Happy 84th Birthday, Robert Redford! Born today in 1936 as Charles Robert Redford Jr., this retired American entrepreneur, activist, businessman, actor, producer and director has earned his place in film history not only for his own artistic endeavors, but for the opportunities he has provided others to advance their work.
As a child, Redford had polio. When he was a teenager, he and his family later moved to Van Nuys, California.
While there, he attended Van Nuys High School, where he was classmates with American professional baseball pitcher and sports commentator Don Drysdale.
Redford has described himself as having been a "bad" student, finding inspiration outside of the classroom, and being interested in art and sports. He hit tennis balls with American tennis player Pancho Gonzales at the Los Angeles Tennis Club to warm himself up.
Post-graduation, Redford attended the University of Colorado Boulder. Here, Redford began drinking heavily, and, as a result, lost his half-scholarship and was kicked out of school.
Afterwards, he traveled in Europe, living in France, Spain, and Italy. He later studied painting at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York and also took classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.
Redford's career, like that of many major stars who emerged in the 1950s, began in New York City, where an actor could find work both on stage and in television. His Broadway debut was in a small production role.
Starting in 1960, Redford appeared as a guest star on numerous American television drama programs.
Most notably, these included Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Playhouse 90, Perry Mason, Maverick, Naked City, The Twilight Zone (playing the character of Death), and The Untouchables.
In 1963, Redford's greatest Broadway success was as the stuffy newlywed husband Paul Bratter of co-star Elizabeth Ashley's (Corie Bratter) character in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park.
Four years later, the play was made into the titular 1967 American Technicolor romantic comedy film. Redford reprised his role as Paul, while Jane Fonda played Corie.
Two years later, Redford co-starred in the first film of which he is best known. This was the 1969 American Western drama film 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'.
The film was Redford's firs collaboration with American film director George Roy Hill and also with Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy.
On a budget of $6 million, the film went on the gross $102.3 million at the box office in North America.
The following year, 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' won four Oscars for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) (William Goldman), Best Music (Original Score) (Burt Bacharach) and Best Cinematography (Conrad Hall).
The film also won an Oscar for Best Original Song for "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" by American singer B. J. Thomas. This occurred at the 42nd Academy Awards in early April 1970.
Three years later, Redford co-starred in the second film of which he is best known. This was the 1973 American crime/drama caper film 'The Sting'. This was Redford's second collaboration with Hill.
This was also the second time Redford had worked with Newman, who played Henry Gondorff. in the film, he was old friend of Redford's character Johnny Hooker, an Illinois grifter.
Set in 1936 during the Great Depression, 'The Sting' is noted for its anachronistic use of ragtime, particularly the melody "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin.
Due to the film's success, it created a resurgence of interest in Joplin's work, arranged by American composer and conductor Marvin Hamlisch.
Upon release on Christmas Day, 'The Sting' received universal acclaim and was hugely successful. On a budget of $5.5 million, the film grossed $159.8 million at the box office.
One year later, 'The Sting' was nominated for ten Oscars but won seven. This included Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing (Original Screenplay) (David S. Ward) and Best Original Song Score (Marvin Hamlisch). This occurred at the 46th Academy Awards in early April 1974.
Two years later, Redford co-starred in the third film of which he is best known. This was Alan J. Pakula's ('Klute') 1976 American political thriller drama/mystery film 'All the President's Men'. The film tells of two journalists who investigate the Watergate Scandal for The Washington Post.
In the film, Redford played American investigative journalist Bob Woodward. This was alongside Dustin Hoffman's character, American investigative journalist and author Carl Bernstein.
The film had been based on Woodward and Bernstein's titular 1974 biographical political true crime book.
Two years after the release of 'All the President's Men', the Sundance Film Festival was founded by Sterling Van Wagenen, head of Redford's company Wildwood, and John Earle of the Utah Film Commission.
It originally began as the Utah/US Film Festival in an effort to attract more filmmakers to Utah.
Four years later, Redford directed the film of which he is best known. This was also his feature debut as a filmmaker, being the 1980 American drama/family film 'Ordinary People'.
The film had been based on American novelist and screenwriter Judith Guest's titular 1976 psychological fiction novel.
The following year, 'Ordinary People' won four Oscars. These included Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay (Alvin Sargent) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Timothy Hutton). this occurred at the 53rd Academy Awards in late march 1981.
Three years later, Redford co-starred in the fourth film of which he is best known. This was the American sports/drama film 'The Natural'. It was based on American novelist and short story writer Bernard Malamud's titular 1952 sports fiction novel.
Like the book, the film recounts the experiences of Roy Hobbs, an individual with great "natural" baseball talent, spanning the decades of Roy's career.
The following year, Redford co-starred in the fifth and final film of which he is best known. This was Sydney Pollack's ('Tootsie') epic 1985 American romantic/drama film 'Out of Africa'. The film had been loosely based on Danish author Karen Blixen's titular 1937 autobiographical book.
The film was also based on British writer Errol Trzebinski's 1977 biological book Silence will Speak and American writer, biographer, and critic Judith Thurman's 1982 biographical book Isak Dinesen: The Life of a Storyteller.
One year later, 'Out of Africa', despite mixed reviews from critics, won seven Oscars. These included Best Picture and Best Director for Pollack.
It also included Best Music (Original Score) English composer and conductor of film music John Barry. This occurred at the 58th Academy Awards in late March 1986.
Among his other acting credits, Redford is known for starring in 'Jeremiah Johnson' (1972), 'The Candidate' (1972), 'The Way We Were'(1973).
At the 67th Academy Awards, Redford's 1994 American detective docudrama film 'Quiz Show' received an Oscar nod. However, it lost to 'Forrest Gump'. This occurred in late March 1995.
In 2002, received and Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. This occurred at the 74th Academy Awards in late March.
Throughout his career, Redford has also won a BAFTA, the Director's Guild of America, a Golden Globe and Screen Actor Guild awards.
In 2003, 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
The American Film Institute ranked Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as the 73rd-greatest American film on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) list.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were ranked 20th greatest heroes on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains list.
In 2005, 'The Sting' was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
In 2008, 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' was selected by the American Film Institute as the 7th greatest Western of all time in the AFI's 10 Top 10 list.
In 2010, 'All the President's Men' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In April 2014, Time magazine included Redford in their annual Time 10 as one of the "Most Influential People in the World", declaring him the "Godfather of Indie Film".
In 2016, Redford was honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom by 44th U.S. President Barak Obama.
Today, Sundance is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,660 attending in 2016.
According to his personal life, Redford has been married twice. Most notably, his first wife was American historian Lola Van Wagenen (m. 1958; div. 1985).
Redford also has four children, most notably American actress, director, and producer Amy Hart Redford.
A Hollywood legend, Redford is known for his boyish good looks, diversity of screen characterizations, and commitment to environmental and political causes.
Redford had been active from 1958–2019.
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