- Born
- Birth nameCharles Robert Redford Jr.
- Nickname
- Bob
- Height5′ 10½″ (1.79 m)
- Born on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, to Charles Robert Redford, an accountant for Standard Oil, and Martha Redford, Charles Robert Redford, Jr. was a scrappy kid who stole hubcaps in high school and lost his college baseball scholarship at the University of Colorado because of drunkenness. However, as a high school student, he had displayed a certain aptitude as a caricaturist and this contributed to his decision to seriously study art. Redford then enjoyed a year-long sojourn travelling around Europe, hitchhiking, living in youth hostels and generally living the painter's life. Eventually, he came to realise that his work was unoriginal and not very good. He therefore returned to New York to pursue studies in theatrical design at the Pratt Institute of Art. He subsequently enrolled in acting classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
By the end of 1960, he was on Broadway in a series of plays including Barefoot in the Park, which launched him to fame. TV and stage experience coupled with all-American good looks led to movies and a breakthrough role in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), when the actor was 33. The Way We Were (1973) and The Sting (1973), both in 1973, made Redford No. 1 at the box office for the next three years. Redford used his clout to advance environmental causes and his riches to acquire Utah property, which he transformed into a ranch and the Sundance ski resort. In 1980, he established the Sundance Institute for aspiring filmmakers. Its annual film festival has become one of the world's most influential. Redford's directorial debut, Ordinary People (1980), won him the Academy Award for Best Director in 1981. He waited eight years before getting behind the camera again, this time for the screen version of John Nichols' acclaimed novel of the Southwest, The Milagro Beanfield War (1988). He scored with critics and fans in 1992 with the Brad Pitt film A River Runs Through It (1992), and again, in 1994, with Quiz Show (1994), which earned him yet another Best Director nomination.
Redford married Lola Van Wagenen on August 9, 1958; they divorced in 1985 after having four children, one of which died of sudden infant death syndrome. Daughter Shauna Redford, born November 15, 1960, is a painter who married Eric Schlosser on October 5, 1985, in Provo, Utah; her first child, born in January 1991, made Redford a grandfather. Son James Redford, a screenwriter, was born May 5, 1962. Daughter Amy Redford, an actress, was born October 22, 1970. Redford has a half-brother named William, who worked in medical research.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gustaf Molin <gumo@hem2.passagen.se>
- SpousesBylle Szaggars-Redford(July 11, 2009 - present)Lola Van Wagenen(August 9, 1958 - November 12, 1985) (divorced, 4 children)
- ChildrenShauna Redford
- ParentsMartha HartCharles Robert Redford
- RelativesWilliam Redford(Sibling)
- Films often reflect his liberal political views
- Often worked with Sydney Pollack
- Often plays charismatic, idealistic characters
- He often did his own stunts in action sequences but made sure the stunt men who were hired for it were paid, so as not to put anyone out of work.
- Dislikes watching his own films. The only film in which he was completely satisfied with his own performance was The Sting (1973).
- He is the founder of the Sundance Film Festival, which he named after his character from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).
- Was considered for the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972).
- Father of Shauna Redford (born on 15 November 1960), James Redford (born on 15 May 1962) and Amy Redford (born on 22 October 1970). His oldest son Scott was born in 1959 and died shortly after from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
- [on his appearance in Havana (1990)] All everyone talked about was aging. It took me by surprise because I have not thought of myself that way. I assumed I would age naturally, as time went on.
- As a director, I wouldn't like me as an actor. As an actor, I wouldn't like me as a director.
- I am perhaps the best-looking grandfather around, apart from Marlon Brando, of course!
- Some people have analysis. I have Utah.
- [on refusing the role of Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate (1967), the role that made Dustin Hoffman a star seven years before Redford obtained super-star status himself] I never did look like a 21-year-old just out of college who'd never been laid.
- The Last Castle (2001) - $11,000,000
- Indecent Proposal (1993) - $5,000,000 + 15% of first dollar gross
- Legal Eagles (1986) - $8,000,000
- Out of Africa (1985) - $6,000,000
- Ordinary People (1980) - $53,066
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