Robert Redford, the director, actor, and activist has died at his home in Utah. Redford was the godfather for independent cinema as Sundance founder [FILE: February 22, 2019] – Image: Nasser Berzane/ABACA/picture alliance
Redford died “at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah, the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” his publicist Cindi Berger said.
He passed away in his sleep at his home in the mountains of Utah, according to his publicist Cindi Berger.
Redford rose to fame in films like “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “All the President’s Men,” using his star power to spotlight American culture and politics.
He later became a champion of independent cinema and was a vocal advocate for environmental causes.
Redford starred in ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ with Paul Newman – Image: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/Collection Christophel/RnB/picture alliance
Sundance Kid becomes indie champion
Born on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, Redford has always been independently minded. His fame and success never drove him from one Hollywood party to the next.
Redford focused on doing his own thing, by consciously choosing roles that had meaning for him, as well as the directors he worked with.
Initially written off as “just another California blond,” Redford defied expectations with his rugged charisma and enduring appeal, becoming one of Hollywood’s most bankable leading men and a beloved global icon for over 50 years.
Redford was one of the biggest stars of the 1970s with such films as “The Candidate,” “All the President’s Men” and “The Way We Were.”
Redford capped off the decade with the best director Oscar for 1980’s “Ordinary People,” which also won best picture that same year.
His roles ranged from Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward, a mountain man in “Jeremiah Johnson,” and a double agent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He used the money from his acting to co-found the Sundance Institute for aspiring independent filmmakers, from which the renowned annual film festival gets its name.
“The industry was pretty well controlled by the mainstream, which I was a part of. But I saw other stories out there that weren’t having a chance to be told and I thought, ‘Well, maybe I can commit my energies to giving those people a chance.’ As I look back on it, I feel very good about that,” Redford told the Associated Press in 2018.
Redford and Dustin Hoffman played reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the film ‘All the President’s Men’ showing how the Washington Post uncovered the Watergate scandal – Image: picture-alliance/Mary Evans Picture Library
Tributes to Redford pour in
Actor Marlee Matlin was one of the first to pay tribute to Redford, stating that her Oscar-winning film “Coda” would never have received the attention it did without the Sundance festival.
“Our film, CODA, came to the attention of everyone because of Sundance. And Sundance happened because of Robert Redford. A genius has passed,” she wrote on X.
Meryl Streep, who starred with Redford in “Out of Africa,” said in a statement, “One of the lions has passed. Rest in peace my lovely friend.”
Superman Director James Gunn said he grew up with Redford’s movies.
“He was THE movie star, and will be greatly missed,” he wrote on Instagram.
A committed environmental activist, Redford also fought to preserve the natural landscape and resources of Utah, where he lived.
Former US President Barack Obama awarded Redford the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, saying he was admired not just for his acting, “but for having figured out what to do next.”
“He has supported our National Parks and our natural resources as one of the foremost conservationists of our generation,” Obama said at the time.
Redford endorsed Barack Obama for a second term despite reservations over some of the former president’s environmental policies [FILE: November 22, 2016] – Image: Yuri Gripas/REUTERS
In a 2017 interview, during the first presidency of Donald Trump, he told Esquire magazine that “politics is in a very dark place right now” and that Trump should “quit for our benefit.”
Despite this, Trump on Tuesday said, “I thought he was great.”
“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.
Redford leaves behind his wife, Sibylle Szaggars, and two daughters.
(DW.com/NAN 16-09-25)
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