The great actor and director Robert Redford has passed away at the age of 89. He passed away in his sleep at his home in Provo, Utah (U.S.): this was confirmed to the New York Times by Cindi Berger, ad of the firm Rogers & Cowan, which handled Redford’s public relations. Born in Santa Monica on August 18, 1936, Redford was one of the most recognizable and influential figures in American cinema of the second half of the 20th century. An actor, director, producer, and founder of one of the world’s best-known independent film festivals, the Sundance Film Festival, Redford spanned decades of American cultural and political history while maintaining a consistent role both in front of and behind the camera. His career has not been limited to acting, but has gradually expanded to directing, producing and a civic engagement that has made him not only an artistic but also a social reference.
Raised in a family of modest origins, with his father, Charles Robert, an accountant, and his mother, Sallie Pate Green, a homemaker, Redford spent his childhood between California and the suburbs of Los Angeles. After high school he obtained a scholarship to the University of Colorado, but his erratic approach to studying caused him to end his college experience prematurely, and after a year and a half he had already dropped out. That period marked a phase of research and uncertainty, during which he traveled extensively in Europe, particularly in France, Spain and Italy, coming into contact with artistic circles and developing an interest in painting. Once back in the United States, he decided to pursue acting and enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, beginning an education that would lead him to Broadway.
In the 1960s he landed his first major theater roles and television appearances in popular series of the time. Film came soon after (his debut was in 1962 with War Hunt), with supporting parts that allowed him to showcase a natural talent and a photogenic appearance that attracted the attention of directors. The turning point came in 1969, two years after the success of Barefoot in the Park (1967) with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, opposite Paul Newman, a film that sealed his international breakthrough. The chemistry between the two actors, combined with the commercial and critical success of the film, delivered Redford to a global audience and paved the way for a season of major productions.
The 1970s was the decade of consecration. Redford starred in titles that marked the American imagination, from The Candidate toHow We Were, to Alan J. Pakula’s celebrated All the President’s Men (1976), in which he gave face to journalist Bob Woodward chronicling the investigation of the Watergate scandal. The film solidified his reputation as an actor linked to stories of civic engagement and reinforced an image as a reliable performer, able to combine divine charisma with dramatic credibility. Date instead to 1974 was his participation in The Sting, a film capable of winning seven Academy Awards (Redford on this occasion also obtained his first and only nomination for best actor in a leading role). At the same time, Redford began to cultivate a growing interest in directing. In 1980 he signed his debut behind the camera with Ordinary People, a family drama that won four Oscars, including best picture and best director, an accolade he won on his debut, which also consecrated his talent in this field.
In later years Redford alternated between acting and directing, demonstrating a consistent focus on themes related to memory, the American landscape, and his country’s social and cultural tensions. Directing such films as In the Middle Runs the River and Quiz Show, he confirmed his ability to combine an elegant visual register with a narrative sensibility oriented toward moral contradictions and ethical dilemmas. While not turning away from acting altogether, he began to choose roles more selectively, maintaining his familiar face on screen but increasingly favoring an authorial commitment. The successes then continued in the 1990s and 2000s with impactful films such as the unforgettable Indecent Proposal (1993) in which he played the lead, along with Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson, or again The Horse Whisperer (1998), in which Redford was both director and lead actor, until 2012 with The Silent Rule, his last film as director. In 2014 he also made a foray into fantasy cinema, when he played the villain in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a role he later reprised in 2019 in Avengers: Endgame, during a cameo that represents his last appearance on the big screen, after two further successful films such as Our Souls at Night (2017), in which he starred alongside Jane Fonda for the last time, and Old Man & The Gun (2018).
Parallel to his film career, Redford gave birth to one of his most enduring endeavors: the Sundance Institute, co-founded with Sydney Pollack in 1981 in Utah, named after the character who had made him famous. Out of that experience was born in 1990 the Sundance Film Festival, which in just a few years has become the main point of reference for American independent cinema and a privileged observatory of new trends. Through the festival and programs supporting young filmmakers, Redford was instrumental in giving visibility to an alternative cinema to big Hollywood productions, fostering the emergence of auteurs who would define the cinematic landscape from the 1980s onward.
Redford’s commitment was not limited to the artistic field. Over the decades, he has distinguished himself through consistent environmental and political activism, championing campaigns for land conservation, renewable energy, and greater attention to ecological issues. His voice, often critical of government choices and industrial policies considered harmful to the environment, has been echoed in numerous public initiatives and has reinforced the image of a conscious and committed artist, not limited to the film dimension alone.
In the 2000s and 10s, Redford continued to maintain a steady, if more measured, presence in film. He starred in films by established auteurs and chose roles that emphasized a more mature dimension, as in 2013’s All Is Lost, where he single-handedly supported the entire film in a test of physical and psychological endurance. In recent years he has stated several times his desire to retire from acting, though without a definitive announcement and maintaining strong ties to Sundance and the cultural and environmental initiatives he has promoted. Other accolades include aLifetime Achievement Oscar in 2002, two other Oscar nominations (both in 1995, for best film and best director for Quiz Show), two Golden Globes (one for best director, in 1981 for Gente Comune, and one in 1995 for lifetime achievement), the BAFTA for best leading actor in 1971 for Butch Cassidy, the David di Donatello for best foreign actor for La Stangata in 1974, and the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement in 2017. He also received his country’s National Medal of Arts in 1997 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. In 2010, he was also awarded the Legion of Honor in Paris.
His long career testifies to a rare balance between the dimension of the Hollywood star and that of the committed intellectual. Redford has embodied a certain American ideal related to nature, moral integrity and the pursuit of a cinema not only of entertainment but also of reflection. At the same time, he was able to maintain a discreet profile in his private life, far from media excess, favoring a direct relationship with the projects and causes to which he chose to devote himself. For these reasons, his figure remains one of the most influential on the international artistic and cultural scene, a reference point for different generations of viewers and filmmakers.
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| Farewell to Robert Redford, actor and director passes away at 89 |
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