ROBERT REDFORD?

ROBERT REDFORD (1936-2025), born Charles Robert Redford, Jr.

Robert Redford was not only a fabulous actor, but he proved to be a wonderful director as well. He won an Oscar for his directorial debut of Ordinary People. 

Robert Redford was the MAN in my teen years of the 1970s. He was my first major movie star crush. I will never forget how I felt seeing him on the big screen. There he was, standing at the top of these stairs, holding a dozen red roses, and there was I, desperately wanting to be the recipient of those flowers. I was starstruck by this Adonis, as I watched him play Johnny Hooker in The Sting. It was my favorite movie that year, along with the Academy's.  It won seven Academy Awards. At the age of thirteen, I searched every TV Guide after seeing that film for his name listed under movie titles to air.  Regardless of it sometimes being the middle of the night, I watched film after film on my black and white set.  My mother and I also went to every one of his films that came to the cinema.  Besides winning my heart, he made quite a lot of winning films.


 Haven't you seen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)?
He plays The Sundance Kid alongside Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy. I was nine when I first saw this film at the local drive-in, so I didn't fall in love with him just yet. Maybe it was the mustache that hid his beautiful face.  I watched this film many times after I learned who he was. 

Watch this and then see these other four films. This is a good place to start if you are unfamiliar with this fine man.  Heaven forbid.  After that, you cannot go wrong with a Redford film, whether he is the lead or the director. 

The Sting (1973) Here's the movie that gave me Redford fever to see all his movies. It is Redford's second teaming with Paul Newman from his Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid days. It is the film that got everyone in America who played the piano playing Scott Joplin rags.
Barefoot in the Park (1967) This is one of my favorite films. I love the whole thing. It is a wonderful Neil Simon comedy. He and Jane Fonda play newlyweds. The results are hilarious.
The Natural (1984) This film showed me when I was twenty-four that Redford still had it going on. Swoon! To think, he was the same age as my mother, for goodness sake. Here, he played Rob Hobbs, a man with a great gift and a dream to play baseball.  In real life, Robert Redford had entered college on a baseball scholarship, but lost it due to too much partying and got kicked out of school.  He later moved to New York and turned to acting, which was our gain.
The Way We Were (1973) It is extremely hard to pick only five movies for Redford when I have a working knowledge of so many of his films and love so many equally well. I choose this one, because no one who loves Redford can say they have not seen it. It is one of his most famous films. Frankly, so are a lot of others.  Read the comments that follow this post for other suggestions, once you have seen these five films.


*Contributed by: "Elizabeth Van Cleve Randolph" Date: Friday, Feb 1 2002 / 2:51:00 PST

Academy Awards®
© A.M.P.A.S.®
1973 Nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role: THE STING
1980 Won Best Achievement in Directing: ORDINARY PEOPLE
1994 Nominated for Best Achievement in Directing: QUIZ SHOW
1994 Nominated for Best Picture of the Year: QUIZ SHOW — Producer
2002 Honorary and Other Awards: Actor, director, producer, creator of Sundance, inspiration to independent and innovative filmmakers everywhere. Winner presented a statuette.