Redford did not receive a nomination. The movie proved to be Redford's biggest success of the decade and Redford and Pollack's most successful of their seven movies together.[3] Redford's next film, Legal Eagles (1986) alongside Debra Winger, was only a minor success at the box office.[39]

Redford did not direct again until The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), a well-crafted, though not commercially successful, screen version of John Nichols's acclaimed novel of the Southwest. The Milagro Beanfield War is the story of the people of Milagro, New Mexico (based on the real town of Truchas in northern New Mexico), overcoming big developers who set about to ruin their community and force them out with tax increases.

Redford continued as a major star throughout the 1990s and 2000s. In 1992, he released his third film as a director, the period drama A River Runs Through It, based on Norman Maclean's novella, starring Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, and Tom Skerritt. Redford received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Director. This was a return to mainstream success for Redford as a director and brought a young Pitt to greater prominence. In 1994, he directed the exposé Quiz Show about the quiz show scandal of the late 1950s.[3] In the latter film, Redford worked from a screenplay by Paul Attanasio with cinematographer Michael Ballhaus and a cast that featured Paul Scofield, John Turturro, Rob Morrow, and Ralph Fiennes. David Ansen of Newsweek wrote, "Robert Redford may have become a more complacent movie star in the last decade, but he has become a more daring and accomplished filmmaker. 'Quiz Show' is his best movie since 'Ordinary People'".[40]

In 1993, he starred in Indecent Proposal as a billionaire businessman who tests a couple's morals; the film became one of the year's biggest hits. He co-starred with Michelle Pfeiffer in the newsroom romance Up Close & Personal (1996),[41] and with Kristin Scott Thomas and a young Scarlett Johansson in The Horse Whisperer (1998), which he also directed.[3] Redford also continued work in films with political contexts, such as Havana (1990), playing Jack Weil, a professional gambler in 1959 Cuba during the Revolution, as well as Sneakers (1992), in which he co-starred with River Phoenix and Sidney Poitier.[42]

1999–2012: Expansive filmmaking and later works

Redford also directed Matt Damon and Will Smith in The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000).[43] He appeared as a disgraced Army general sent to prison in the prison drama The Last Castle (2001), directed by Rod Lurie.[44] In the same year, Redford reteamed with Pitt for Spy Game, another success for the pair but with Redford switching this time from director to actor. During that time, he planned to direct and star in a sequel of The Candidate[45] but the project never happened.[46] Redford, a leading environmental activist, narrated the IMAX documentary Sacred Planet (2004), a sweeping journey across the globe to some of its most exotic and endangered places.[47] In The Clearing (2004), Redford portrayed Wayne Hayes, a shrewd businessman whose kidnapping forces him and his wife to confront the personal compromises behind their seemingly ideal life.[48]

Redford stepped back into producing with The Motorcycle Diaries (2004), a coming-of-age road film about a young medical student, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and his friend Alberto Granado. It also explored the political and social issues of South America that influenced Guevara and shaped his future. With five years spent on the film's making, Redford was credited by director Walter Salles for being instrumental in getting it made and released.[49] Back in front of the camera, Redford received good notices for his role in director Lasse Hallström's An Unfinished Life (2005) as a cantankerous rancher who takes in his estranged daughter-in-law (Jennifer Lopez) and the granddaughter he never knew, after they flee an abusive relationship.[50]

Meanwhile, Redford returned to familiar territory when he reteamed with Streep, 22 years after they starred in Out of Africa, for his personal project Lions for Lambs (2007), which also starred Tom Cruise. After a great deal of hype, the film opened to mixed reviews and disappointing box office. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Lions for Lambs is so square it's like something out of the gray twilight glow of the golden age of television. Even the military plot, which clunks, seems to be taking place on stage."[51] In 2010, Redford released The Conspirator, a period drama revolving around the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.[52] Redford appeared in the 2011 documentary Buck by Cindy Meehl, where he discussed his experiences with title subject Buck Brannaman during the production of The Horse Whisperer.[53] In 2012, Redford directed The Company You Keep, in which he starred as a former Weather Underground activist who goes on the run after a journalist discovers his identity. The film starred himself, Shia LaBeouf, and Julie Christie.[54]

2013–2025: Final roles and retirement

Redford with Shia LaBeouf on the red carpet
Redford and Shia LaBeouf at the Venice Film Festival in 2012

In 2013, Redford starred in All Is Lost, directed by J.C. Chandor, about a man lost at sea. He received acclaim for his performance in the film, in which he was its only cast member, and there is almost no dialogue. Redford was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor, his first time winning an acting honor from that group (he had been nominated in 1969 for Downhill Racer). Ali Arikan wrote in RogerEbert.com, "Chandor plays to Redford's strengths: his battered visage, calm determination, and detachment from the vagaries of a "normal" existence. In return, Redford gives the performance of the latter half of his career in a role that is not just physically, but also psychologically demanding".[55]

In April 2014, Redford played the main antagonist of the Marvel Studios superhero film Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Alexander Pierce, the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and leader of the Hydra cell operating the Triskelion.[56] Redford was a co-producer and, with Emma Thompson and Nick Nolte, acted in the film A Walk in the Woods (2015), based on Bill Bryson's book of the same name. Redford had optioned the film rights for the book from Bryson after reading it more than a decade earlier, with the intent of co-starring in it with Paul Newman, but had shelved the project after Newman's death.[57]

Also in 2015, he played news anchor Dan Rather in James Vanderbilt's Truth alongside Cate Blanchett. The film received mixed reviews with Justin Chang of Variety noting, "Redford, who bears a solid resemblance to Rather but not quite enough to make you forget whom you're watching, plays the veteran newsman with easy gravitas, inner strength and a gentle paternal twinkle, with little display of the anger and volatility for which he was often known over the course of his storied career."[58] In 2016, he took the supporting role of Mr. Meacham in the Disney remake Pete's Dragon. The next year, Redford starred in The Discovery and Our Souls at Night, both released on Netflix streaming in 2017. The latter film, which he also produced, reunited him with Fonda for the fifth time and garnered positive reviews.[59]

Redford played bank robber Forrest Tucker in the David Lowery–directed drama film The Old Man & the Gun, which was released in September 2018, and for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. Alissa Wikinson wrote in Vox, "In The Old Man & the Gun, both Redford and Lowery are returning to their roots. For Redford, a role as a lifelong bank robber feels like a fitting cap to a career effectively launched half a century ago with his role alongside Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."[60] In August 2018, Redford announced his retirement from acting after completion of the film,[61][62] though the following month, Redford stated that he "regretted" announcing his retirement because "you never know".[63]

He briefly reprised his role as Alexander Pierce with a cameo in Avengers: Endgame, filmed in 2017 before the completion of the former film.[64] Redford, an executive producer of the series Dark Winds, made a cameo alongside fellow executive producer George R. R. Martin portraying a detainee playing chess.[65]

Filmography and accolades

Main articles: Robert Redford filmography and List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford
U.S. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush pose with the Kennedy Center honorees (L-R), actress Julie Harris, actor Redford, singer Tina Turner, ballet dancer Suzanne Farrell and singer Tony Bennett on December 4, 2005, at a reception in the Blue Room at the White House

In his directing debut, Redford won the 1980 Academy Award for Best Director for the film Ordinary People. He was a 2002 Academy Honorary Award recipient at the 74th Academy Awards.[66] In 2017, he was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 74th Venice Film Festival.[67] On February 22, 2019, Redford received the Honorary César at the 44th César Awards in Paris.[68]

Redford attended the University of Colorado in the 1950s and received an honorary degree in 1988. In 1989, the National Audubon Society awarded Redford its highest honor, the Audubon Medal.[69] In 1995, he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Bard College. Redford received an honorary doctorate from Brown University in 2008.[70] He was a 2010 recipient of the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts.[71] In 2014, Redford was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.[72] In May 2015, Redford delivered the commencement address and received an honorary degree from Colby College in Maine.[73]

In 1996, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts from President Bill Clinton.[74] On October 14, 2010, Redford was appointed chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by President Nicolas Sarkozy.[75] On November 22, 2016, President Barack Obama honored Redford with a Presidential Medal of Freedom.[76] In December 2005, he received the Kennedy Center Honors for his contributions to American culture. The honors recipients are recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts: whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures, or television.[77]

In 2008, Redford received The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, one of the richest prizes in the arts, given annually to "a man or woman who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind's enjoyment and understanding of life."[78] The University of Southern California (USC) School of Dramatic Arts announced the first annual Robert Redford Award for Engaged Artists in 2009. According to the school's website, the award was created "to honor those who have distinguished themselves not only in the exemplary quality, skill and innovation of their work, but also in their public commitment to social responsibility, to increasing awareness of global issues and events, and to inspiring and empowering young people."[79]

Other ventures

Sundance Film Festival

Redford speaking on opening night of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival

With the financial proceeds of his acting success, starting with his salaries from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Downhill Racer, Redford bought a ski area on the east side of Mount Timpanogos, located in the Wasatch Mountains[80] northeast of Provo, Utah, called "Timp Haven."[81][82] He renamed it "Sundance" after his Sundance Kid character.[3] Redford's ex-wife Lola was from Utah and they had built a home in the area in 1963. Portions of the movie Jeremiah Johnson (1972), a film which was both one of Redford's favorites and one that heavily influenced him, were shot near the ski area.[83] Redford went on to create the Sundance Film Festival, which became the country's largest festival for independent films. The festival, which was initially known as the Utah/US festival, eventually would be named for Redford's "Sundance" land.[80] In 2008, Sundance exhibited 125 feature-length films from 34 countries, with more than 50,000 attendees in Salt Lake City[84][85] and Park City, Utah.[86] Robert Redford also founded the Sundance Institute, Sundance Cinemas, Sundance Catalog, and the Sundance Channel, all in and around Park City, 30 miles (48 km) north of the Sundance ski area.[3] Redford also owned a Park City restaurant, Zoom, that closed in May 2017.[87]

Production companies

Redford was the co-owner of Wildwood Enterprises, Inc., with Bill Holderman, producer, with the following film credits: Lions for Lambs; Quiz Show; A River Runs Through It; Ordinary People; The Horse Whisperer; The Legend of Bagger Vance; Slums of Beverly Hills; The Motorcycle Diaries; and The Conspirator.[88]

Redford was the president and co-founder of Sundance Productions, with Laura Michalchyshyn.[89] Sundance Productions produced Chicagoland (CNN), Cathedrals of Culture (Berlin Film Festival), The March (PBS) and Emmy nominee All The President's Men Revisited (Discovery), Isabella Rossellini's Green Porno Live!, and To Russia With Love on Epix.[90]

Following his founding of the nonprofit Sundance Institute in Park City, Utah, in 1981, Redford was deeply involved with independent film.[3] Through its various workshop programs and popular film festival, Sundance has provided support for independent filmmakers. In 1995, Redford signed a deal with Showtime to start a 24-hour cable television channel devoted to airing independent films. The Sundance Channel premiered on February 29, 1996.[91]

Personal life

Marriage and family

Redford in 1997

On August 9, 1958, Redford married Lola Van Wagenen in Las Vegas. A second reception was held at Van Wagenen's grandmother's home on September 12.[4] The couple had four children: Scott Anthony, Shauna Jean, David James, and Amy Hart. Scott died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) at the age of 2½ months. Shauna is a painter and married to journalist Eric Schlosser.[92] James was a writer and producer, and died in 2020.[93] Amy is an actress, director, and producer.[94] Redford had seven grandchildren.[95][96]

Redford and Van Wagenen never publicly announced a separation or divorce, but in 1982, entertainment columnist Shirley Eder reported that the pair "have been very much apart for several years."[97] In 1991, Parade magazine said, "it is unclear whether the divorce has been finalized."[98]

On July 11, 2009, Redford and his longtime girlfriend, Sibylle Szaggars[99], married at the Louis C. Jacob Hotel in Hamburg, Germany. She had moved in with Redford in 1996 and shared his home in Sundance, Utah.[100] In May 2011, Robert Redford: The Biography was published by Alfred A. Knopf, written by Michael Feeney Callan with Redford's cooperation, drawing extensively from his personal papers, diaries, and taped interviews.[101]

Although Redford primarily resided at the Sundance Resort in Utah, he owned a house in Tiburon, California, which was sold in 2024. He also had a property in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[102]

Political activism

Redford with U.S. President George H. W. Bush in 1989

Redford supported environmentalism, Native American rights, LGBT rights,[103] and the arts. He was a supporter of advocacy groups like the Political Action Committee of the Directors Guild of America.[104]

Redford supported Brent Cornell Morris in his unsuccessful campaign for the Republican nomination for Utah's 3rd congressional district in 1990.[104] Redford also supported Gary Herbert, another Republican and a friend, in Herbert's successful 2004 campaign to be elected Utah's Lieutenant Governor. Herbert later became Governor of Utah.[105]

Redford with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in 2009

As an avid environmentalist, Redford was a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He endorsed Democratic President Barack Obama for re-election in 2012.[106] Redford was the first quote on the back cover of Donald Trump's book Crippled America (2015), saying of Trump's candidacy, "I'm glad he's in there, being the way he is, and saying what he says and the ways he says it, I think shakes things up and I think that is very needed."[107][108] A representative later clarified that Redford's statement, taken from a longer conversation with Larry King, was not intended to endorse Trump for president.[109]

In 2019, Redford penned an op-ed in which he referred to Trump's administration as a "monarchy in disguise" and stated "[i]t's time for Trump to go".[110] Redford later co-authored another op-ed in which he criticized Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic while also citing the collective public response to the pandemic as a model for how to respond to climate change.[111] He criticized the decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.[112] In July 2020, Redford penned an op-ed in which he stated President Trump lacks a "moral compass". In the same piece, he announced that he would be supporting Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.[113]

Redford was opposed to the TransCanada Corporation's Keystone Pipeline.[114] In 2013, he was identified by its CEO, Russ Girling, for leading the anti-pipeline protest movement.[114] In April 2014, Redford, a Pitzer College Trustee, and Pitzer College President Laura Skandera Trombley announced that the college would divest fossil fuel stocks from its endowment; at the time, it was the higher education institution with the largest endowment in the U.S. to make this commitment. The press conference was held at the LA Press Club. In November 2012, Pitzer launched the Robert Redford Conservancy for Southern California Sustainability at Pitzer College.[115]

Death and tributes

On September 16, 2025, Redford died in his sleep at his home in Sundance, Utah, at the age of 89.[19][116] Numerous members of the entertainment industry paid tribute to Redford, including frequent co-star Jane Fonda, who wrote, "He meant a lot to me and was a beautiful person in every way. He stood for an America that we have to keep fighting for."[117] His Out of Africa co-star Meryl Streep wrote, "One of the lions has passed. Rest in peace, my lovely friend." His The Way We Were co-star Barbra Streisand released a lengthy statement, which read in part, "Bob was charismatic, intelligent, intense, always interesting—and one of the finest actors ever."[118]

Others who paid tribute to Redford include politicians such as U.S. President Donald Trump, former president Barack Obama, and former first lady Hillary Clinton; filmmakers and actors such as Morgan Freeman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Alec Baldwin, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore, Edward Norton, Josh Brolin, Ethan Hawke, Antonio Banderas, Marlee Matlin, Colman Domingo, Demi Moore, Ben Stiller, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Rita Wilson; author Stephen King; journalists Bob Woodward, Piers Morgan, and Maria Shriver; directors Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, James Gunn; and the Russo brothers.[119][120][93][121][122][123]

Legacy and reception

During his career, Redford was often described as a sex symbol, particularly during the 1970s.[124] The BBC called his appeal "all-American good looks [that] couldn't be ignored".[125] The Associated Press noted Redford's "wavy blond hair and boyish grin made him the most desired of leading men" during the height of his career.[124] However, Redford himself rejected the label of being a sex symbol. In a 1974 interview with The New York Times, Redford responded to his image as a symbol by saying "I never thought of myself as a glamorous guy, a handsome guy, any of that stuff. Suddenly, there's this image...Glamour image can be a real handicap. It is crap."[126]

Following Redford's death, an obituary published in Variety remarked that he "became a godfather for independent film as founder of the Sundance Film Institute", that "as a movie star in his prime, few could touch him" and that "in his '70s heyday, few actors possessed Redford's star wattage".[21] Writing for The Guardian, Andrew Pulver characterized Redford as a "giant of American cinema" and "one of the defining movie stars of the 1970s, crossing with ease between the Hollywood New Wave and the mainstream film industry".[127] The Los Angeles Times remembered Redford as a "generational icon".[49] In France, Culture Minister Rachida Dati praised him as "a giant of American cinema".[128]

The New York Times noted that Redford's films were known for depicting serious topics such as corruption and grief that "[resonated] with the masses", as he wanted his films to carry "cultural weight", and that Redford took "risks by exploring dark and challenging material".[19] He was hailed as one of "few truly iconic screen figures of the past half-century" and as "Hollywood's Golden Boy" by The Hollywood Reporter.[129] Filmmaker Ron Howard praised Redford and his work, calling him "a tremendously influential cultural figure" and an "artistic gamechanger".[130] His creation of the Sundance Film Festival was credited as a "boost [to] independent film-making".[130] After being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, The Salt Lake Tribune called Redford's Sundance Film Festival a "catalyst for an explosion of independent films".[131]

Time noted Redford's environmental activism, calling him "fiercely dedicated to pushing for a world that was habitable for all" while also mentioning that the Redford Foundation helped support environmentally friendly filmmaking.[132] His environmental awareness led to Fox News remembering Redford as a "Hollywood icon" [who] "committed himself to being a good steward of the environmental movement and a champion of the American Southwest".[133] In 2016, then-President Barack Obama called Redford "one of the foremost conservationists of our generation".[134]

References

  1.  "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1220/1221. August 17–24, 2012. p. 28.
  2.  Schlosser, Conor (November 8, 2024). "Keeping Nature in the Picture: An Interview with Robert Redford". Orion. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  3.  Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2005
  4.  Callan, Michael Feeney (2011). Robert Redford: The Biography. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780857206190. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  5.  Farber, Stephen (October 20, 1991). "Sponsored Archives: A Robert Redford Retrospective, Redford Turns West Again". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 16, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  6.  "New England Historic Genealogical Society". Archived from the original on December 12, 2005. Retrieved April 27, 2008.. Web.archive.org (December 12, 2005). Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  7.  "Redford discusses how Texas saved itself from serious environmental harm". Chron. March 23, 2008.
  8.  Cronin, Brian (July 14, 2011). "Did Robert Redford play high school baseball with Don Drysdale?". Los Angeles Times. (blog). Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  9.  "Polio battle sparked Redford's Jonas doco". Special Broadcasting Service. Australian Associated Press. February 13, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  10.  "Robert Redford". Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  11.  De Forest, Ben (August 10, 1983). "Redford plays a natural". The Dispatch. (Lexington, North Carolina). Associated Press. p. 9.
  12.  "Redford visits 'party school'". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. May 14, 1987. p. 7D.
  13.  "Entertainment/Media". Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Archived from the original on August 22, 2014.
  14.  "Entra". Flickr.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  15.  Robertson, Nan (October 4, 1984). "Academy of Dramatic Arts at 100". The New York Times.
  16.  Drew Casper, Hollywood Film 1963–1976: Years of Revolution and Reaction (2011), p. xlv
  17.  "Watch: For Robert Redford's first role ever, he took a punch on Maverick". Me-TV Network. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  18.  "Chris Hicks: Robert Redford cut his teeth on '60s TV". Deseret News. August 23, 2012. Archived from the original on July 16, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  19.  Barnes, Brooks (September 16, 2025). "Robert Redford, Screen Idol Turned Director and Activist, Dies at 89". The New York Times. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  20.  Breakdown, Rescue 8, March 31, 1960, retrieved August 9, 2022
  21.  "Robert Redford, 'Butch Cassidy' and 'All the President's Men' Icon, Dies at 89". Variety. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  22.  "Robert Redford, Hollywood legend indelibly linked to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting". Yahoo. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  23.  Gritten, David (August 27, 2004). "Robert Redford acts his age". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  24.  Kubincanek, Emily (September 24, 2018). "A Beginner's Guide to Robert Redford". Film School Rejects. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  25.  "Robert Redford's Career Highlights". femalefirst.co.uk. December 22, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  26.  Ebert, Roger (June 15, 1969). "Interview With Robert Redford". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on March 29, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  27.  "'The Candidate': THR's 1972 Review". The Hollywood Reporter. June 29, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  28.  Michael Gebert, The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards, St. Martin's Paperbacks, New York, 1996, p. 305.
  29.  Michael Gebert, The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards, St. Martin's Paperbacks, New York, 1996, p. 315.
  30.  Michael Gebert, The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards, St. Martin's Paperbacks, New York, 1996, p. 321.
  31.  Michael Gebert, The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards, St. Martin's Paperbacks, New York, 1996, p. 328.
  32.  Redford, Robert (1976). The Outlaw Trail: A Journey Through Time. New York: Grosset & Dunlap. pp. 8–13. ISBN 0448145901.
  33.  Michael Gebert, The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards, St. Martin's Paperbacks, New York, 1996, p. 355.
  34.  Harmetz, Aljean (April 1981). "'Ordinary People' Wins The Academy Award For Best". The New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  35.  "Ordinary People movie review". Roger Ebert.com. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  36.  "Brubaker movie review". Roger Ebert.com. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  37.  Michael Gebert, The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards, St. Martin's Paperbacks, New York, 1996, p. 401.
  38.  Earls, John (January 10, 2019). "'Bohemian Rhapsody' is the worst-reviewed Golden Globes winner in 33 years". NME. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  39.  "Film: Ivan Reitman's 'Legal Eagles'". The New York Times. June 18, 1986. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  40.  Ansen, David (September 18, 1994). "When America Lost Its Innocence – Maybe". Newsweek. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  41.  "Up Close and Personal". The New York Times. March 1, 1996. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  42.  Cryer, Vanessa (December 19, 2021). "Sneakers: Robert Redford and River Phoenix nerd out in 1992's prescient, high-tech caper". Guardian. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  43.  "Film Review; Golf Angel to the Rescue". The New York Times. November 3, 2000. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  44.  "Film Review; Manning the Ramparts for Old Glory". The New York Times. October 19, 2001. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  45.  "Robert Redford plans Candidate sequel". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  46.  Garber, Megan (September 29, 2016). "The Candidate and the Sequel That Never Was". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  47.  "Film Review; Now, It Isn't Nice to Foul Mother Nature". The New York Times. April 22, 2004. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  48.  McCarthy, Todd (June 25, 2004). "The Clearing". Variety. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  49.  "Robert Redford, Oscar-winning generational icon who founded the Sundance Institute, dies at 89". The Los Angeles Times. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  50.  McCarthy, Todd (September 13, 2004). "An Unfinished Life". Variety. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  51.  "Lions for Lambs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  52.  "History's Loose Ends, and a Tightening Noose". The New York Times. April 15, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  53.  "You Can Also Lead a Horse to Nirvana". The New York Times. June 12, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  54.  "Remembering the Side of the '60s That Wasn't All Peace and Love". The New York Times. April 5, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  55.  "All is Lost movie review & film summary". Rogerebert.com. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  56.  "Robert Redford Confirms Captain America: The Winter Soldier Role". Yahoo! News. April 3, 2013. Archived from the original on May 4, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  57.  Gajewski, Ryan (September 2, 2015). "'A Walk in the Woods' Director on Why Robert Redford Put Film on Shelf After Paul Newman's Death". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  58.  "Toronto Film Review: 'Truth'". Variety. September 13, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  59.  Our Souls at Night (2017), vol. Rotten Tomatoes, archived from the original on November 27, 2017, retrieved December 30, 2018,
  60.  "Robert Redford bids farewell to the silver screen in the pitch-perfect The Old Man & the Gun". Vox. September 25, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  61.  "Exclusive: Robert Redford announces he's retiring from acting". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  62.  Pulver, Andrew (August 6, 2018). "Robert Redford confirms retirement from acting". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  63.  "Robert Redford Reveals He Never Should Have Said He Is Retiring: 'That Was a Mistake'". People. September 21, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  64.  Means, Sean P. (April 30, 2019). "Robert Redford comes out of retirement for a strategic cameo in (spoiler alert!) 'Avengers: Endgame'". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  65.  Chaney, Jen (March 9, 2025). "How Dark Winds Scored Two Legends for a Premiere Cameo". Vulture. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  66.  "Nominees & Winners for the 74th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014.
  67.  "Biennale Cinema 2017 | Jane Fonda and Robert Redford Golden Lions in Venice". La Biennale di Venezia. July 18, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  68.  "Robert Redford Gets Honorary French 'Oscar'". Radio France Internationale. February 23, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  69.  "Previous Audubon Medal Awardees". January 9, 2015. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  70.  "Brown University to Confer Seven Honorary Degrees May 25" (Press release). Archived from the original on May 13, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  71.  "Award Winners". New Mexico Museum of Art. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  72.  Gibbs, Nancy. "Editor's Letter: The Ties That Bind the TIME 100". Time. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  73.  "Robert Redford". Commencement. May 24, 2015. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  74.  "Lifetime Honors: National Medal of Arts". nea.gov. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  75.  "SUNfiltered | Robert Redford Receives "Legion d'Honneur" from France's President Sarkozy". sundancechannel.com. October 14, 2010. Archived from the original on March 12, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  76.  "President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom". whitehouse.gov. November 16, 2016. Archived from the original on January 21, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2016 – via National Archives.
  77.  Files, John (December 5, 2005). "At Kennedy Center Honors, 5 More Join an Elite Circle". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 29, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  78.  "The Prize". The Dorothy & Lillian Gish Prize. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  79.  "Robert Redford Award for Engaged Artists". Archived from the original on August 26, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  80.  Smart, Jack (September 16, 2025). "How Robert Redford Changed Movies with the Sundance Film Festival: 'I've Devoted So Much of My Life to It'". People. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  81.  "Exclusive: Robert Redford sells Sundance Mountain Resort to pair of high-end resort firms". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  82.  "Robert Redford selling Sundance Mountain Resort; 300 acres to be preserved". Deseret News. December 12, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  83.  "Where Was Jeremiah Johnson Filmed?". The Cinemaholic. February 17, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  84.  Benedict, Patrick (March 28, 2025). "Robert Redford comments on Sundance Film Festival's move to Boulder | Gephardt Daily". Gephardt Daily. Archived from the original on June 22, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  85.  Moss, Linda (July 21, 2025). "Robert Redford-founded Sundance Living to shutter its stores".
  86.  Papp, Adrienne. "2008 Sundance Insider" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  87.  Gardner, Chris (November 10, 2016). "Robert Redford's Park City Restaurant Zoom to Close Its Doors". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  88.  "Wildwood Enterprises, Inc.—Production Company—Backstage". backstage.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  89.  "Watergate Reporting, the Second Draft". The New York Times. April 3, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  90.  "Who We Are—Sundance Productions". sundance-productions.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  91.  Kim, Gobi (January 1, 1998). "Programming Profile: The Sundance Channel—And the Festival Goes on... TV". Realscreen.com. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  92.  Fox, Courtney (February 12, 2021). "Robert Redford: Meet The Hollywood Legend's Four Children". Wide Open Country. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  93.  "Robert Redford, movie star and Sundance founder, dies at 89". The Washington Post. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  94.  Villas, Myra (March 6, 2016). "In Development: A Chat with Director Amy Redford". Villanova ICE Institute. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  95.  "Robert Redford praises younger wife Sibylle Szaggars, talks retirement". ABC7 Los Angeles. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  96.  Braun, Kelly (August 18, 2022). "Robert Redford's Family: Get to Know Kids James, Shauna, Amy and Scott". Closer Weekly. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  97.  Eder, Shirley (October 7, 1982). "Redfords have been living apart for a long time". Detroit Free Press. p. 13B.
  98.  "Walter Scott's Personality Parade." The Salt Lake Tribune. July 21, 1991.
  99.  Sibylle Redford, art.state.gov
  100.  "Robert Redford marries long-term girlfriend". The Daily Telegraph. London. July 15, 2009. Archived from the original on April 11, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  101.  Callan, Michael Feeney. Robert Redford: The Biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. ISBN 9780307272971.
  102.  "Robert Redford, 88, selling another California home to spend more time out of state". Business Insider.
  103.  "Robert Redford stands up for equal rights at Equality Utah Allies dinner". Dot429. September 17, 2013. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  104.  "Robert Redford's Federal campaign contributions". Newsmeat.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007.
  105.  "Robert Redford honored by Utah's leaders". Politico. Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 16, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  106.  Redford, Robert (October 19, 2012). "Why I'm Supporting President Obama". HuffPost. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  107.  Garland, Eric (September 2, 2015). "Robert Redford 'glad' Trump is running". Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  108.  Trump, Donald J. (November 5, 2015). Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again. Threshold Editions. ASIN 1501137964.
  109.  "Robert Redford Denies Endorsing Donald Trump for President". The Hollywood Reporter. September 8, 2015.
  110.  Redford, Robert (November 26, 2019). "Robert Redford: President Trump's dictator-like administration is attacking the values America holds dear". NBC News. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  111.  Redford, Robert; Redford, James (April 30, 2020). "Trump's coronavirus failures offer warnings and lessons about future climate change challenges". NBC News. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  112.  Redford, Robert (November 8, 2019). "Robert Redford: A race against time to undo damage caused by Trump". CNN. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  113.  Redford, Robert (July 7, 2020). "Robert Redford: This is who gets my vote in 2020". CNN. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  114.  "Robert Redford helping anti-pipeline cause, says TransCanada head". CBC News. November 30, 2013. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  115.  "Pitzer College". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014.
  116.  "Redford died in the mountains of Utah, surrounded by those he loved—publicist". BBC News. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025. Robert Redford's publicist Cindi Berger says the actor died earlier today at his home 'at Sundance in the mountains of Utah—the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved.'
  117.  Badshah, Nadeem; Bakare, Lanre. "Robert Redford dies: Meryl Streep leads tributes to giant of American cinema, saying 'one of the lions has passed' – latest updates". The Guardian. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  118.  "Barbra Streisand Pays Tribute to Robert Redford and the 'Pure Joy' of Making 'The Way We Were' Together: 'One of the Finest Actors Ever'". Variety. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  119.  "Meryl Streep Honors Robert Redford: 'One Of The Lions Has Passed'; Hollywood Tributes Pour In". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  120.  "'A Genius Has Passed': Tributes Pour in for Robert Redford After His Death". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  121.  "Robert Redford Death: Marvel, DCU Remember Oscar-Winning Actor – Russo Bros, James Gunn's Emotional Posts For 'THE Movie Star'". Times Now. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  122.  "Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand, Martin Scorsese, Morgan Freeman Pay Tribute to Robert Redford: 'He Stood for an America We Have to Keep Fighting for'". IndieWire. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  123.  "Scarlett Johansson reacts to death of Horse Whisperer costar Robert Redford: 'Bob taught me what acting could be'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  124.  "Robert Redford, Oscar-winning director, actor and indie patriarch, dies at 89". AP. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  125.  "Robert Redford: The enthralling star whose 'aura' lit up Hollywood". BBC. September 17, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  126.  "When Robert Redford opened up about being a reluctant sex symbol: 'Glamour image can be a real handicap. It is crap'". The Hindustan Times. September 17, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  127.  Pulver, Andrew (September 16, 2025). "Robert Redford, giant of American cinema, dies aged 89". The Guardian.
  128.  "Un lion s'en est allé : Meryl Streep, Donald Trump, Stephen King... réagissent après le décès de Robert Redford" (in French). Le Figaro. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  129.  "Robert Redford, Golden Boy of Hollywood, Dies at 89". The Hollywood Reporter. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  130.  "Acting legend Robert Redford dies aged 89". BBC. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  131.  "President Obama honors Robert Redford with America's top civilian award". The Salt Lake City Tribune. November 25, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  132.  "What Working On An Oil Field Taught Robert Redford About Climate Change". Time. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  133.  "Robert Redford remembered as climate activist, steward of American Southwest". Fox News. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  134.  "Remarks by the President at Presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom". Obama White House. November 22, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2025.

Further reading

==

==
https://hbr.org/2002/05/turning-an-industry-inside-out-a-conversation-with-robert-redford
Entrepreneurship

Turning an Industry Inside Out: A Conversation with Robert Redford


by Debra E. Meyerson and Bronwyn Fryer
From the Magazine (May 2002)



Sometimes we are drawn to a type of work or to an industry that has aspects that repel us. A doctor wants to do everything possible to help her patients heal but must grapple with the efficiencies forced by managed care. A car designer loves the speed and beauty of the machines he creates but also struggles with concerns about how auto emissions are affecting the environment. A vice president of marketing at a multinational corporation loves his job but is concerned about his company’s insensitivity to cultural differences.

Yet no matter how we rail against the status quo, most of us are reluctant to take action in the workplace. After all, sticking one’s neck out only invites the ax. Faced with a choice between our values and our jobs, most of us either resign ourselves to the situation or leave. Yet there is a third way, as Stanford University professor Debra E. Meyerson has argued in Tempered Radicals: How People Use Difference to Inspire Change at Work (Harvard Business School Press, 2001). Individuals can create large-scale change if they are willing to work incrementally from the inside. These “tempered radicals,” as Meyerson calls them, rock the boat without falling out of it. They work behind the scenes, engaging in a subtle form of grassroots leadership.

Meyerson describes Robert Redford as the “quintessential tempered radical.” Over the past 20 years or so, he has led a behind-the-scenes effort to change the movie industry. In 1981, shortly after he won a directorial Oscar for Ordinary People, Redford founded the Sundance Institute, an artists community in the mountains of Utah. He originally envisioned Sundance as a haven for budding writers and directors with promising ideas in their heads and little more than lint in their pockets. Through the years, Sundance has proved such a successful incubator of independent films that, perhaps ironically, it has become one of the most influential forces in Hollywood. Award-winning and cinematically groundbreaking films such as Boys Don’t Cry, The Blair Witch Project, and In the Bedroom were first screened at Sundance’s annual film festival, and a host of other films, directors, writers, and actors all caught their big breaks there. In a sense, Sundance has become to Hollywood what Silicon Valley has been to the high-tech industry.

Movie stars aren’t usually considered sources of business insight, but Redford’s unique ability to bring about successful change and his theory about how Sundance has affected the film industry make his a different voice worth listening to. (Redford’s article about negotiating between business and environmental concerns, “Search for the Common Ground,” was in the May–June 1987 issue of Harvard Business Review.) In conversations with Meyerson and HBR senior editor Bronwyn Fryer, Redford talked about his long battle to open up the U.S. film industry to artistic diversity. His multifaceted approach to change includes developing grassroots initiatives; earning credibility and then leveraging his successes; practicing the arts of compromise and persuasion in order to get projects accomplished; gathering support along the way; and, most important, demonstrating persistence. In this edited version of those conversations, Redford discusses the insider tactics he uses to instigate change—tactics that a patient manager in any industry can apply.



How should people who want to change their industries go about it?

There are two ways to change a system: You can work from the inside from the bottom up, or you can come in from the outside and change things from the top down. When you take the latter approach, you’d better know damn well what you’re doing, because it’s like running through a minefield. Look at [Hewlett-Packard’s] Carly Fiorina: I admire her because she’s an outsider trying to do something different at this old, family-run company. But she’s been hammered by internal politics.

A better way to change a system is to work through it as a bottom-up insider, quietly chipping away at standard operating procedures, creating small opportunities to do what you really want to do, until you achieve real success. Then you can break out your agenda in a larger way. But this method takes a long time, and an industry is an even tougher nut to crack than a single organization.

The best example of a change agent that I can think of is the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs hold inside knowledge about the way industries work, yet they’re not beholden to large corporate interests. In a way, when you’re building an entrepreneurial organization, you’re talking to yourself. You want to find and build a category of enterprise that you can live in. You have a higher purpose in mind. A good example is Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. He said, “I’m going to take recycled goods and fashion something for my kind of outdoors guy.” And he developed a very specific product for a specific market within the retail clothing industry—and damned if he didn’t surge ahead of the competition and create his own commercial space. Similarly, other successful entrepreneurs may find that the larger industry one day comes around to their way of thinking. Large corporations don’t tend to finance a ton of risky ventures, but they’re not stupid. They want to be on the right side of things when a good idea comes along. Sooner or later, they do look to entrepreneurs for new ideas. But before the industry comes around, those entrepreneurs may have to learn some very harsh lessons.

What kinds of harsh lessons did you have to learn?

I learned that the corporate powers that be aren’t going to be interested in the fruits of your labor and passion unless you are adept at understanding their agenda and speaking their language. You must always present yourself more conservatively than you privately feel you are. You can’t be forceful, loud, confrontational, or declarative. You have to sell what you have on their terms.

In 1969, I made my first independent film, Downhill Racer—a small, character-focused movie about a Pyrrhic victory. That was when I learned about how the film industry really works. I didn’t take an actor’s salary or a producer’s fee to make the film. I sacrificed a lot; it was real guerrilla filmmaking. Merely getting the idea on screen was far more meaningful to me than the money. I simply presumed that once the film was made, it would be distributed. I had no inkling that before we were even finished shooting, the studio had already written off my movie because they thought it wasn’t commercial. The film distribution system back then was a closed one—the studios and theater chains had relationships that went back 40 or 50 years. The studio simply tossed Downhill Racer away without a second thought. I broke my heart trying to get that film promoted and distributed. Of course, Hollywood isn’t about art; I knew that. But I wasn’t aware that if you really want a studio to make and distribute your film, you have to answer the only question that matters to the executives in the industry: How will your project make money?

Another hard lesson came during the 1970s, when I was a very vocal environmental activist. Because of my beliefs, I was burned in effigy, and there were threats to my life. It wasn’t fair to my family. I learned that direct confrontation can backfire. So over time and as a result of these experiences, I concluded that if you want to crack the system, you can’t hit it directly; you have to work behind the scenes. There were politicians like Pat Schroeder and Tom Harkin, activists from the 1960s who decided it was smarter to try to change government from within. I decided to try to apply a similar formula to the film distribution system, which had so poorly served filmmakers like myself.

It sounds like you also learned a harsh lesson about earning credibility.

Well, let’s face it—if you’re a movie star, you’re not likely to be taken seriously. I remember a moment in 1969, when I was asked to speak to a group of 300 bankers in Utah just after I’d purchased the Sundance property. I was nervous and gave a blistering, preaching speech to these bankers about corporate greed and whatnot. At the end, I was greeted with dead silence. As they filed out, the head of the group said, “I appreciate your comments. I just have one question.” I was expecting him to say something like, “What the hell do you know about banking?” But all he asked was, “Did you really jump off that cliff in Butch Cassidy?”

I learned a great deal about earning credibility from Joan Claybrook of [the public interest group] Public Citizen. She became head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and she taught me a lot about how to lobby in Washington. Joan taught me to start conversations with congress-people by talking about their interests first. For example, you say, “I know your part of the country,” and start on common ground that isn’t political. Once you establish that connection, you can say, “I understand there are other views, but here’s mine.” And then you very carefully, intelligently, and rationally lay out your argument, based on a lot of research and absolute control of your information.

Once you have earned credibility and are in a position to get what you want, you need to strike a series of devil’s bargains. To horse-trade with the devil, you have to look him squarely in the eye and make the right demands from him. The deal I struck was to trade on my success as an actor in order to make films that otherwise wouldn’t have been made because the studios thought they were not commercially viable. So before it was considered standard practice, I learned to request a two-picture deal. I would tell the studio, “Look, I’ll act in The Way We Were or The Great Gatsby if you’ll let me make The Candidate or Ordinary People.” I had to trade a sure thing for the right to experiment.

Sundance was a quietly radical experiment in change. Why do you think it worked?

Sundance is the latest in a string of naïve, grassroots experiments I began building on almost 30 years ago. Any experiment, of course, requires a certain element of risk because you’re dealing with the unknown. The secret is to learn from the experience and run the experiment again and again, in different environments, until you find the formula that works.

I discovered one base ingredient of Sundance’s formula a decade before the institute ever existed. It was an experiment in film distribution in the early 1970s, a nonprofit organization called Education, Youth, and Recreation, or EYR. We would buy up never-seen films—things like documentaries and short features—that were just lying around in cans in warehouses and release them independently on college campuses. The proceeds would help seed then-unknown filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and writers like Sam Shepard. But while we had a great vision, we miscalculated the finer points of marketing to students. The film buffs liked our package, sure, but most college kids just wanted to see Doctor Zhivago.

Looking back on it today, I realize that we should have gone at it more incrementally. Instead of charging at several campuses at once, we should have focused on being successful at just one, spread it to two, and so on. Had we approached the project on a smaller and slower basis, EYR probably would have succeeded. My problem was (and still is) that I am impatient. The initiative collapsed, but it has been partially reincarnated in Sundance’s educational work. We seed filmmakers from all over the world.

A later experiment that contributed to Sundance’s formula sprang from my conviction that environmental preservation is never a matter of choosing between protecting resources and promoting economic development; there’s good economics in environmental preservation. So in 1980, I formed the Institute for Resource Management (IRM), which brought industry and environmental groups together for three days of conflict resolution. Our first conference was on the future of the electric utility industry. We got the CEOs of Southern California Edison, Con Edison, and other energy companies to sit in a room with the heads of the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, and at the end of three days they began to understand one another’s viewpoints. The IRM model—put two very different groups of people together and see what they come up with—proved successful as a workshop. So we used a similar process to start the Sundance Institute in 1981.

The idea was to get experienced film-makers who had been through the mill and had had some success in the mainstream—people like Oliver Stone, Sydney Pollack, and George Roy Hill—to mentor rough-edged, inexperienced artists. They would work on projects together, everything from writing the stories to acting to staging to filming to editing. The young filmmakers would challenge the established guys, and the established filmmakers’ work became all the more provocative for it. As a result of this cross-fertilization, Sundance started to become a regenerating force for Hollywood, and commercial film-making came to be affected by what we were doing here.

How much does timing have to do with making change happen?

Timing is incredibly important. As it happened, the birth of Sundance coincided with several important cultural and business developments. There was the explosion of video in 1979 and the cable networks’ surge that same year. As a result, demand for content was high, but there was not enough of it to go around. It looked as if the only films we’d be left with on the rental racks and on cable would be reruns and quickies made for TV, which would result in a slow dumbing down of the audience. If you run low-quality content for too long, younger generations don’t really understand what good storytelling is all about—what art is.

Another change came, ironically, from Hollywood itself. By 1980, there were several trends going on. First, following the success of Star Wars, commercial films began relying very heavily on special effects, rather than on character and content, to drive plot. Second, the rise of MTV and music videos led to increased marketing toward, and control by, the youth market. Hollywood was shifting away from content-rich, character-based films. Young and daring filmmakers were stopped at the gate; there was really no place for anyone to see their films. These trends opened up the opportunity for Sundance to become a content leader. The cable TV and video distribution systems gave Sundance a clear advantage, because we could supply new, original films to those pipelines—films that told great stories with memorable characters. It was an excellent niche for us to slip into. By 1996, we had inserted ourselves into that pipeline—we had established the Sundance Channel, which offered one way to distribute films from inexperienced or unconventional writers, directors, and actors. And, of course, we invite the world to our door every January with the Sundance Festival.

So another tactic of change from the inside is to bring outsiders in?

Certainly. Once you make your proposition appealing to outsiders, they become your advocates. The marketing idea behind the festival was to appeal to “cool” on two fronts. First, the festival would show original films that couldn’t be seen anywhere else. It would also be cool, literally, to hold the festival in the mountains of Park City in the middle of winter. We thought making it hard to get to would make the festival more hip; people would feel like they’d survived the elements to get here, and that would make them feel special.

When the first studio people showed up, I dragged them off the street and into the screening rooms. David Putnam, who was the head of Columbia at that time, bought The Big Easy, which was the first of our films to achieve any commercial success. Eventually—and this caught me by surprise—people began flocking here because they were interested in the wonderful, diverse menu of films we were screening that started with El Norte and gained steam with Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Sundance was suddenly so cool that Hollywood simply couldn’t ignore it. In fact, Hollywood wanted to be “in” with it. When Hollywood came, the merchants came. And when the merchants came, fashion came. And when fashion came, the media came—and voilà, Sundance was a part of the mainstream.

What happens once the changes for which you’ve lobbied become part of the mainstream?

That’s when the really serious risk occurs. Once you’re successful, people want things from you. They flatter you. It’s easy to get ripped off. For beginning filmmakers at Sundance, the devil’s bargain is very tempting, and it’s easy for them to strike it the wrong way. If they go straight for the stardom, glamour, and money, they run the risk of sacrificing their artistic integrity. So at the beginning of the festival, I spend a few minutes talking to all the filmmakers. I remind them that Sundance is for them—and “them” means the films. I outline the bargain very clearly for them: “What will you do when a studio offers you a tidy sum in return for control over your next project?” I remind them that they have to decide how to negotiate this question, and I ask them if they are strong enough to stand up for their art.


“Success has to be handled gingerly. You want to shadowbox with it; you don’t want to really engage with success until you find a way to engineer it so that you don’t wind up being its slave.”

I try to convey to the artists that success has to be handled gingerly. You want to shadowbox with it; you don’t want to really engage with success until you find a way to engineer it so that you don’t wind up being its slave. That’s very hard to do, because your ego gets in the way. But if you don’t take on that challenge, it’s difficult to survive. Despite everything I try to share about all this, of course, a lot of them just surrender their souls to Hollywood. And that is weirdly fascinating to watch.

Can you ever stop pushing for change and just declare victory?

No, never. If you do, then the industry or the company or the project starts to backslide. You can’t let success lull you into complacency. In fact, lately I’ve been far more worried about Sundance’s successes than its failures. If you’re failing, you’re flying below the radar. You can continue to hack away at your project and try bold things. You figure, “I’m failing anyway, so what the hell? Why not try this?” Failing gives you the room to experiment and the ability to innovate. But success forces that encounter with the devil.

I began to get really nervous two years ago about the Sundance Festival’s tremendous success. At its core, nothing about the festival has changed. Our commitment to supporting a diversity of voices and talents in the arts remains the same, and we are programming the same way we do every year. But new tools of the trade—DVD and other digital technologies, pay-per-view features, and so on—present us with different challenges and opportunities. For example, digital technology lets artists make films more cheaply. So how does Sundance assist and protect them as they move down that road?

Media consolidation is another issue that, I think, is a terrible thing. When a few major corporations control the media, it cuts into diversity—and by that I mean the voices and viewpoints of a large variety of people from many cultures and walks of life. Ultimately, both the artists and the consumers get short shrift.

We have a good opportunity to respond to these things. It’s time for us to back out, release some of our locked-in relationships, and reinvent ourselves. Companies need to beware of bureaucratic buildup. It can be like sludge on the hull of a ship; it can weigh you down.

If we simply continue building on our current success, we’ll end up in a safe, conservative place that is anathema to art. But in confronting Sundance’s success, I am encountering the same difficulty that anyone who wants to change a business from the inside does: People who’ve worked very hard to achieve success want to hang on to everything they’ve got. So while everyone acknowledges the need for change, no one moves a muscle. Now is the time to push the envelope for Sundance. If we don’t do that, I don’t see any point in continuing.

You’ve been pushing for change on many different levels for a long time. What keeps you going?

Call it masochistic, but I don’t accept failure easily. And I’m very competitive. The good thing about Sundance is that I’m competing for what I consider to be a higher purpose: making the world safe for artistic diversity. If you want to bring about real, sustained change, you have to be constantly aware that you are not just taking care of yourself. You end up using whatever power you’ve gained to take care of yourself and others by creating a category that others like you can work in.

I have this theory that I call “returning to zero.” You return to zero when you think you’ve achieved something, when you’ve reached a plateau. When that happens, you have to go all the way back to square one and treat the experience of success as if it never happened. You start over from a new angle. You commit yourself to some new sacrifice and some new risk.

To be honest, I think careers are long for a reason. Knowing what I know now about the way things work, I’ve found it’s a little easier to drive change. And that’s good, because there’s a lot of work yet to be done.
A version of this article appeared in the May 2002 issue of Harvard Business Review.

DF


==


==
https://www.theguardian.com/film/live/2025/sep/16/robert-redford-dies-tributes-cinema-hollywood-legend-latest-news-updates


Robert Redford
‘One of the lions has passed’: Meryl Streep leads tributes to Robert Redford– as it happened
Star of Hollywood classics including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting and All the President’s Men, dies aged 89. This live blog is closed
-----
‘The star who changed Hollywood’: Peter Bradshaw on Robert Redford
One of Hollywood’s greatest: Robert Redford obituary
Robert Redford – a life in pictures
Nadeem Badshah and Lanre Bakare
Wed 17 Sep 2025 03.41 AEST
Share
Robert Redford.
View image in fullscreen
Robert Redford. Photograph: Jane Bown/The Observer
Live feed
From 1d ago
23.53 AEST
‘One of the lions has passed. Rest in peace my lovely friend’ – Meryl Streep pays tribute
Robert Redford poses on a balcony along Main Street decorated with his Sundance Film Festival banners in 2003
Robert Redford poses on a balcony along Main Street decorated with his Sundance Film Festival banners in 2003 Photograph: Douglas C Pizac/AP
Tributes are starting to appear on social media.


Meryl Streep, who starred in Out Of Africa and Lions For Lambs opposite Redford, said in a statement: “One of the lions has passed. Rest in peace my lovely friend.”


Redford and Streep in Out of Africa
Redford and Streep in Out of Africa Photograph: Cinetext Bildarchiv/Universal/Allstar
Stephen King said he was “part of a new and exciting Hollywood in the 70s and 80s”, while Marlee Matlin said a “genius has passed” and praised Redford for setting up Sundance film festival, which helped launch Coda.


Robert Redford has passed away. He was part of a new and exciting Hollywood in the 70s and 80s. Hard to believe he was 89.


— Stephen King (@StephenKing) September 16, 2025
Our film, CODA, came to the attention of everyone because of Sundance. And Sundance happened because of Robert Redford. A genius has passed. RIP Robert. pic.twitter.com/nwttVD1GvL


— Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) September 16, 2025
Redford founded the Sundance Film Institute in 1981 and it became a breeding ground for independent US cinema, helping to establish the careers of Richard Linklater, Ava DuVernay, Rian Johnson, Kevin Smith and Stephen Soderbergh.


Colman Domingo posted on X: “With love and admiration. Thank you Mr. Redford for your everlasting impact. Will be felt for generations. R.I.P.”


William Shatner has offered his “Condolences to the family of Robert Redford.”


James Dreyfus wrote on X: “RIP Robert Redford. Terrific actor, brilliant director. Truly legendary.”


Share
Updated at
00.35 AEST
Key events
1d ago
'An icon of cinema in every sense': Antonio Banderas on Robert Redford
1d ago
'We will miss his generosity and love for the creative process': Sundance statement about Redford
1d ago
Jane Fonda on Redford: ‘He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for’
1d ago
Trump on Redford: ‘There was a period of time when he was the hottest’
1d ago
‘One of the lions has passed. Rest in peace my lovely friend’ – Meryl Streep pays tribute
1d ago
Robert Redford, giant of American cinema, dies aged 89
1d ago
03.41 AEST
We are closing the blog now. Thanks for following our coverage.


Share
1d ago
03.41 AEST
The film-maker Ron Howard has also paid tribute.


He wrote on X: “#RIP & thank you RobertRedford, a tremendously influential cultural figure for the creative choices made as an actor/producer/director & for launching the Sundance Film Festival which supercharged America’s Independent Film movement. Artistic Gamechanger.”


Share
1d ago
03.39 AEST
Sundance Institute, founded by Redford that supports independent filmmaking, said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of our founder and friend Robert Redford.


The statement added: “Bob’s vision of a space and a platform for independent voices launched a movement that, over four decades later, has inspired generations of artists and redefined cinema in the U.S. and around the world.


“Beyond his enormous contributions to culture at large, we will miss his generosity, clarity of purpose, curiosity, rebellious spirit, and his love for the creative process.


“We are humbled to be among the stewards of his remarkable legacy, which will continue to guide the Institute in perpetuity.”


Share
1d ago
03.26 AEST
Hillary Clinton posted a photo on Instagram of herself and husband Bill meeting Robert Redford.


She wrote: “I always admired Robert Redford, not only for his legendary career as an actor and director but for what came next.


“He championed progressive values like protecting the environment and access to the arts while creating opportunities for new generations of activists and filmmakers. A true American icon.”


Share
Updated at
03.38 AEST
1d ago
03.16 AEST
Catherine Shoard
Catherine Shoard
Spencer Somers, a creative at Netflix, told the Guardian: “Used his handsome powers to do so much good for film, creators and the world at large.


“Extremely good looking people, please take note.”


Share
1d ago
03.02 AEST
Ronald Bergan
Ronald Bergan
Robert Redford, who has died aged 89, was the golden boy of American cinema for more than 50 years.


In one respect, with his blond good looks, he conformed to a mythic Californian stereotype, or what Dustin Hoffman called a “walking surfboard”. However, Redford managed to expand as much as he could within his limitations, once claiming: “I’m interested in playing someone who bats in 10 different ways.”


Redford, who was always ill at ease about his looks, was described by Sydney Pollack, for whom the actor made seven films (including the spy thriller Three Days of the Condor in 1975), as “an interesting metaphor for America, a golden boy with a darkness in him”. To many of his characterisations, he added a wry wit, able to hint, via subtle nuance, at a more complex psychology hidden beneath the surface.


Romantically flawed and fallen heroes were his forte, so he was perfectly cast in the title role of The Great Gatsby (1974). “I wanted Gatsby badly,” he commented. “He is not fleshed out in the book and the implied parts are fascinating.”


According to F Scott Fitzgerald’s description of the novel’s hero, “Jay Gatsby had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favour … he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a 17-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.” Redford, like Gatsby, carefully polished his image of an alluring, dispassionate, handsome icon.


Share
1d ago
02.44 AEST
Film director James Gunn shared a tribute to Redford on Instagram and wrote: “I grew up with his [Redford’s] movies: his quiet, unforced performances and ever-present grace. He was THE movie star, and will be greatly missed. Rest in Peace, Robert.”


Gunn also shared his top 10 Redford films which includes The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Candidate, Barefoot in the Park, and The Natural.


Share
1d ago
02.24 AEST
'An icon of cinema in every sense': Antonio Banderas on Robert Redford
The actor Antonio Banderas described Robert Redford as an “icon of cinema in every sense”.


He wrote on X: “Robert Redford leaves us, an icon of cinema in every sense. Actor, director, producer, and founder of the Sundance Festival. His talent will continue to move us forever, shining through the frames and in our memory. RIP.”


Share
Updated at
02.49 AEST
1d ago
02.04 AEST
Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah, the US state where Robert Redford lived and held the annual Sundance Film Festival, said the actor “fell in love with this place”.


“He cherished our landscapes and built a legacy that made Utah a home for storytelling and creativity.


“Through Sundance and his devotion to conservation, he shared Utah with the world. Today we honour his life, his vision, and his lasting contribution to our state.”


Share
1d ago
01.30 AEST
'We will miss his generosity and love for the creative process': Sundance statement about Redford
We are deeply saddened by the loss of our founder and friend Robert Redford.


Bob’s vision of a space and a platform for independent voices launched a movement that, over four decades later, has inspired generations of artists and redefined cinema in the US and around the world.


Beyond his enormous contributions to culture at large, we will miss his generosity, clarity of purpose, curiosity, rebellious spirit, and his love for the creative process. We are humbled to be among the stewards of his remarkable legacy, which will continue to guide the Institute in perpetuity.


Robert Redford attends a press conference to open the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
View image in fullscreen
Robert Redford attends a press conference to open the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Photograph: George Frey/EPA
Share
Updated at
02.57 AEST
1d ago
01.27 AEST
“They wanted Steve McQueen”


BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCEROBERT REDFORD & PAUL NEWMAN
View image in fullscreen
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE
ROBERT REDFORD & PAUL NEWMAN Photograph: 20th Century Fox/Sportsphoto/Allstar
Over at the Independent, Martin Chilton has retold the story of the making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It’s got some great 1970s Hollywood moments: doubts about Redford as leading man, Steve McQueen bailing on the project over who would get top billing and daft amounts of money being thrown around by inexperienced producers.


Newman was Goldman’s choice from the moment the film was bought, but the casting for Sundance was trickier. Fox initially wanted Jack Lemmon, who had appeared in a 1958 western called Cowboy along with Glenn Ford. Lemmon was not keen on spending a lot of time riding horses again and told them he was not interested. The studio then turned their attention to Steve McQueen and although he liked the script, he dropped out, reportedly in a disagreement over who got top billing.


Newman’s wife Joanne Woodward suggested 32-year-old Redford, who had appeared in a few films but was better known as a stage actor. Zanuck, who was a production manager on the film, thought Redford was too lightweight for the role and changed his mind only after seeing raw footage of Newman and Redford together and realising that they had a true chemistry on screen.


“I wasn’t that well known at the time and although my agency thought I would be right for the part, 20th Century didn’t want me,” Redford told a television interviewer more than 40 years later. “They wanted Steve McQueen. But George, the director, went to the mat for me. They kept forcing him to look at other candidates but eventually they ran out of other actors.”


It’s a great read.


Share
1d ago
00.46 AEST
Jane Fonda on Redford: ‘He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for’
One of Redford’s close friends and regular contributors, Jane Fonda, has released an emotional statement about him following his death.


“It hit me hard this morning when I read that Bob was gone,” she wrote. “I can’t stop crying. He meant a lot to me and was a beautiful person in every way. He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for.”


Redford and Fonda at theVenice Film Festival in 2017
View image in fullscreen
Redford and Fonda at theVenice Film Festival in 2017
Photograph: Claudio Onorati/EPA
The pair worked together on western dramedy the Electric Horseman, Gene Saks’ 1967 rom-com Barefoot in the Park, Arthur Penn directed the Chase (alongside Marlon Brando) and 1960 rom-com Tall Story.


BAREFOOT IN THE PARK
View image in fullscreen
BAREFOOT IN THE PARK Photograph: Ronald Grant
They were both awarded a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 2017 Venice film festival, where they also promoted their film Our Souls at Night.


Redford called working with Fonda, “easy”.


He added: “We’ve done many films over the years so it just worked out that way, that there was not a lot of discussion, we didn’t have to talk about a lot. Things just kind of fell into place between us, and there wasn’t much more to think about.”


Share
Updated at
00.50 AEST
1d ago
00.31 AEST
Trump on Redford: ‘There was a period of time when he was the hottest’
The president has chimed in on the death of Redford, saying: “Robert Redford had a series of years where there was nobody better.”


Trump told reporters as he left the White House after a journalist told him that Redford had died. “There was a period of time when he was the hottest. I thought he was great.”


Redford’s stance on Trump changed over the years. In 2015 he told Larry King: “Look he’s got such a big foot in his mouth, I’m not sure you’re going to get it out. But on the other hand, I’m glad he’s in there.”


US President Trump departs for a state visit to Britain
View image in fullscreen
US President Trump departs for a state visit to Britain
Photograph: Ken Cedeno/Reuters
He added: “I’m glad he’s in there because him being the way he is, and saying what he says the way he says it, I think shakes things up and I think that’s very needed. Because on the other side, it’s so bland, it’s so boring, it’s so empty.”


Four years later during the calls for Trump’s impeachment, Redford’s opinion shifted. “It is painfully clear we have a president who degrades everything he touches,” he wrote in a Washington Post comment piece. “A person who does not understand (or care?) that his duty is to defend our democracy.”


He expanded on those thoughts later in the same year, admitting he wanted to “give the guy a chance” when Trump was first elected. But he concluded that: “Instead of the United States of America, we are now defined as the Divided States of America”.


Share
Updated at
00.36 AEST
1d ago
00.24 AEST
‘Tech deprives us of being inventive on our own’


Robert Redford
View image in fullscreen
Robert Redford Photograph: The Guardian
The Guardian sat down with Redford in 2016 when he was promoting Disney’s remake of 1977 cult classic Pete’s Dragon, which we called: “Part ET, part Jungle Book, part Peanuts. It’s sweet and soulful and Spielberg-ish, but with a bitter streak”.


The conversation quickly veered away from the film’s story concerning the friendship between a young boy and a dragon and into the threat to creativity that technology presented, back when few people had heard the term Large Language Model.


“I grew up at a time when there was no television, there was just radio. You didn’t have the aggressive technology you have today. There’s so much high tech that it deprives us of being inventive on our own. Technology deprives us of coming up with our own stories. We’re relying on stories being fed to us through technology and since I grew up at a time when that didn’t exist, you had to make up your own stories.”


The full interview with Guardian US collaborator Dave Schilling is here:


Robert Redford: ‘Technology deprives us of coming up with our own stories’ Guardian
Share
Updated at
00.29 AEST
1d ago
00.06 AEST
Ryan Gilbey
Ryan Gilbey
Redford and Demi Moore in Indecent Proposal
View image in fullscreen
Redford and Demi Moore in Indecent Proposal Photograph: Cinetext/Paramount/Allstar
Back in 2019, Ryan Gilbey set about ranking Redford’s top ten performances.


As always with Ranked, positioning and omissions are supposed to spark debate (or ignite endless arguing. Should Indecent Proposal have been excluded from the top ten? Was All the President’s Men only worthy of fourth place? The debate continues. Here’s Ryan’s number one entry, the aforementioned Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid:


Redford’s sole Oscar nomination for acting was, rather shockingly, for The Sting, a complacent 1973 con-man comedy. But it was his first pairing with Sting co-star Paul Newman that distils the performer’s essence. Although the movie is unable to fess up to its bromantic longings – did any woman in a buddy movie ever look more like a gooseberry than poor Katharine Ross? – it’s still worth seeing for Redford’s sunny charm. Even then, it seemed to trouble him faintly, as though he was worried we might take him for a himbo. The studio did. “He’s just another California blond,” said one executive. “Throw a stick out of a window in Malibu, you’ll hit six like him.” But Newman helped win him the part. Redford got a shock when he saw the first cut. “I said: ‘What the hell is that song doing in there? Raindrops? It’s not even raining. On a bicycle?’”


The full top ten is:


10. Brubaker (1980)


9. The Twilight Zone – “Nothing in the Dark” (1962)


8. The Great Gatsby (1974)


7. Sneakers (1992)


6. Three Days of the Condor (1975)


5. All Is Lost (2013)


4. All the President’s Men (1976)


3. The Candidate (1972)


2. Downhill Racer (1969)


1. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)


Share
1d ago
23.53 AEST
‘One of the lions has passed. Rest in peace my lovely friend’ – Meryl Streep pays tribute
Robert Redford poses on a balcony along Main Street decorated with his Sundance Film Festival banners in 2003
View image in fullscreen
Robert Redford poses on a balcony along Main Street decorated with his Sundance Film Festival banners in 2003 Photograph: Douglas C Pizac/AP
Tributes are starting to appear on social media.


Meryl Streep, who starred in Out Of Africa and Lions For Lambs opposite Redford, said in a statement: “One of the lions has passed. Rest in peace my lovely friend.”


Redford and Streep in Out of Africa
View image in fullscreen
Redford and Streep in Out of Africa Photograph: Cinetext Bildarchiv/Universal/Allstar
Stephen King said he was “part of a new and exciting Hollywood in the 70s and 80s”, while Marlee Matlin said a “genius has passed” and praised Redford for setting up Sundance film festival, which helped launch Coda.


Robert Redford has passed away. He was part of a new and exciting Hollywood in the 70s and 80s. Hard to believe he was 89.


— Stephen King (@StephenKing) September 16, 2025
Our film, CODA, came to the attention of everyone because of Sundance. And Sundance happened because of Robert Redford. A genius has passed. RIP Robert. pic.twitter.com/nwttVD1GvL


— Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) September 16, 2025
Redford founded the Sundance Film Institute in 1981 and it became a breeding ground for independent US cinema, helping to establish the careers of Richard Linklater, Ava DuVernay, Rian Johnson, Kevin Smith and Stephen Soderbergh.


Colman Domingo posted on X: “With love and admiration. Thank you Mr. Redford for your everlasting impact. Will be felt for generations. R.I.P.”


William Shatner has offered his “Condolences to the family of Robert Redford.”


James Dreyfus wrote on X: “RIP Robert Redford. Terrific actor, brilliant director. Truly legendary.”


Share
Updated at
00.35 AEST
1d ago
23.38 AEST
Scott Tobias
BUTCH CASSIDY AND SUNDANCE KIDPAUL NEWMAN and ROBERT REDFORD POSTER
View image in fullscreen
BUTCH CASSIDY AND SUNDANCE KID
PAUL NEWMAN and ROBERT REDFORD POSTER Photograph: 20th Century Fox/Sportsphoto/Allstar
Our picture editors have pulled together a life in pictures gallery of Redford, which runs through his astonishing career. It spans his early career as an unlikely star and includes his honorary Oscar and the award of his Presidential Medal of Freedom.


There are a couple of entries that cover his collaborations with Paul Newman, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (poster above). Here’s an excerpt from Scott Tobias’ 50th anniversary piece from 2019:


Right away, Goldman establishes Butch as a charismatic mouthpiece for the quip-ready screenwriter, contrasting nicely with the Sundance Kid, Robert Redford’s taciturn sharpshooter. But he’s also created two heroes who break the western mold, neither justice-seeking white-hats nor grizzled, sneering black-hats, and not as traditionally masculine as either party. Butch is a man who appreciates beauty and art, but doesn’t have the stomach for violence; it’s not until late in the film that we (and the Kid) discover that he’s never shot a man before and he looks sickened to have to do it. He’s a pleasure-seeker above all else: robbing banks and trains are his way to make an easy living and enjoy whatever sinful freedoms his vocation affords him.


Audiences in 1969 were all too happy to embrace the light, quippy irreverence of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid after a turbulent summer, and Goldman, director George Roy Hill, and the two impossibly handsome stars made them feel cool for doing it. True Grit had performed well earlier in the year as a throwback to the genre’s past, giving John Wayne a proper victory lap, but Butch Cassidy was thoroughly modern, a star-making vehicle for Newman and Redford that reflected a need for the genre to turn the page and that feels as much of its time as it does authentic to Wyoming in the late 1890s. With Ross at the center of a love triangle between friends, the film attempted to bring Jules and Jim to the American mainstream, taking a lesson from the French new wave on how to revivify old Hollywood craft.


It still works spectacularly well.


The full gallery is here.


Share
1d ago
23.22 AEST
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Robert Redford began his career as a blond bombshell at a time when American cinema favoured grit, then turned into a supremely assured director and unlikely keeper of the indie flame, writes Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw in his appreciation:


As the 1960s turned into the 1970s, it wasn’t cool for star actors to be good-looking. The style was more a scuffed, grizzled, bleary, sweaty, paunchy and shlubby realness. The fashion was for leading men like Gene Hackman, Jack Nicholson, Woody Allen. Even a very beautiful man like Paul Newman had a kind of rugged, daylit quality. But Robert Redford was very different. Here was a supremely beautiful movie star who went on to direct, produce and then be the guardian and gatekeeper of commercial-indie US cinema at his Sundance Institute. And he was always an outlier.


When movie audiences thrilled to George Roy Hill’s western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969, they knew that in breakout star Redford they had an almost indecently attractive male, however much he might dress it down with buckskins and moustaches, playing the devil-may-care outlaw Sundance Kid himself. His sardonic charisma and sexiness shone through. And when he cleaned himself up for other roles, teaming up again with Newman for the Jazz Age conmen caper The Sting in 1973, the effect was electric. Neatly trimmed and shaved, Robert Redford was just outrageously handsome, incandescently handsome, he was handsomeness on legs. His photograph was in the dictionary next to “handsome”.


Share
1d ago
23.16 AEST
Robert Redford, giant of American cinema, dies aged 89
Robert Redford, star of Hollywood classics including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting and All the President’s Men, has died aged 89.


Redford’s publicist Cindi Berger says the actor died earlier today at his home “at Sundance in the mountains of Utah - the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved.”


“He will be missed greatly,” Berger says, adding that the family are requesting privacy.


Redford was one of the defining movie stars of the 1970s, crossing with ease between the Hollywood new wave and the mainstream film industry, before also becoming an Oscar-winning director and producer in the ensuing decades. He played a key role in the establishment of American independent cinema by co-founding the Sundance film festival.


Born Charles Robert Redford in 1936, he grew up in Los Angeles and, after he was expelled from the University of Colorado, studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Redford’s film breakthrough arrived in 1965: an eye-catching role as a bisexual film star in Inside Daisy Clover opposite Natalie Wood, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe.


After a series of solid Hollywood films, including The Chase and a screen adaptation of Barefoot in the Park, Redford had a huge hit with the 1969 outlaw western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in which he starred opposite Paul Newman and Katharine Ross. It was nominated for seven Oscars, though none were for the actors.


Read the full story here:


Share
==


==

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)