Robert Redford, cinema icon and Sundance founder, dies at 89
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Actor and director Robert Redford at the 2021 award ceremony of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation in Monaco. Photo: Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images.
Robert Redford, the Oscar-winning director, acclaimed actor and founder of the Sundance Film Festival who helped put Utah on the map as a center of independent film, died Tuesday at 89.
The latest: He died at his Sundance home in the Utah mountains — a "place he loved, surrounded by those he loved," his publicist Cindi Berger announced in a statement, per the AP.
Flashback: Some of most classic films Redford appeared in include "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969), "The Sting" (1973) and "All the President's Men" (1976), where he starred alongside Paul Newman and Dustin Hoffman.
- Redford's directorial debut, "Ordinary People" (1980), went on to win Academy Awards for "Best Picture" and "Best Director."
Catch up quick: Redford launched the Sundance Institute in 1981, which went on to host the now-renowned film festival.
- Earlier this year, organizers announced the festival will permanently relocate from Utah to Boulder, Colorado, beginning in 2027.
- Redford had taken a step back since 2019 as the festival's figurehead.
What they're saying: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our founder and friend Robert Redford," according to a statement from the Sundance Institute. "Bob's vision of a space and a platform for independent voices launched a movement that, over four decades later, has inspired generations of artists and redefined cinema in the U.S. and around the world."
The big picture: Redford was well known for his activism, using his star power to spotlight climate concerns and advocate for the preservation of public lands in the western U.S.
- He served as a trustee for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental advocacy group, for five decades.
- "The environmental movement has lost a giant," NRDC president and CEO Manish Bapna said in a statement Tuesday.
Zoom in: Redford fought to protect Utah's public lands, opposing the Trump administration's plan to shrink the Bears Ears National Monument and efforts to create the Alton Coal Mine near Bryce Canyon National Park in 2017, Axios' Herb Scribner reports.
Redford's Sundance Resort near Provo was the launchpad for the institute and the film festival.
- In 1968, he bought what was then a small, one-lift ski hill behind Mt. Timpanogos, turning it into a luxe ski resort by winter and an outdoorsy arts retreat by summer, with a live theater series and a summer film lab.
- Redford and his family were frequently spotted on the slopes, along with an array of Hollywood stars who visited and lived there.
- When Redford sold the resort in 2020, Conde Nast ranked it "the #1 ski resort" in North America, with award-winning accommodations and dining.
What he said: In describing the psychological respite of the Wasatch Mountains, Redford reportedly said: "Other people have analysis; I have Utah."