Robert Redford, icon of independent cinema, dies at 89

Robert Redford, the actor, director, producer, and activist who embodied free and engaged cinema, died on September 16 in his sleep at his home in Provo, Utah. He was 89. Born in Santa Monica, California in 1936, Redford rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s with iconic roles in films such as Butch Cassidy (1969) alongside Paul Newman, The Sting (1973), Three Days of the Condor (1975), and All the President's Men (1976). He won the Academy Award for Best Director for his debut film Ordinary People (1980) and received an honorary Oscar in 2002. In 2017, he was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival, sharing the stage with Jane Fonda. Redford co-founded the Sundance Film Festival in 1990 with Sydney Pollack, championing independent cinema. His directorial works include Milagro (1988), A River Runs Through It (1992), Quiz Show (1994), and The Horse Whisperer (1998). His final directorial effort was The Company You Keep (2012). Redford was also a fervent environmental activist.