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Robert Redford,<\/a> the Hollywood golden boy who became an Oscar-winning director, liberal activist and godfather for independent cinema under the name of one of his best-loved characters, died Tuesday at 89.<\/p>\n Redford died \u201cat his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah \u2014 the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,\u201d publicist Cindi Berger said in a statement. No cause of death was provided.<\/p>\n Redford was one of the biggest stars of the \u201970s with such films as \u201cThe Candidate,\u201d \u201cAll the President\u2019s Men\u201d and \u201cThe Way We Were,\u201d capping that decade with the best director Oscar for 1980’s best picture winner, \u201cOrdinary People.\u201d<\/p>\n His wavy blond hair and boyish grin made him the most desired of leading men, but he worked hard to transcend his looks \u2014 whether through his political advocacy, his willingness to take on unglamorous roles or his dedication to providing a platform for low-budget movies.<\/p>\n His roles ranged from Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward to a double agent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and his co-stars included Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise. But his most famous screen partner was his old friend Paul Newman,<\/a> their films a variation of their warm, teasing off-screen relationship. Redford played the wily outlaw opposite Newman in 1969\u2019s \u201cButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,\u201d a box-office smash from which Redford’s Sundance Institute and festival got its name.<\/p>\n He also teamed with Newman on 1973\u2019s best picture Oscar winner, \u201cThe Sting,\u201d which earned Redford a best actor nomination as a young con artist in 1930s Chicago.<\/p>\n Film roles after the \u201970s became more sporadic as Redford concentrated on directing and producing and his new role as patriarch of the independent-film movement.<\/p>\n He starred in 1985\u2019s best picture champion \u201cOut of Africa\u201d and in 2013 received some of the best reviews of his career as a shipwrecked sailor in \u201cAll is Lost,\u201d in which he was the film\u2019s only performer. In 2018, he was praised again in what he called his farewell movie, \u201cThe Old Man and the Gun.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI figure now as I\u2019m getting into my 80s, it\u2019s maybe time to move toward retirement and spend more time with my wife and family,” he told The Associated Press at the time.<\/a><\/p>\n Redford had watched Hollywood grow more cautious and controlling during the 1970s and wanted to recapture the creative spirit of the early part of the decade. Sundance was created to nurture new talent away from the pressures of Hollywood. The institute and festival based in Park City, Utah, became a place of discovery for such previously unknown filmmakers as Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson and Darren Aronofsky.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, the word to be underscored is \u2018independence,\u2019\u201d Redford told the AP in 2018. \u201cI\u2019ve always believed in that word. That\u2019s what led to me eventually wanting to create a category that supported independent artists who weren\u2019t given a chance to be heard.”<\/p>\n By 2025, the festival had become so prominent that organizers approved relocating to Boulder, Colorado,<\/a> starting in 2027.<\/p>\n Redford\u2019s affinity for the outdoors was well captured in \u201cA River Runs Through It\u201d and other films and through his decades of advocacy for the environment, inspired in part by witnessing the transformation of Los Angeles into a city of smog and freeways. His activities ranged from lobbying for the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act to serving on the board of the Natural Resources Defense Council.<\/p>\n Born in Aug. 18, 1936 in Santa Monica, California, Redford attended college on a baseball scholarship and would later star as a middle-aged slugger in 1984\u2019s \u201cThe Natural,\u201d the adaptation of Bernard Malamud\u2019s novel. He had an early interest in drawing and painting and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He debuted on Broadway in the late 1950s before moving into television on such shows as \u201cThe Twilight Zone,\u201d \u201cAlfred Hitchcock Presents\u201d and \u201cThe Untouchables.\u201d<\/p>\n Redford was married twice, most recently to Sibylle Szaggars. He had four children, two of whom have died \u2014 Scott Anthony, who died in infancy, in 1959; and activist and fimmaker James Redford,<\/a> who died in 2020.<\/p>\n