The entire industry is mourning Robert Redford, who is remembered by many as Alexander Pierce in the Marvel movies or Jay Gatsby in 1974's The Great Gatsby. The news was announced to The New York Times by Cindi Berger, CEO of communications firm Rogers & Cowan. She said Redford died in his sleep early Tuesday morning at his home in Utah, but did not give an exact cause of death.
The actor was born on August 18, 1936 in California, and was of English, Scottish, and Irish descent. He and his family lived in Los Angeles, where he began his studies at Van Nuys High School. He had previously stated that he was a particularly bad student and preferred to excel in the arts and sports. After graduating, he continued his studies at the University of Colorado on a sports scholarship, during which time he worked at a bar called The Sink, where a picture of him still hangs on the wall. During his university years, he had problems with alcohol, which led to his expulsion from the institution, so he tried his luck in Europe.
Redford visited France, Spain, and Italy, among other places. He spent the winter in Italy, and as the summer approached, he headed to France, supporting himself with odd jobs. At the age of 20, he studied painting in Paris and Florence, but eventually ended up at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His acting career began in the 1950s, making his Broadway debut with a minor role in the 1959 play Tall Story, but his greatest success came with the 1963 play Barefoot in the Park. From the 1960s, he also had roles in several television series, including Maverick and The Twilight Zone.
The play Tall Story was made into a film a year later, in 1960, in which the actor starred alongside Anthony Perkins, Jane Fonda and Ray Walston. This production was the one that got him on the road and he began to receive more and more important offers. His last television appearances were in 1963, after which he focused on his film career. In 1962, he received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Voice of Charlie Pont. In 1965, he received a Golden Globe Award for Daisy Clover Inside Out. In 1966, he starred with the legendary Marlon Brando for the first and last time. After Tall Story, he appeared on the big screen again alongside Jane Fonda in the film version of Barefoot in the Park, but the actor had ambitious aspirations and wanted to try himself on both sides of the camera, so in 1969 he became the executive producer of the film Race Down the Hill.
They noticed him as a director
Redford became concerned about fitting into the stereotype of a blond, handsome man, and turned down several offers before finding the perfect role in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid—in which he starred alongside Paul Newman. Although he didn't win an Oscar or Golden Globe for his performance, he did win a BAFTA. This role also brought the actor fame, which was followed by other blockbuster films, such as Jeremiah Johnson, That's the Way We Were (in which he was co-starred with Barbra Streisand) and The Big Bad - the latter of which earned him his first Oscar nomination in 1973. In 1974, he became the first actor since Bing Crosby's record in 1946 to have three films in the top ten of the year.
He won the Golden Globe Award for Favorite Movie Star in 1975, 1977, and 1978, a popularity-based award that is no longer given to anyone. In 1976, he published his book The Outlaw Trail: A Journey Through Time and achieved great success with the 1976 film The President's Men, starring opposite Dustin Hoffman and executive producing it. The film received eight Academy Award nominations. Redford's first directorial effort was 1980's Average Men, which earned him both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Director. 1985's Out of Africa, in which he starred alongside Meryl Streep, is considered one of his most successful films, won him seven Golden Globes. Redford's directorial career began in the 1980s, with many productions including The Beanstalk, The River Divide, and Quiz Show.
Robert Redford may have become a slightly cocky movie star over the past decade, but he's also become a bolder and more successful filmmaker
– wrote about it at the time in Newsweek magazine.
Her child died.
One of his best-known roles was in 1993's Unfair Offer, in which he played a millionaire businessman, but by the 2000s he had been working as a director, producer, and actor. He received an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2002, and was previously awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1995 Golden Globes. In 2014 and 2019, he played Alexander Pierce in the Marvel films, first in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and then in Avengers: Endgame. He is credited with founding the Sundance Film Festival, which has grown into the largest independent film festival in the United States, and has always been a committed supporter of environmental protection, the arts, and advocating for the rights of indigenous peoples and the LGBTQ community.
He had two wives during his life, married Lola Van Wagenen on August 9, 1958, in Las Vegas, with whom he had four children: Scott Anthony Redford – who died of sudden infant death syndrome at 14 weeks old –, Shauna Jean Redford, David James Redford – who died in 2020 – and Amy Hart Redford. However, the actor and his wife's relationship deteriorated over the years, and although they never officially announced their divorce, they reportedly separated in 1985. Redford subsequently had romantic relationships with actress Sonia Braga, among others, and in 2009, he married German painter Sibylle Szaggars, with whom he lived until his death in their home in Utah.
