Robert Redford, the beloved star whose legacy helped define modern American cinema and cemented his lifetime on screen, has sadly died at the age of 89.
According to reports, Redford passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at his home in Sundance, Utah. Cindi Berger went on to confirmed the news to The New York Times, stating that he was surrounded by loved ones at the time.
“He will be missed greatly,” she said, noting that the family is requesting privacy.
Known for his piercing blue eyes by many, Redford leaves behind a storied legacy as a two-time Academy Award winner, the founder of the Sundance Film Festival, and an early voice for human rights.
A Quietly Groundbreaking Role
One of Redford’s earliest and most notable film performances came in the 1965 drama Inside Daisy Clover, where he portrayed bisexual movie star Wade Lewis. At the time, the 1960s was still largely silent on representation. However, Redford’s character, though not explicitly labeled, was widely interpreted as bisexual.
This role earned him a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Male Newcomer and cemented his reputation as not only a rising star but also an actor willing to take creative and social risks.
Though Redford rarely spoke publicly about the film’s LGBTQ+ subtext during that era, the role has since been reevaluated by queer film scholars and critics as a pivotal, if understated, moment in mainstream queer representation.
Stardom and Substance
Following Inside Daisy Clover, Redford’s ascent to stardom was meteoric. He starred opposite Jane Fonda in Barefoot in the Park (1967), played the legendary Sundance Kid alongside Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), and reunited with Newman for The Sting (1973), earning his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
That same year, he starred in The Way We Were with Barbra Streisand, a film written by openly gay screenwriter Arthur Laurents.
The Birth of Sundance
In 1981, Redford founded the Sundance Institute, followed shortly by the launch of the Sundance Film Festival. Named after his iconic role in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the festival quickly became a beacon for independent cinema.
Under Redford’s guidance, Sundance emerged as a vital platform for emerging filmmakers, including many LGBTQ+ creators whose work might otherwise have gone unseen. The festival has long been regarded as one of the most inclusive in the industry, premiering landmark films like Pariah, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Call Me by Your Name, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
An Ally in Hollywood and Beyond
Though Redford rarely courted headlines with his activism, he remained a quiet yet firm advocate for progressive causes, including marriage equality. At a 2013 event hosted by Equality Utah, two years before the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, Redford spoke passionately in support of LGBTQ+ rights.
“I’m here for the same reason you are – equal rights for all,” he told the crowd. “Like you, I believe there’s no place in our world for discrimination. None. I think it is un-American.”
He went on to encourage Utah to lead by example. “If we change discriminatory laws in Utah, it sets a benchmark for people in other states. People should be able to marry whomever they love.”
Redford’s words, though soft-spoken, echoed across a nation still reckoning with inequality, and his presence lent powerful support to a growing movement.
A Life of Art and Integrity
Even in his later years, Redford remained active onscreen. He appeared in Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), and starred in 2018’s The Old Man & the Gun, opposite Casey Affleck and Sissy Spacek, a role he described at the time as his final acting performance.
He is survived by his children and grandchildren, as well as by a creative legacy that spans more than six decades.
