Robert Redford (born Charles Robert Redford, Jr., 18.08.1936) Robert Redford is an actor and film director possibly best known for his role in 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'.
Childhood: Robert Redford was born in Santa Monica, California. His parents were Martha and Charles Robert Redford, Sr. who was a milkman then an accountant. After moving to Van Nuys, California, he attended Van Nuys High School where he was more interested in art and sports than academic achievement. He attended the University of Colorado and was part of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity before being asked to leave. He earned cash through bar work at The Sink. He then went travelling around Europe before studying painting at Brooklyn's Pratt Institute and attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.
Film career: Robert Redford made his TV debut in 1959 and among his first appearances were 'The Untouchables', 'The Americans', 'Whispering Smith', 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', 'Route 66', 'Dr. Kildare' and 'The Twilight Zone'. He earned his first Emmy nomination for his appearance in 'The Voice of Charlie Pont' in 1962 and his TV career soon ended with one of his last performances being on ABC medical drama 'Breaking Point' in 1963. He was also a Broadway actor with his biggest part being as Elizabeth Ashley's husband in Neil Simon's 'Barefoot in the Park' in 1963.
He made his film debut with 1962's 'War Hunt' alongside John Saxon. In 1965, he joined Alec Guinness in comedy Situation 'Hopeless ... But Not Serious'. In the same year he won a Golden Globe for 'Inside Daisy Clover' opposite Natalie Wood who he also starred with in 'This Property Is Condemned' in 1966. In 1966, he also appeared in Arthur Penn's 'The Chase' with Jane Fonda and Marlon Brando. He appeared with Fonda yet again in 1967's 'Barefoot in the Park' and 1979's 'The Electric Horseman'. His major break as an actor came with George Roy Hill's 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' in 1969 opposite Paul Newman. The role won him a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
In 1972 he achieved massive success again as the lead role in the western 'Jeremiah Johnson' opposite Will Geer. That year's political comedy 'The Candidate' and 1973's period drama 'The Way We Were' also achieved great success and 1973's 'The Sting' earned him his first Oscar nomination. The remainder of the seventies saw him star in 'The Great Gatsby', 'The Great Waldo Pepper', 'All the President's Men' and 'A Bridge Too Far' before he took to directing in 1980. His directorial debut was with the multiple Oscar winning 'Ordinary People', for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.
In 1985, he starred opposite Meryl Streep in Sydney Pollack's 'Out of Africa' which also won many Oscars. His third directing stint was with 'A River Runs Through It' in 1992 which brought Brad Pitt into prominence as an actor. One of Redford's most popular roles was a millionaire who used bribery to test people in 'Indecent Proposal'. In 2001, he teamed up with Brad Pitt once again for 'Spy Game'. Redford produced the Che Guevera biopic 'The Motorcycle Diaries' in 2004. Redford has received numerous honours for his film ventures including an Oscar Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Medal of Arts, The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize and a French Knighthood known as the Légion d'honneur.
Other career: ventures Robert Redford founded the popular independent film event, the Sundance Film Festival. He also founded the Sundance Institute, Sundance Cinemas, Sundance Catalog and the Sundance Channel which are all situated in Park City, Utah near a ski area on Mount Timpanogos which he bought and renamed Sundance.
Personal life: Robert Redford married Lola Van Wagenen in 1958 and had four children: Scott Anthony, David James, Shauna and Amy. Their first child died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in 1959. They divorced in 1985. In 2009, he married Sibylle Szaggars who he had lived with since the nineties. His political affiliations are noted as liberal and he is a strong environmentalist; a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council. However, he has openly criticised Barack Obama for failing to act on his promises of environment improvement.
Biography by Contactmusic.com
