On Sept. 16, the world lost a champion of the arts when, at the age of 89, Robert Redford died. Actor, director, producer, art collector, environmentalist, supporter of Native American rights, defender of LGBT rights, founder of the Sundance Institute and Sundance Film Festival, icon of the American West; Robert Redford packed a lot into his 89 years.
What I remember the most about Redford, and this is probably true for most of us, is his movies. From his 1969 movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” co-starring Paul Newman to “The Old Man and the Gun” with Sissy Spacek, released in 2018, his career in film spanned our lifetimes. At 82, Redford announced his retirement from acting after filming “The Old Man and the Gun.” Later, he said he regretted making the announcement because “you never know.” Redford gave his final cameo performance in season three of “Dark Winds” airing in March 2025. He was also executive producer of the series based on Tony Hillerman’s novels set in Navajo country.
Redford was behind the 1976 film “All The President’s Men,” which he starred in with Dustin Hoffman. The film centers on Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who investigated and wrote about the Watergate break-in leading to the resignation of Richard Nixon. “Three Days of the Condor” (1975), “Sneakers” (1992) and “The Company You Keep” (2012) are among Redford’s political thrillers.
I remember seeing the 1988 film “The Milagro Beanfield War” in the movie theater here in Friday Harbor. Produced and directed by Redford, the film revolves around a small community in New Mexico fighting a huge real estate development that threatens to price them out of their own town. The story takes place in San Juan County, New Mexico. Meanwhile, here in San Juan County, Washington, a cheer went up from our movie theatre when the New Mexican townsfolk vanquish the developers!
Only in a career spanning a long lifetime could Redford co-star with Jane Fonda over time the way he did. The two appear in the 1963 movie version of “Barefoot in the Park,” a film about newlyweds based on the Neil Simon play. He appeared again with Fonda in the 1979 film “The Electric Horseman” about a past-his-prime rodeo champion and a hungry reporter. Then, finally, in the 2017 Netflix film “Our Souls at Night,” the two seasoned actors share a tender late-life romance. Fonda said of Redford’s passing, “He meant a lot to me and was a beautiful person in every way.”
“He stood for an America that we have to keep fighting for.” A champion of independent filmmaking and the environment, Redford was more than a pretty face. He loved the beauty of the American West. With his movie star money, he purchased land near his home in Utah, where he founded the Sundance Institute to encourage the craft of independent movie making and established the Sundance Film Festival to show and celebrate independent films. Robert Redford leaves behind a substantial legacy that will continue to enrich our lives for many years to come.
