please note: scroll/read to the end to discover who won the giveaway.
Robert Redford – August 18, 1936 – September 16, 2025
movie star, director, producer and film champion, heartthrob, environmentalist, philanthropist, family man, political activist, person of consequence and (he)artistic everyman
Movie star, director, producer and film champion
Most are acquainted with these aspects of Robert Redford’s legacy. I’ve seen most of his commercial movies close to their release dates on the big screen and enjoyed 90% of them. I’ve seen a few Sundance films and love the vibe of the whole festival. Here I’ll just highlight a few of my fav commercial movies from the RollingStone article, Robert Redford: 20 Essential Movies. note: hover over the arrow and click for more
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
released in 1969 – I saw this on the big screen at the Boulder Theater in 1970. Let the adventures & heartthrobs, begin!
Downhill Racer
released in 1969 – I saw this for free at the Chautauqua Theater summer film series in 1970 as a concessions worker! Of course, this attracted a large local following due to its relatable Colorado skiing vibe.
Jeremiah Johnson
released in 1972 – I love this movie because Dad loved this movie. One of Dad’s favorite Mountain Man Adventures that we saw together as a family on the big screen at the Boulder Theater.
All the President’s Men
released in 1976 – Based on the non-fiction book by Bernstein & Woodward, the two journalists investigating the Watergate Scandal for the Washington Post during the Nixon presidency. Of note: in 2010, this film was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Let’s hope it stays there.
The Horse Whisperer
released in 1998 – The scenery, subject matter and silence were seminal. In fact, the silence in the movie house ( a large commercial movie theater) was as silent as the movie itself – novel concept these days, eh? I saw this on Date Night with hubby, leaving our 3 kids with a babysitter for the evening.
The Old Man and the Gun
released in 2018 – On my list of films to watch!
Heartthrob
Let me tell you, I didn’t usually go for the blonde & blue. Growing up, I much preferred Dino (blueblack/blackbrown, plus he felt like family) to Frankie (light brown/blue).
Even back in my preteen days of watching The Man From U.N.C.L.E on TV I chose Napoleon Solo over Ilya Kuryakin…even if Ilya was more youthful.
Of even greater significance is that my longstanding Beatle of choice has always been a toss up between George & John. Well, truth be told, I loved all four of them!
During my later college years, Billy Dee Williams as Brian Walker in Mahogany, and as Lando Calrissian in Star Wars was it for me. But in between all of that, when Newman & Redford hit the big screen with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, I knew Redford was the ‘best’.*
Of course, looks aren’t everything…
So when my middle daughter called to say she saw that RR had passed away, she noted at the end, “I’m sorry, Ma. I know he was your heartthrob”. Geez, was it that obvious?!
Environmentalist, philanthropist, family man, political activist
I can’t speak to the family man aspect of his life, but in reading various articles it becomes clear how much family life informed his career and life focus. That said, below is a good example of thoughtful consideration of current issues with his trademark pointed yet mellow activist attitude.
“Journalism is what keeps politics straight. Is politics telling the truth or not, you know, and very often politics doesn’t tell the truth. It just tells a story that’s being told by one side or the other. But it’s journalism that gets to the bottom line and says, wait a minute, we’re hearing this, we’re hearing that, but what’s the truth? You know I think we’re into that now.”
Robert Redford, circa 2017
Person of consequence and (he)artistic everyman
Okay, here’s where there’s a bit of a stretch of these attributes as applied to my personal story…
Once upon a time, during my freshman year at CU Boulder, I learned the Legend of Robert Redford - a former student who got wrapped up in the party scene and got himself expelled from the University. Of course, the fact that he went on to 'find himself' backpacking through Europe and emerged a creatively contributing member of society only served to reinforce the pull to do the 'drop out' thing for countless others of my generation. Of which I thankfully didn't succumb. Though I still yearn for my personal Camino Adventure!
Somewhere along the line I ventured deep into the nooks and crannies of "The Sink" on the Hill intent on searching out his autograph/comment on its graffiti laden walls. Meh. Not much to look at, but I can say I saw it in its original form. Nay, I can say I touched the space he wrote upon! 😍
As a rite of passage, I even took my middle daughter to view the graffiti wall her senior year in High School.
The Legend lives on.
PS: The Sundance Institute is coming home to Boulder in 2027.
RIP Robert Redford.
*at the time, the question was routinely posed: who’s the most handsome/best actor – Newman or Redford?
As promised, the winner of the “When Things Go Missing” giveaway is hereby officially announced: Tierney! Congrats – your book is in the snail mail. Thanks to everyone who showed such enthusiastic interest in Deborah’s debut novel.
Enjoyed this tribute, Laura! Robert Redford was a very accomplished person in many ways and I admired him. I never had a crush on him. I laughed out loud when you mentioned The Man from U.N.C.L.E. I definitely had a crush on David McCallum! 🙂
🤣
What a beautiful tribute, Laura! I’ve watched many movies in which he starred. Absolutely, he was a screen idol, and his impact will last forever. May he rest in peace!
Yes, RIP RR.
❤️
We bought, and watched, “Jeremiah Johnson” just a few months ago. Robert Redford was one of a kind. RIP.
Yep, that he was! Thanks for joining in the convo, Mark.
Nice tribute to such an incredible actor.
Thank you, Edward.
You’re very welcome.
Thank on the book win, looking forward to it 🙂
I didn’t know RR went to school in Colorado! Thanks for sharing Colorado lore and it is pretty exciting the Sundance festival is coming in Colorado!
You’re more than welcome! I know you’ll enjoy the book.
As of today, order has shipped…Amazon appears to be slow these days!
This was a fun and informative read. Redford as a janitor?? Wonder how many high school girls were hanging out after school to hang with him. Redford was truly a classic and classy movie star. I did enjoy his movies, although he was never a crush. Weirdly, when I look back, I seemed to be drawn more toward the dark and brooding stars. Like you, I was drawn more to George than Paul or John or Ringo, although I can’t say he was a crush.
Congratulation to Tierney for winning my book! I hope she enjoys it. Thank you so much, again, for doing this and being such a big supporter of my book! Hugs, your flower-sister.
Happy to include a dose of RR to the bookgiveaway winner announcement!
hugs backatchya, snappy! 😉
Redford….sad…
Agreed.
I don’t think there are many true stars nowadays, but Redford was certainly one of them. Although I appreciated his blond/blue looks, I don’t remember having a crush on him. Hmmmm… now I have to think harder on who was the object of my affections back then.
HA! Don’t think too hard – sometimes those forgotten memories are best kept forgotten! 😉
My guess is that most women would choose Redford over Newman in terms of dreaminess. I root for anyone who uses their celebrity status to do good things in the world, and Redford was one of those who did that as a man of principle. I also admired his acting abilities and the constant twinkle in his eyes, which made him seem like someone I could trust.
I will add two more to your movie list that I enjoyed: (1) The Sting and (2) The Natural.
Can’t argue with any of that, Pete!
I got an email notification of this post, and, before reading it as I was taking the dog out for a walk, I posed a question to Jen based on what I saw at the end it:
“Laura has made a blog post, I’ve got a question for you think about and you can give me your answer when I get back in: Paul Newman or Robert Redford?”
Without missing a beat: “Robert Redford.”
“Wow, you didn’t have to give that much thought did you?!”
I’ve said it countless times before and I’ll say it again – Yay, Jen! 😉
Congrats to the winner!
I remember seeing Redford in The Sting. So good. And The Way We Were with Barbra Streisand. And I remember people wondering who was better looking–Paul Newman or Robert Redford? Then years later Brad Pitt came along!
Oh yeah…both great movies – timeless. LOL about the Brad Pitt transition. 🙂
I’m with you, Marie. I’m not sure who’d I choose between Redford and Newman. Neither were a crush. But Brad Pitt! I swooned a bit over him. And later, Jamie on the Outlanders. (am i too old for this???)
Laura, thank you for this post. We honor Robert Redford for his tremendous contributions to the movies, but also for his charities, his personal integrity and the good example he set for his fans, both young and old. He was so much more than just a pretty face! 💐
I love your last line, Cheryl…yep, he wasn’t just another pretty face!
Yes, we’ll miss Robert Redford for many reasons!
Agreed!
Thank you for this marvellous tribute. As usual, I learnt a lot. A good man. And, yes, handsome too.
🙂