ICON RADIO REMEMBERS: Robert Redford – A Cinema Icon

Robert Redford, one of the towering figures in American cinema, died on September 16, 2025, at age 89. He passed away at his home in Sundance, Utah, surrounded by family. A peaceful end to a life lived with artistry, conviction, and an unmistakable influence that spanned decades.

Early Years and Rise to Stardom

Born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, Redford’s beginnings were modest.  His path from art student to stage performer set the foundation for a career marked by both charisma and intelligence. He attended the University of Colorado Boulder, studied art, and later the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

His early acting work included television roles and Broadway appearances. One of his first big stage successes came with Barefoot in the Park (1963), the Neil Simon play, which earned him notice. On the screen, his debut came with War Hunt (1962), and through the 1960s he moved from small roles to leading ones.

It was in the late ’60s that Redford became a star. His performance in Barefoot in the Park (film, 1967), opposite Jane Fonda, gave him romantic-leading‐man status. But it was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) that truly catapulted him into the pantheon of Hollywood stars. As the Sundance Kid, alongside Paul Newman’s Butch Cassidy, he captivated audiences with his charm, nuance, and a hint of rebellion.

Defining Roles, Moral Edges, and Public Voice

Redford’s screen presence was never purely decorative. He gravitated toward characters who had depth, moral ambiguity, or operated in worlds where integrity and compromise intersected. Films like The Sting (1973), The Way We Were (also 1973), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), and The Candidate (1972) showed a versatile actor who could lead both big-studio romances and gritty, contemplative dramas.

Perhaps no film showcased his interest in politics and the ethics of power like All the President’s Men (1976), in which he played Bob Woodward, the investigative journalist who helped uncover the Watergate scandal. It was a film that resonated not only for its tension and storytelling but also for its civic seriousness.

Redford was never content to rest on his looks or early success. He made choices that sometimes risked commercial appeal but pushed boundaries of character and narrative. As he aged, he grew increasingly interested in stories that challenged him, that left room for introspection. The later years of his acting career include roles like the near-silent one in All Is Lost (2013), where he was alone at sea, battling both nature and mortality.

Director, Producer, and the Sundance Vision

If his acting made Redford a household name, his directorial and institutional work secured him a legacy no less significant. In 1980, Redford directed Ordinary People, his directorial debut, and won the Academy Award for Best Director. The film also won Best Picture. It was a watershed: a star of his magnitude choosing to step behind the camera and revealing another facet of his creative mind.

He directed several more films through the years: The Milagro Beanfield War (1984), A River Runs Through It (1992), Quiz Show (1994), The Horse Whisperer (1998), among others — stories that combined beauty, human conflict, and sweeping landscapes, often with an understated moral weight.

But Redford’s most lasting contribution may well be Sundance. Inspired by his own love of artistic risk, of voices outside the mainstream, he founded the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival in the early 1980s. What began as a modest gathering has become the premier platform in the United States (and internationally) for independent filmmakers, for stories that might not otherwise find large studio backing.

Through Sundance, Redford didn’t just nurture young talent — he changed what independent film could be: daring, diverse, socially engaged. He made room for experimentation and for those less interested in spectacle than in emotional truth. And he used his influence to champion causes he believed in: environmental protection, indigenous rights, creative freedom. His activism wasn’t side work. It was stitched into the values that underpinned his art.

Later Work, Final Roles, Retirement

As time passed, Redford’s roles evolved. He was less often the leading man in big romantic dramas or action flicks. Instead, his late roles reflected time, memory, regret, resilience. Our Souls at Night (2017) reunited him with Jane Fonda in a quiet, emotionally grounded drama. The Old Man & the Gun (2018) was billed as his final film performance, though he eventually took on cameo work later.

In 2025, Redford made one of his last screen appearances in the AMC/AMC+ series Dark Winds, appearing in a brief but memorable cameo, sharing the screen with George R. R. Martin, in a scene shot on a closed set at Redford’s request.

Over the years, he amassed many awards and honours, not only for specific performances and direction, but for his lifetime contributions: Academy Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTA, honorary recognitions, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Character, Influence, and Public Perception

There was an enduring quality in Redford’s presence. He was a combination of integrity, warmth, and restraint. He was often described as elegant, charismatic, handsome, yes, but never merely that. He carried a kind of moral seriousness. He wasn’t a mere celebrity; he believed in something beyond himself. That might be the reason his civic-minded roles, his environmental activism, his support for independent artists resonated so strongly.

He followed a path that connected art and conscience. He didn’t shy away from what was difficult or even unpopular. Whether through his choice of roles, through Sundance, or his public statements, he repeatedly used his platform to elevate issues: environmentalism, rights of indigenous communities, artistic freedom.

Colleagues and co-stars often spoke of him in terms beyond “great actor.” Jane Fonda, with whom he worked several times over decades, said he “meant a lot to me… he stood for an America we have to keep fighting for.”

Meryl Streep called him “one of the lions.” These aren’t just tributes to talent, but acknowledgement of character.

Legacy: What He Leaves Behind

Robert Redford’s influence is woven into many strands of culture.

Film and Performance: A repertoire that includes romantic comedies, westerns, political thrillers, environmental dramas. He was never bound to one genre, one kind of role.

Directing & Storytelling: Ordinary People and later directorial efforts showed his ability to draw complexity out of human relationships. He wasn’t content merely with surface story; he wanted layered, emotionally true work.

Independent Film & Sundance: Perhaps his greatest gift to others was Sundance. Many filmmakers who might have otherwise been sidelined found a voice there. The festival and institute changed the film industry, broadening the kinds of stories told, the people telling them, and the ways audiences encounter film.

Activism: He showed that celebrity could be used responsibly and engagement with the world, with issues that affect many. Environmentalism was central for him; protecting wild places, drawing attention to climate, supporting causes connected to stewardship of land and life.

Personal Roots & Vulnerability: He was not immune to tragedy. Two of his sons predeceased him. He maintained a certain privacy, a certain humility even as he became a star. He lived in the place he loved, Sundance, Utah, not always in the glitter of Hollywood. That groundedness added weight to who he was.

Why Redford Matters

In the sweeping panorama of Hollywood legends, Robert Redford stands out not just for what he did but for how he did it. He bridged eras: the studio system, the cultural upheavals of the ’60s and ’70s, the rise of blockbuster cinema, and then the era of streaming and indie resurgence. Through it all, he was someone who kept asking: what stories are worth telling, and what tellers need help?

There is a lesson in his movement from romantic hero to contemplative elder, from actor to director to mentor. He never seemed to rest on his laurels. Even in later years, when he could have coasted, he sought roles that demanded something of him. Even when off-camera, through Sundance, he built something more than a career: he built opportunity, community, hope for many others.

And in his death, there is grief from fans, from the industry, from colleagues but also gratitude. Gratitude for the films that touched us, the stories that challenged us, the voices he lifted up, the landscapes he loved, the causes he championed.

Robert Redford was more than Hollywood’s handsome leading man. More than a director with awards. More than a founder of a film festival. He was and remains an ICON of possibility: that art matters; that we can care about beauty and truth; that being famous doesn’t mean giving up feeling; that power can be used, not just for self, but for others.