photo:
http://images.askmen.com/galleries/men/robert-redford/pictures/robert-redford-picture-1.jpg
Biography
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 19361) is an award-winning American motion picture actor, director, producer, businessman and philanthropist.
Born in Santa Monica, California to Charles Robert Redford, Sr. (of English, Scottish and Irish Protestant ancestry) and Martha W. Hart (from Texas), Redford graduated from Van Nuys High School in Los Angeles, California in 1955 and received a baseball scholarship to the University of Colorado where he was a pitcher on the baseball team before losing his scholarship due to adolescent drinking fueled in part by the death of his mother when Redford was 18. He later was a painting student at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and took classes in theatrical set design at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Lola Van Wagenen (a consumer activist) dropped out of college to marry Redford on September 12, 1958. They divorced in 1985 after having four children, one of whom died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Their surviving children are Shauna Redford, Amy Redford, an actress, and James Redford, a screen writer.
Redford is known for his roles in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, The Sting, The Natural, The Way We Were, Out of Africa, The Great Gatsby and many others. Redford directed the films Ordinary People, Quiz Show, The Legend of Bagger Vance, The Horse Whisperer, The Milagro Beanfield War and A River Runs Through It. He was also a producer on all except Ordinary People.
In 1980, the first film Redford directed, Ordinary People, won him the Academy Award for Directing; his 1994 film Quiz Show was nominated for the award but lost to Forrest Gump. Along with Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, Richard Attenborough, and Kevin Costner, Redford is one of 6 people to win an Academy Award for "Best Director" though they are primarily known as actors.
With the financial proceeds of his acting success, starting with his salary from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Downhill Racer, Redford purchased the ski resort just outside Park City, Utah called Timphaven. He renamed it the Sundance Resort, not long after, portions of the movie Jeremiah Johnson (1972), a film which is both one of Redford's favorites and one that has heavily influenced him, were shot in the area. He then founded the Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute, Sundance Catalog and the Sundance Channel, all in and around Park City. The Sundance Film Festival caters to independent filmmakers in the United States and has received some recognition from the industry as a place to option films. The name Sundance comes from his character the "Sundance Kid." In addition he owns a celebrated restaurant called Zoom, located on Main Street in the former mining town of Park City.
In 1995, Redford received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Bard College.
In December of 2005, Robert Redford received honors at the Kennedy Center for his contributions to American culture. The Honors recipients are recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts: whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence.
With his wife, Lola, Redford raised three children, Shauna, Jamie and Amy, in the family’s homes in New York City and Utah. Redford and Lola, who have four grandchildren, divorced in 1985. A long-term relationship with Kathy O’Rear, a costume designer, ended in 1995. Redford has since been romantically linked to Sibylle Szaggars, a painter. Robert Redford - biography.
Contents
1 Selected filmography
1.1 Acting
1.2 Directing
2 External links
3 Notes
Selected filmography
Acting
The Ice Man Cometh (TV) (1960)
War Hunt (1962)
Situation Hopeless...But Not Serious (1965)
Inside Daisy Clover (1965)
The Chase (1966)
This Property is Condemned (1966)
Barefoot in the Park (1967)
Downhill Racer (1969)
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1970)
The Hot Rock (1972)
The Candidate (1972)
Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
The Way We Were (1973)
The Sting (1973)
The Great Gatsby (1974)
The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
All the President's Men (1976)
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
The Electric Horseman (1979)
Brubaker (1980)
The Natural (1984)
Out of Africa (1985)
Legal Eagles (1986)
Havana (1990)
A River Runs Through It (1992) (narrator voice-uncredited)
Sneakers (1992)
Indecent Proposal (1993)
Up Close & Personal (1996)
The Horse Whisperer (1998)
The Last Castle (2001)
Spy Game (2001)
The Clearing (2004)
An Unfinished Life (2005)
Charlotte's Web (2006) (voice)
"Untitled Jackie Robinson Project" (2006)
"Aloft" (2006) announced
Directing
Ordinary People (1980)
The Milagro Beanfield War (1988)
A River Runs Through It (1992)
Quiz Show (1994)
The Horse Whisperer (1998)
The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
