Robert Redford, the Hollywood golden boy whose career spanned more than six decades as actor, Oscar-winning director, environmental advocate, and champion of independent cinema, died Tuesday at his beloved Sundance home in the Utah mountains.
He was 89.
Publicist Cindi Berger said he passed “surrounded by those he loved,” though no cause of death was given.
Born August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, Charles Robert Redford Jr. first pursued art and baseball before turning to acting, studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and debuting on Broadway in the late 1950s. Early television roles on “The Twilight Zone” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” led to a meteoric film rise.
With wavy blond hair and a sly grin, he became one of the 1970s’ most bankable stars.
He earned a best actor nomination for “The Sting” and later delivered acclaimed performances in “Out of Africa,” “The Natural,” “All Is Lost,” and what he called his farewell film, “The Old Man and the Gun.”
Redford moved behind the camera with stunning success. His 1980 directing debut, “Ordinary People,” won the Academy Award for Best Picture and earned him a Best Director Oscar, followed by notable efforts including “Quiz Show” and “The Horse Whisperer.”
Determined to protect artistic freedom, he founded the Sundance Institute and Festival, nurturing generations of independent filmmakers from Quentin Tarantino to Darren Aronofsky. A lifelong environmentalist, he championed clean air and water legislation and served on the board of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Redford married twice and was father to four children, two of whom predeceased him. He is survived by his wife, Sibylle Szaggars, and his extended family.
“Independence,” he once said, was the word that defined his life—a fitting epitaph for a man who forever reshaped American cinema.
