#Fact1He Was Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation's Highest Civilian Award, by President Barack Obama, in a Live Televised Ceremony Held in...
Redford and his films were spoofed in "Cracked" magazine as "Rollicking with Redford," which was reproduced in the mass-market paperback "Half-Crackd" by Dell in 1974.
He and his A Bridge Too Far (1977) co-star Laurence Olivier are the only people to act in and direct different Academy Award for Best Picture winners: (1) Olivier played Maximilian de Winter in Rebecca (1940) and directed Hamlet (1948), in which he also played the title role and (2) Redford played Johnny Hooker in The Sting (1973) and Denys Finch Hatton in Out of Africa (1985) and directed Ordinary People (1980).
His daughter, Shauna, was in a relationship with Sid Wells for three years until he was murdered on August 1, 1983. The suspect, roommate Thayne Smika, has been on the run since 1986 over theft charges. The first grand jury did not issue an indictment for murder believed to be a result of misconduct by the district attorney. After a cold case investigation in December 2010 an arrest warrant for the murder was issued. This was featured on The Hunt With John Walsh, which aired on August 10, 2014.
Grandfather of Anna Michaela Schlosser (born 1991) and Conor James Schlosser (born July 29, 1992) (children of daughter Shauna Redford and Eric Schlosser), Dylan Larson Redford (born 1991) and Lena Redford (born 1996) (children of son James Redford and Kyle Smith) and Eden Hart August (born 2008) (daughter of daughter Amy Redford and Matt August).
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Like his dear friend Paul Newman, both men had firstborn sons named Scott who predeceased their fathers.
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Robert Young, who was a star at MGM in the 1930s and starred in the TV series "Father Knows Best" and "Marcus Welby MD", was a cousin of his mother.
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As a guest on Inside the Actors Studio (1994) (30 Jan. 2005), Redford confessed to host James Lipton that his favorite and least favorite words were, respectively, "Possible" and "Whatever".
1960: He spent his last $500 on two acres of land in Utah, an investment that would ultimately grow to 5,000 acres becoming home to his Sundance Institute. Redford purchase Timp Haven (ski resort) in 1969 and changed the name to Sundance Ski Resort which began operating under Redford's environmentally friendly policies. Sundance is located at the base of Utah's picturesque Mt. Timpanogos and in 1981 Redford formed the Sundance Institute and later the Sundance Film Festival which became too large for Sundance Ski Resort and was moved primarily to Park City, Utah.
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Lifelong friends with Sydney Pollack both men having made their feature film acting debuts in War Hunt (1962).
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2002: Awarded an honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement as the creator of Sundance, an inspiration to independent and innovative filmmakers everywhere.
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He set up the Sundance Film Institute in Utah for independent filmmakers and in 1997 announced the creation of Sundance Cinemas, a venture with a major distributer to set up a chain of theaters for the screening of independent films. As of 2011, at least two are open.
His performance as the Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) is ranked #20 on the American Film Institute's 100 Heroes & Villains. This is a ranking he shares with Paul Newman, who portrayed Butch Cassidy.
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1996: Awarded the American National Medal of the Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, DC.
During his senior year at Van Nuys High School, he met 15-year old sophomore Natalie Wood, who was already a star. Later in life, they starred together in Inside Daisy Clover (1965) and This Property Is Condemned (1966) and became good friends. She also played herself in a cameo in his film The Candidate (1972).
He is an environmental conservationist and often advocates and supports natural causes.
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2005: Premiere Magazine ranked him as #17 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature.
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Dislikes watching his own films. The only film in which he was completely satisfied with his own performance was The Sting (1973).
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After his suggestions of Warren Beatty, Alain Delon and Burt Reynolds to play the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972) were rejected by Francis Ford Coppola, Paramount production chief Robert Evans suggested Redford. When Coppola demurred, preferring his first choice of Tony Awar-winning Broadway actor Al Pacino, Evans explained that Redford could fit the role as he could be perceived as "northern Italian." Evans lost the struggle, Pacino was cast and a star was born.
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Was originally attached to The Verdict (1982), but dropped out prior to production because he didn't want the character to be "such a loser". Director Sidney Lumet was dismayed by Redford's demands to change the script. The role of Frank Galvin was taken over by his friend Paul Newman, who won an Oscar nomination.
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Is of Irish, Scottish and English descent.
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Alumni of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA).
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He was voted the 30th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
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Was given a fishing rod in lieu of the agreed $75 payment for his first professional acting appearance, on a TV game show.
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2004: In addition to being the graduation speaker for Bard College's 144th Commencement, he also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the college.
He was pitcher on the University of Colorado baseball team, before losing his scholarship due to drinking.
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He is a national member of Kappa Sigma, the fraternity he was member of while attending the University of Colorado.
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In the early 1970s Paramount had plans to remake Double Indemnity (1944) with Redford in the Fred MacMurray role. The project never got off the ground.
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Lost out on the role of Ben Braddock in The Graduate (1967) because director Mike Nichols didn't think anyone would believe Redford would have trouble getting "the girl".
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Mentioned in the theme song of the 1980s TV hit The Fall Guy (1981).
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He received a chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (knight) for his work through the Sundance Institute, promoting independent film.
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Was considered for the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972).
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German painter Sibylle Szaggars has been his longtime companion since 1996.
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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.
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1995: Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#4).
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10/97: Ranked #29 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.