Robert Redford, the Hollywood golden boy who became an Oscar-winning director, liberal activist and godfather for independent cinema under the name of one of his best-loved characters, died Tuesday at 89.
Redford died 鈥渁t his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah 鈥 the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,鈥 publicist Cindi Berger said in a statement. No cause of death was provided.
After rising to stardom in the 1960s, Redford was one of the biggest stars of the 鈥70s with such films as 鈥淭he Candidate,鈥 鈥淎ll the President鈥檚 Men鈥 and 鈥淭he Way We Were,鈥 capping that decade with the best director Oscar for 1980's 鈥淥rdinary People,鈥 which also won best picture in 1980. His wavy blond hair and boyish grin made him the most desired of leading men, but he worked hard to transcend his looks 鈥 whether through his political advocacy, his willingness to take on unglamorous roles or his dedication to providing a platform for low-budget movies.
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His roles ranged from Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward to a mountain man in 鈥淛eremiah Johnson鈥 to a double agent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and his co-stars included Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise. But his most famous screen partner was his old friend and fellow activist and practical joker Paul Newman, their films a variation of their warm, teasing relationship off screen. Redford played the wily outlaw opposite Newman in 1969鈥檚 鈥淏utch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,鈥 a box-office smash from which Redford's Sundance Institute and festival got its name. He also teamed with Newman on 1973鈥檚 best picture Oscar winner, 鈥淭he Sting,鈥 which earned Redford a best-actor nomination as a young con artist in 1930s Chicago.
Film roles after the 鈥70s became more sporadic as Redford concentrated on directing and producing, and his new role as patriarch of the independent-film movement in the 1980s and 鈥90s through his Sundance Institute. But he starred in 1985鈥檚 best picture champion 鈥淥ut of Africa鈥 and in 2013 received some of the best reviews of his career as a shipwrecked sailor in 鈥淎ll is Lost,鈥 in which he was the film鈥檚 only performer. In 2018, he was praised again in what he called his farewell movie, 鈥淭he Old Man and the Gun.鈥
鈥淚 just figure that I鈥檝e had a long career that I鈥檓 very pleased with. It鈥檚 been so long, ever since I was 21,鈥 he told The Associated Press shortly before the film came out. 鈥淚 figure now as I鈥檓 getting into my 80s, it鈥檚 maybe time to move toward retirement and spend more time with my wife and family.鈥
Director Sydney Pollack, left, appears with actors Robert Redford, center, and Barbra Streisand during the filming of "The Way We Were" in New York on Nov. 28, 1972.
Sundance is born
Redford had watched Hollywood grow more cautious and controlling during the 1970s and wanted to recapture the creative spirit of the early part of the decade. Sundance was created to nurture new talent away from the pressures of Hollywood, the institute providing a training ground and the festival, based in Park City, Utah, where Redford had purchased land with the initial hope of opening a ski resort. Instead, Park City became a place of discovery for such previously unknown filmmakers as Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson and Darren Aronofsky.
鈥淔or me, the word to be underscored is 鈥榠ndependence,鈥欌 Redford told the AP in 2018. 鈥淚鈥檝e always believed in that word. That鈥檚 what led to me eventually wanting to create a category that supported independent artists who weren鈥檛 given a chance to be heard.
鈥淭he industry was pretty well controlled by the mainstream, which I was a part of. But I saw other stories out there that weren鈥檛 having a chance to be told and I thought, 鈥榃ell, maybe I can commit my energies to giving those people a chance.鈥 As I look back on it, I feel very good about that.鈥
Sundance was even criticized as buyers swarmed in looking for potential hits and celebrities overran the town each winter.
鈥淲e have never, ever changed our policies for how we program our festival. It鈥檚 always been built on diversity,鈥 Redford told the AP in 2004. 鈥淭he fact is that the diversity has become commercial. Because independent films have achieved their own success, Hollywood, being just a business, is going to grab them. So when Hollywood grabs your films, they go, 鈥極h, it鈥檚 gone Hollywood.鈥欌
By 2025, the festival had become so prominent that organizers decided they had outgrown Park City and approved relocating to Boulder, Colorado, starting in 2027. Redford, who had attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, issued a statement saying that 鈥渃hange is inevitable, we must always evolve and grow, which has been at the core of our survival.鈥
Redford was married twice, most recently to Sibylle Szaggars. He had four children, two of whom have died 鈥 Scott Anthony, who died in infancy, in 1959; and James Redford, an activist and filmmaker who died in 2020.
Actors Robert Redford and Jane Fonda hug as they pose for photographers at the photo call of the film "Our Souls at Night" during the 74th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 1, 2017.聽
Redford's early life
Robert Redford was born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on Aug. 18, 1937, in Santa Monica, a California boy whose blond good looks eased his way over an apprenticeship in television and live theater that eventually led to the big screen.
Redford attended college on a baseball scholarship and would later star as a middle-aged slugger in 1984鈥檚 鈥淭he Natural,鈥 the adaptation of Bernard Malamud鈥檚 baseball novel. He had an early interest in drawing and painting, then went on to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, debuting on Broadway in the late 1950s and moving into television on such shows as 鈥淭he Twilight Zone,鈥 鈥淎lfred Hitchcock Presents鈥 and 鈥淭he Untouchables.鈥
After scoring a Broadway lead in 鈥淪unday in New York,鈥 Redford was cast by director Mike Nichols in a production of Neil Simon鈥檚 鈥淏arefoot in the Park,鈥 later starring with Fonda in the film version. Redford did miss out on one of Nichols鈥 greatest successes, 鈥淭he Graduate,鈥 released in 1967. Nichols had considered casting Redford in the part eventually played by Dustin Hoffman, but Redford seemed unable to relate to the socially awkward young man who ends up having an affair with one of his parents鈥 friends.
鈥淚 said, 鈥榊ou can鈥檛 play it. You can never play a loser,鈥欌 Nichols said during a 2003 screening of the film in New York. 鈥淎nd Redford said, 鈥榃hat do you mean? Of course I can play a loser.鈥 And I said, 鈥極K, have you ever struck out with a girl?鈥 and he said, 鈥榃hat do you mean?鈥 And he wasn鈥檛 joking.鈥
President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to actor Robert Redford during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Nov. 22, 2016, in Washington.
Indie champion, mainstream star
Even as Redford championed low-budget independent filmmaking, he continued to star in mainstream Hollywood productions himself, scoring the occasional hit such as 2001鈥檚 鈥淪py Game,鈥 which co-starred Brad Pitt, an heir apparent to Redford鈥檚 handsome legacy whom he had directed in 鈥淎 River Runs Through It.鈥
Ironically, 鈥淭he Blair Witch Project,鈥 鈥淕arden State,鈥 鈥淣apoleon Dynamite鈥 and other scrappy films that came out of Sundance sometimes made bigger waves 鈥 and more money 鈥 than some Redford-starring box-office duds like 鈥淗avana,鈥 鈥淭he Last Castle鈥 and 鈥淎n Unfinished Life.鈥
Redford also appeared in several political narratives. He satirized campaigning as an idealist running for U.S. senator in 1972鈥檚 鈥淭he Candidate鈥 and uttered one of the more memorable closing lines, 鈥淲hat do we do now?鈥 after his character manages to win. He starred as Woodward to Hoffman鈥檚 Carl Bernstein in 1976鈥檚 鈥淎ll the President鈥檚 Men,鈥 the story of the Washington Post reporters whose Watergate investigation helped bring down President Richard Nixon.
With 2007鈥檚 鈥淟ions for Lambs,鈥 Redford returned to directing in a saga of a congressman (Tom Cruise), a journalist (Meryl Streep) and an academic (Redford) whose lives intersect over the war on terrorism in Afghanistan.
His biggest filmmaking triumph came with his directing debut on 鈥淥rdinary People,鈥 which beat Martin Scorsese鈥檚 classic 鈥淩aging Bull鈥 at the Oscars. The film starred Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore as the repressed parents of a troubled young man, played by Timothy Hutton, in his big screen debut. Redford was praised for casting Moore in an unexpectedly serious role and for his even-handed treatment of the characters, a quality that Roger Ebert believed set 鈥渢he film apart from the sophisticated suburban soap opera it could easily have become.鈥
Redford鈥檚 other directing efforts included 鈥淭he Horse Whisperer,鈥 鈥淭he Milagro Beanfield War鈥 and 1994's 鈥淨uiz Show,鈥 the last of which also earned best picture and director Oscar nominations. In 2002, Redford received an honorary Oscar, with academy organizers citing him as 鈥渁ctor, director, producer, creator of Sundance, inspiration to independent and innovative filmmakers everywhere.鈥
鈥淭he idea of the outlaw has always been very appealing to me. If you look at some of the films, it鈥檚 usually having to do with the outlaw sensibility, which I think has probably been my sensibility. I think I was just born with it,鈥 Redford said in 2018. 鈥淔rom the time I was just a kid, I was always trying to break free of the bounds that I was stuck with, and always wanted to go outside.鈥
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