Robert Redford, the handsome and charismatic actor who moved behind the camera to become an Oscar-winning filmmaker, has passed away in his sleep on September 16th at the age of eighty-nine. Not only did Redford become one of the biggest movies stars on the planet but he was a political activist who used his fame to bring attention to several causes that were important to him like environmentalism and indigenous people's rights. He also went on to help create the Sundance Film Festival which became one of the first and largest festivals that focused on independent cinema.
From the beginning after deciding to become an actor, Redford sought out roles that would challenge him, never wanting to be typecast in parts that focused on his looks. He appeared in numerous television dramas and small roles in feature films before getting his first big break on stage in 1963 after being cast in Neil Simon's latest Broadway show, "Barefoot in the Park", a romantic-comedy directed by Mike Nichols. The show was a hit, helping to create some buzz around the fledgling actor. In 1965, Redford was given a supporting role in "Inside Daisy Clover", a Hollywood-set drama starring Natalie Wood. It wasn't much of a critical or box-office success but they appeared together again the following year as co-stars in "This Property Is Condemned", directed by Sydney Pollack, that managed to achieve some acclaim. Redford also appeared for the first time with Jane Fonda that year in the all-star flop, "The Chase" (that included Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall and Angie Dickinson in the cast) before they starred together in the film version of "Barefoot in the Park" in 1967. This became a smash hit, helping to create Redford as a true film star.
But what made Redford go from a popular movie actor to an international cinema superstar began with George Roy Hill's western, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" in 1969. Paired with another major star, Paul Newman, the film followed these Wild West outlaws on the run from a posse after their string of train robberies. The film went on to earn over one hundred million dollars at the box-office and won four Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay for William Goldman and Best Original Song for "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head". This was followed by a string of popular films starring Redford: "The Way We Were" (with Barbra Streisand), "The Sting" (which reteamed him with Newman), "Jeremiah Johnson", "The Great Waldo Pepper", "Three Days of the Condor" and "All the President's Men"
Redford soon began to look for a new challenge which lead him to sit in the director's chair. The 1980 drama, "Ordinary People", based on the novel by Judith Guest, follows the disintegration of a wealthy family following the accidental death of one of their two sons and the attempted suicide of the other. Another box-office hit, the film was nominated for six Academy Awards, taking home four which included Best Director and Best Picture. Redford would go on to direct "The Milagro Beanfield War", "A River Runs Through It", "Quiz Show", "The Legend of Bagger Vance", "Lions for Lambs" "The Horse Whisperer" and "The Company You Keep"
He was born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on August 18th in Santa Monica, California of Irish, Scottish, and English ancestry. He had suffered from a mild case of polio when he was eleven but recovered and excelled in sports during high school. But Redford also had an interest in the creative arts. After graduating from high school in 1954, he attended the University of Colorado but spent too much time partying and ended up getting expelled from the school. He then went off to Europe to travel for a period before coming back home with a clear focus on trying to become an actor.
Redford remained a sought after performer throughout the 1980's to well into the twenty-first century. He would appear in the baseball drama "The Natural", the 1985 Best Picture winner, "Out of Africa", "Indecent Proposal", "Up Close & Personal", "Sneakers" and Marvel superhero film, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier". The last major film Redford starred in before retiring in 2018 was "The Old Man & the Gun", a crime-drama directed by David Lowery.
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