.png)
2 hours ago
3
‘A dolphin among sharks’
I met Bob in 1984 after he finished Out of Africa through a mutual friend in Malibu, and subsequently began to work for him and became friends. At that time he was establishing Sundance and distancing himself from Hollywood. He was a dolphin among sharks. He was the most kind and wise person one could ever know in this life.
Lex, Joshua Tree, CA
‘His impact on film-making in New Mexico will have a lasting impact’
Robert Redford generously supported the Milagro at Los Luceros project in New Mexico. His generosity and vision helped underrepresented Native American, Hispanic and female writers to create screenplays, books and films under the guidance of writer and director Joan Tewkesbury. His impact on film-making and the environment in New Mexico will have a lasting impact.
Jean, New Mexico
‘At my PhD graduation, my mum was more excited about being in the same room as Bob’
Robert Redford was an honorary graduate at my PhD graduation at Trinity College Dublin in 2008. Despite my four years of hard graft and being the first member of my family to achieve the title “Dr”, my mum was far more excited about being in the same room as her heart-throb, “Bob”. I was a little put out by his presence outshining my special moment until I got called up and was greeted with a wink and a smile from Dr Redford. Yes, I went a bit weak at the knees. But don’t tell my mum I said that.
Catriona, 45, university professor, Helston, Cornwall
‘Every inch the movie star’
In 1978, producer Richard Drewett and I made a film [called The Outlaw Trail] with Robert Redford. He was a week late arriving for the shoot, sweeping up the road to his home above Sundance, sun-tanned in blue denim, driving a silver Porsche convertible – every inch the movie star. His excuse for the wait? “I had the chance to spend some time with my son James.”
Alan Ravenscroft, 78, retired documentary-maker
‘The waiter told him The Great Escape was his favourite movie’
In the 2000s, Robert Redford had dinner with his partner at the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat in the south of France at the table next to ours. At some point the waiter bent down and told him that The Great Escape was his favourite movie. Robert took it with good grace, thanked the waiter, took a sip of his vodka martini and had a good giggle once the waiter had departed.
Susanne, 54, former financial trader, London
‘I helped him to an auditorium seat to watch his son graduate’
Mr Redford’s son was a year ahead of me in high school and I served as a junior usher at his class’s graduation. I got to lead Mr Redford and his wife to seats in the auditorium. It was a brief, polite, non-substantive interaction, but it amused me that, after all the movie-house seats to which I had made my way to watch his films, I was helping him find an auditorium seat to watch his son graduate.
Robert, New York
‘Paul Newman recommended he go to the National Film Theatre’
The most memorable event was Robert Redford’s appearance at the National Film Theatre (NFT) in London in the 1970s [now the BFI]. I asked him why he had come: “Because,” Redford said, “I called Paul Newman [the actor and co-star in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid] and asked him what to do in London.” “You’ve got to go to the NFT,” said Newman, “they will treat you right and they know how to do it.”
Deac, London
‘He set up an expectation that I had a lot to look forward to in the navy’
I was a senior in college and already in the navy when I saw Robert Redford in The Way We Were. He was dazzlingly handsome in his navy uniform, it took my breath away. He immediately set up an expectation that I had a lot to look forward to in the navy! No one in my whole career ever looked as good in that uniform as he did.
Patty, 73, retired navy nurse, Annapolis, MA
‘He influenced a whole generation of skiers’
He influenced a whole generation of skiers to embrace the sport, to try amateur racing, to leave the East Coast to spend time in the magnificent mountains of the west and to believe that those vistas and wild places deserve our protection. Bravo Downhill Racer.
Mary, Pen Argyl, PA
‘Did you know he is the narrator at the planetarium in Kolkata, India?’
Did you know that the voice of the narrator at the planetarium in Kolkata, India, is Robert Redford’s? I took my kids there and came out of it feeling refreshed and hopeful. He made you believe that it might all turn out well, not by obscuring the truth but with his deeds and presence.
Shreya Sen-Handley, author, Nottingham
‘He personified what a dignified man is’
I first saw Robert Redford in The Natural. He was a beautiful man and I don’t think anyone can compare to him, both on and off screen. He personified what a dignified man is, trying his best to make a better world. I could spend weeks just watching Redford in his movies and learn what it is to try and live a good life – as he tried in his own life.
Khalid, Dubai
‘He apologised and laughed self-deprecatingly’
In early 2000 after working in a major art gallery in London for a few months, those of us on the frontline were pretty jaded when it came to celebrities. Then one evening, just before closing, a ripple went along the line of desks as a man walked past. People burst into fits of nervous giggles, their cheeks flushed. The man asked to buy a ticket to the special exhibition and it fell to my poor boss to tell him the museum was closing. The man apologised, laughed self-deprecatingly and headed for the exit. Even that short exchange demonstrated what a lovely, self-effacing man Robert Redford was. They don’t make them like that any more.
Clare, 55, unemployed, Kendal, Cumbria
The guy was a star. He came from an era when the term carried a sense of mystery, excitement and awe that has long since disappeared from our world. Redford had magic. Ordinary in his extraordinariness.
Many know him from Sundance, Barefoot, The Sting etc. But I would recommend seeking out some of his lesser-known works. There’s The Candidate, where he plays a charming political wannabe who is desperate for high office and then unsure what to do when he gets there. Or Three Days of the Condor where he plays an everyman trying to navigate a world where government conspiracy and paranoia run rife.
Add to this his concern for the environment, for decency, for humanity and for film through Sundance. And now he’s gone. Looking at the state of the world, perhaps it’s for the best. He seems almost too good for this place.
John Socha, 55, English and film studies teacher, Gdansk, Poland
