Hollywood icon Robert Redford, a celebrated actor, director, and pioneer of the independent film movement, has died aged 89.
In a statement on Tuesday, Redford’s publicist Cindi Berger said the screen legend had passed away at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah.
“He will be missed greatly. The family requests privacy,” said Berger, without disclosing the cause of the actor’s death.
Redford rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s for his charisma, rugged good looks, and compelling performances in films such as ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ (1969), ‘The Sting’ (1973), and ‘The Way We Were’ (1973). In 1976, he starred in ‘All the President’s Men’, a political thriller in which he portrayed Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward as he and Carl Bernstein uncovered the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation.
Beyond acting, Redford’s influence stretched behind the camera and into the art world. He founded the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, platforms that enabled emerging filmmakers and championed independent cinema, helping to launch films such as Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Reservoir Dogs’ (1992) and Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Sex, Lies, and Videotape’ (1989).
He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ‘Ordinary People’ (1980), which also took Best Picture honors. Redford later received an honorary Oscar in 2002, recognizing his contributions as an actor, director, and champion of independent cinema.
In May 1988, Redford traveled to Moscow as part of a ten-day Soviet tour, where he opened a mini festival of his films. A long-time environmental activist, he also moderated a workshop on global environmental issues such as ozone-layer depletion, organized jointly with the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
In 2015, Redford also addressed the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Climate Change while urging world leaders to take action on the issue.
A longtime supporter of the Democratic Party, Redford in 2019 accused US President Donald Trump of dictator tendencies and attempts to establish a “monarchy in disguise.” The actor is survived by his wife and German artist, Sibylle Szaggars, and two daughters. Two sons predeceased him.
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