Robert Redford: ‘Butch Cassidy’ and ‘Sundance Kid’ Icon, dies at 89

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.

Cindi Berger, his publicist, didn’t give a cause of death but said he died at his home “in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved. He will be missed greatly. The family requests privacy.”

After rising to stardom in the 1960s, Redford was one of the biggest stars of the ‘70s with such films as ‘The Candidate,’ ‘All the President’s Men’ and ‘The Way We Were,’ capping that decade with the best director Oscar for 1980’s ‘Ordinary People,’ 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 — whether through his political advocacy, his willingness to take on unglamorous roles or his dedication to providing a platform for low-budget movies.

“He’s a very instinctive, impulsive actor,” the late Sydney Pollack told Variety in 2002.

“I don’t think there’s anything studied or premeditated about the work. He’s the opposite of the actor who wants to rehearse and pin things down.”

Starring opposite Jane Fonda, ‘Barefoot in the Park’ was Redford’s big screen breakthrough in 1967. He further solidified his status as a Hollywood star with iconic roles in classics like ‘The Sting’ and ‘All the President’s Men.’

Redford also took on the role of the enigmatic Jay Gatsby in the 1974 film adaptation of ‘The Great Gatsby.’ While the film received mixed reviews overall, Redford’s performance was widely praised for its elegance and depth, helping to anchor the lavish production and solidify his status as a leading man in Hollywood.

In 1980, Redford won an Academy Award for his directorial debut, ‘Ordinary People’, and in 2002, he was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Oscar.

While Redford was one of Hollywood’s most in-demand leading men throughout the ’70s and ’80s, the Sundance Film Institute — and the festival that carries its name — stands as an equally enduring part of his legacy.

In 1981 Redford founded the Sundance Institute as a non-profit organization to support emerging independent filmmakers in a a direct response to the dominance of Hollywood studios, which often overlooked unique or unconventional voices.

Redford and the Institute rebranded and relaunched it as the Sundance Film Festival in the mid-1980s. Under his leadership, it grew into the premier showcase for independent film in the US, and one of the most respected festivals globally.

“Sundance is only one of his truly remarkable achievements,” said Frank Pierson, the writer-director-producer who was the Academy’s president at the time.

“When you look at the sum total of everything he has done as a producer, director and actor, there are not many people who have dedicated themselves so completely to their ideals as Bob Redford.”

Redford was born in Santa Monica, California in 1936 and grew up in a working class family.

“It was one of the happier times of my memory because everybody was united by the war effort,” Redford said of his early childhood in 2009.

Redford briefly attended the University of Colorado, but left due to academic struggles and personal challenges, including a battle with alcohol.

Eager to pursue art, he travelled to Europe and later studied painting at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, then acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

Away from the spotlight, Redford led a deeply personal life marked by both family joy and heartbreak. He married historian and activist Lola Van Wagenen in 1958, and the couple had four children. Tragically, their first son, Scott, died in infancy and David James Redford died of cancer in 2020.

Redford and Van Wagenen divorced in 1985 after nearly three decades of marriage. In 2009, he married German artist Sibylle Szaggars, and the two made their home in Utah where he lived until his death.

Redford’s last on-screen acting job was in “Avengers: Endgame,” in which he reprised his role as Secretary Alexander Pierce and joined several other Marvel vets such as Michael Douglas and Tilda Swinton.

He is survived by his wife, Szaggars, and two children from his previous marriage to Van Wagenen: Shauna Jean Redford and Amy Hart Redford.