HE was the golden boy of Hollywood.
Men envied his obvious friendship with Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, and almost all his female co-stars adored him.
In fact, Jane Fonda admitted she couldn’t keep her hands off him on set, while Meryl Streep said he was the “best kisser ever”.
Robert Redford, who yesterday died in his sleep aged 89 at his ranch in Utah, was rejected for 1967 movie The Graduate because no one would ever believe he was a loser with women.
But the handsome star was haunted by nerves and self-doubt that caused him to be endlessly late on set.
As the greatest names in showbiz paid tribute to the blond-haired icon, his representative revealed Redford was “surrounded by those he loved” when he passed away. She added: “He will be missed greatly.”
‘Love of pranks’
In blockbusters such as Barefoot In The Park, The Sting, All The President’s Men, The Great Gatsby, The Horse Whisperer, Indecent Proposal and Up Close And Personal, Redford was box office dynamite.
But the Oscar-winning actor was terrified stardom might turn him into a product for Hollywood studios to sell. He moaned: “Films to them are just like vacuum cleaners or refrigerators. The approach sickens me.”
The megastar even refused to make sequels to his biggest hits, Butch Cassidy and The Way We Were with Barbra Streisand.
He hated franchises, but appeared in Captain America: The Winter Soldier to please his grandkids.
And he became a champion of independent film-makers, founding the annual Sundance Film Festival to showcase their work.
Born Charles Robert Redford Jr in Santa Monica, California, on August 18, 1936, the actor’s mum was Martha and his dad Charles, a milkman.
His first taste of Hollywood was breaking into a studio as a teenager and trashing the place. He once said: “There was a strong dividing line with a railroad which ran near our house.
“Those who lived on the south side of the tracks, like us, helped to service the big houses on the north side as gardeners, cleaners, whatever.
“My dad would get up to go to work at 2.30 in the morning, come home late afternoon and go to sleep.
“It wasn’t his fault, but it was an inspiration [for me] to do something else with my life.”
Redford’s first plan was to be a baseball star, and he won a sports scholarship to Colorado University.
But he told showbiz writer Garth Pearce: “I was asked to leave because I was drinking too much.”
His mother Martha had recently died and he turned to alcohol.
After being thrown out of college, he travelled to Europe. Redford recalled: “I became a pavement artist in Montmartre, Paris, and felt my life had begun at last. I had found my calling.
“Then I moved to Italy, where they openly laughed at my art. Eventually, I was told flatly that I would never make it or sell any paintings.”
So he moved back to New York and tried his hand at acting classes, enrolling at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
He said: “Suddenly, I was getting A-grade reports for the first time. I had failed at school, failed at university, failed as an artist. I thought, ‘There could be something in acting for me’. It was as simple as that, with no great calling.”
He couldn’t play a loser because of the way he looked
Director Mike Nichols
He began to get work, first on stage in New York and then in a succession of small-screen shows, such as Maverick, Perry Mason and Dr Kildare as TV boomed across America.
His movie breakthrough came opposite Jane Fonda in 1967’s Barefoot In The Park. She remembers: “I couldn’t keep my hands off him. I was constantly forcing myself on him.”
Redford auditioned for The Graduate, alongside Anne Bancroft as middle-aged Mrs Robinson.
But director Mike Nichols turned him down, recalling: “He couldn’t play a loser because of the way he looked.
“I told him so and he was dispirited. I said, ‘Look at it this way, ‘Have you ever been turned down by a woman?’. He replied, ‘What do you mean?’. I said, ‘My point precisely’.”
But his next part, The Sundance Kid, alongside Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy, would change Redford’s life forever. As they filmed the 1969 hit movie, he and Newman became best mates — bonding over Mexican beers and a love of pranks.
Redford was a terrible time-keeper and, at the end of filming — during which he did his own stunts — Newman presented him with a tapestry cushion that read, “Punctuality is the courtesy of kings”.
For Newman’s 50th birthday, Redford sent him a wrecked Porsche wrapped in a bow. Newman had it crushed and sent back to his pal. Redford then had it turned into a garden sculpture and returned it.
Despite their 40-year friendship, Newman admitted he never really came to know Redford.
Even though Butch Cassidy was a huge success, Redford, a keen environmental campaigner, was still gripped with doubts about his ability.
He admitted: “I actually quit in the late Sixties, after appearing in some big films. It was not reported at the time but I took my family to a remote part of Spain. I attempted once again to make my living as an artist. But I was not good enough.”
By 1973, The Sting, in which he was reunited with Newman, gave him his only Best Actor Oscar nomination.
‘Not good enough’
His blond hair became his signature and he refused to have it cut in a 1940s style for 1977 war film A Bridge Too Far.
Director Sir Richard Attenborough asked him personally to get a short back and sides, but was forced to admit: “It’s no use. He just won’t have it touched.”
Redford once asked angrily: “What is it about my hair? I played Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby in 1974 and the director Jack Clayton wanted to dye my hair black.
“Even the studio wanted my hair black. I said, ‘Find me the part of the original book where it says that Gatsby’s hair is black. It’s not there’.”
Irritated by filmmakers, he decided to direct a movie of his own.
Ordinary People, which came out in 1980, became one of the most acclaimed films of the decade and won him the only Oscar in his glittering career, for Best Director.
His hits dominated the Eighties and Nineties, with Out Of Africa alongside Meryl Streep winning seven Oscars, including Best Picture.
He directed A River Runs Through It starring a young Brad Pitt, Quiz Show and The Horse Whisperer, in which he also played the lead.
It was really hard . . . as a parent, you blame yourself. It creates a scar that never completely heals
Robert Redford
In between, he starred in Indecent Proposal as a millionaire who offered a married couple $1million if wife Demi Moore slept with him.
There was also romance in Up Close & Personal with Michelle Pfeiffer. But alongside great career success he suffered family tragedy.
His son Scott, who he had with first wife Lola, was a victim of cot death in 1959 at just two months.
The actor said: “It was really hard . . . as a parent, you blame yourself. It creates a scar that never completely heals.”
His second son, Jamie, who suffered constant ill health and underwent two liver transplants, died from cancer aged 58 in 2020.
And eldest daughter Shauna witnessed the murder of her long-term boyfriend at university.
Redford told Garth Pearce: “All that personal stuff with my children meant some tough times. When you’re going through it, you lose part of yourself. I confess that I used work to prop me up.”
The Hollywood legend produced and directed films right into his 80s.
His final performance was an uncredited cameo earlier this year as a chess player in Dark Winds, a TV show he executive-produced. Redford officially retired from acting in 2018.
Redford is survived by second wife Sibylle, some 21 years his junior, who he married in 2009, and daughters Shauna, 64, and Amy, 54, from first wife Lola, who he divorced in 1985.
He said of his success: “The key to sanity in Hollywood is to have a life separate from movies and to never repeat yourself on film by doing a sequel.
“I lost my way and my focus several times. Having to deal with life, death, illness and catastrophe puts anyone to the test. Movies and acting was never my first love, but it was an enduring one.”
‘ONE OF THE LIONS HAS GONE’ – MERYL STREEP
THE worlds of showbiz and politics last night paid tribute to Redford.
Actress and activist Jane Fonda commented: “It hit me hard this morning. I can’t stop crying. He meant a lot to me and was a beautiful person in every way. He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for.”
Redford’s Out Of Africa co-star Meryl Streep said: “One of the lions has passed. Rest in peace, my lovely friend.”
Filmmaker Ron Howard described the star as “a tremendously influential cultural figure”, calling him an “artistic game-changer”.
Donald Trump, who learned of the star’s death as he began his trip to the UK, said: “Robert Redford had a series of years where there was nobody better. There was a period of time when he was the hottest. I thought he was great.”
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton posted: “I always admired Robert Redford, not only for his legendary career as an actor and director but for what came next. He championed progressive values like protecting the environment and access to the arts.”
Author Stephen King described Redford as being “part of a new and exciting Hollywood in the ’70s & ’80s”.
Actor Morgan Freeman posted: “After working with Robert Redford on Brubaker in 1980, we instantly became friends. Rest peacefully.”
Antonio Banderas added: “His talent will continue to move us forever, shining through the frames and in our memory. RIP.”
Ben Stiller said: “No actor more iconic.”
Marlee Matlin, star of Oscar-winning CODA, said the film came to the attention of everyone because of the Sundance Festival, adding: “Sundance happened because of Robert Redford. A genius has passed.”
