He took his final bow on Tuesday. Robert Redford, 89, passed away. Several generations will long remember the star of stage and the silver screen for many things. As a child of the ‘60s and ‘70s, that 45-minute drive to Greenville to the picture show put Mr. Redford front and center in my life. The movie I can remember seeing is probably Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. The classic duo of Paul Newman and Robert Redford, along with the Hole in the Wall Gang, was entertaining and much like Elvis, their characters’ deaths were not believed to be true by me.
He brought Jeremiah Johnson to life. The story of a 1800s war veteran who decided to go live in the woods and his educational journey is quite entertaining. As a young kid who wanted to be a better hunter, fisherman and Boy Scout, it all hit home in a cool way. Then came The Sting. Con men working the next big thing – Newman and Redford again with plenty of other stars thrown in that made the story real. A brush of the finger across the nose, a sign that the sting was on, success was coming. The soundtrack was a favorite for beginning and wannabe piano players. At least a tiny bit of The Entertainer could be pecked out to make folks smile and give you a finger to the nose, appreciative nod and smile.
Redford kept appearing on the big screen and entertaining each generation of moviegoers. He had a hand in making over 72 movies, but oddly enough, his only Oscar came as a director for “Ordinary People” in 1981. Politically, he was on the opposite side of my beliefs, but he didn’t seem to make a big deal out of it. He supported his candidates and invested his money in founding the nonprofit Sundance Institute in Park City, Utah, in 1981. He was deeply involved with independent films. Through its various workshop programs and popular film festival, Sundance has supported independent filmmakers. In 1995, Redford signed a deal with Showtime to launch a 24-hour cable channel, Sundance Channel, dedicated to airing independent films, which debuted in 1996.
He’s been described as a “Hollywood icon” who “committed himself to being a good steward of the environmental movement and a champion of the American Southwest.” I wonder if he ever thought about joining Ducks Unlimited and partnering with their conservation efforts from Canada to Mexico?
To me, he’s Sundance and Jeremiah and Roy Hobbs, the aging baseball star with a mysterious backstory. Robert Redford was cut from the old movie star cloth and just about everything you see is something positive about him.
“Use enough dynamite there, Butch?” A classic line that lives on in my life, probably appearing weekly somewhere on social media in reaction to a friend’s post. He used just enough throughout his career to keep it sizzling onscreen for more than 50 years. You will be missed, Mr. Redford. I hope you are resting in peace, and in the musical words of Bob Hope, “thanks for the memories.” And the dynamite, the sleight of hand, the Wonderboy bat, and showing us all how to shoot a .50 caliber Hawken and live to tell the tale…
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