Nov. 5 (UPI) — A federal district judge on Wednesday ordered authorities to improve conditions inside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building near Chicago.
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman, calling the conditions “unnecessarily cruel,” acted on a class action lawsuit Wednesday after hearing several hours of testimony from five people detained at the Broadview immigration detention site west of Chicago.
“People shouldn’t be sleeping next to overflowing toilets,” Gettleman, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, said. “They should not be sleeping on top of each other.”
The four-page order also mandates detainees to be able to contact their attorneys. The order on the class action lawsuit will run from Nov. 19, when he will have another hearing though the Trump administration was told to give him a status by Friday on complying with the order.
“The court finds that plaintiffs and members of the punitive class have suffered, and are likely to suffer, irreparable harm absent the temporary relief granted herein, that they are likely to prevail on the merits of the claims, that the balance of the equities tips in their favor,” he said.
They also must be provided with a shower at least every other day; clean toilet facilities; three full meals per day; a bottle of water with each meal; adequate supplies of soap, toilet paper, and other hygiene products; and menstrual products and prescribed medications.
Holding cells also must be cleaned at least twice a day.
Regarding legal defense, detainees must have free and private phone calls with their attorneys and a list of pro bono attorneys in English and Spanish.
And they must be listed in ICE’s online detainee locator system as soon as they arrive at the Broadview facility.
The judge heard several hours of testimony about conditions at the building, which is intended to hold detainees for a few hours.
They described the inadequate food, sleeping conditions, medical care and bathrooms near where they slept. They said they slept on the floor or on plastic chairs.
The lawsuit claimed the facility “cut off detainees from the outside world,” which the government has denied.
The judge didn’t act on the plaintiff’s request to limit how many people would be kept in holding cells and limit them to not more than 12 hours if the changes aren’t enacted.
The U.S. government said the restrictions would “halt the government’s ability to enforce immigration law in Illinois.”
Five alleged drug dealers are facing felony charges for their involvement in the death of Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez, the grandson of acting legend Robert De Niro.
A federal grand jury in New York indicted the quintet on Tuesday, each on a single felony count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances resulting in death, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors allege the men were “members of a criminal network that distributed thousands of counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl, among other drugs” to young adults and teenagers living in New York City.
The men arrested by New York officials this week — identified as Grant McIver, Bruce Epperson, Eddie Barreto, John Nicolas and Roy Nicolas — allegedly used social media to sell the drugs. Prosecutors underscored that the men’s “drug dealing had deadly consequences: over a three-month span in the summer of 2023,” alleging their drugs led to the deaths of three 19-year-olds.
Though the indictment did not disclose the victims’ identities, law enforcement confirmed the deaths include De Niro-Rodriguez’s in July 2023, according to severalreports. At the time of her son’s death, actor-producer Drena De Niro — the Oscar winner’s eldest daughter with ex-wife Diahnne Abbott — said “someone sold [Leandro] fentanyl-laced pills that they knew were laced yet still sold them to him.”
A month after the young “A Star Is Born” actor’s death, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed De Niro-Rodriguez died of an accidental drug overdose, noting he succumbed to the toxic effects of fentanyl, bromazolam, alprazolam, 7-aminoclonazepam, ketamine and cocaine.
Akira Stein, daughter of Blondie co-founder Chris Stein, was also an alleged victim. Stein announced his daughter’s death in July 2023, months after she died “at the end of May to an overdose.”
“The DEA and US Attorney folks from the NYC Southern District have been really very sympathetic and respectful all through this process and I can’t thank them enough for this hope of some justice for her,” Stein wrote in reaction to news of the arrests Thursday. “Please be careful.”
Shortly after De Niro-Rodriguez’s death, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York confirmed that law enforcement had arrested a woman, an alleged drug dealer known as the “Percocet Princess,” for her suspected connection with his death. She was arrested on charges of selling drugs to De Niro-Rodriguez.
In a July 2023 statement, “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Raging Bull” star De Niro said, “I’m deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo.”
“We’re greatly appreciative of the condolences from everyone,” he said. “We ask that we please be given privacy to grieve our loss of Leo.”
No sooner had the Toronto Blue Jays clinched a World Series spot against the Dodgers than the torrent of memes, posts and tweets flowed, all with some version of this one-liner: Finally, Shohei Ohtani is on the plane to Toronto.
On a December day two years ago, as Ohtani navigated free agency: three reports surfaced: there was a private plane flying from Orange County to Toronto (true); Ohtani had decided to sign with the Blue Jays (false); and Ohtani was on a flight to Toronto (false).
When the jet landed, surrounded by reporters and photographers and even a news helicopter, an entire country fell into despair. The gentleman on the plane was not Ohtani.
He was Robert Herjavec, a star on “Shark Tank” and a prominent Canadian businessman with homes in Toronto and Southern California.
“It is my only claim to fame in the sports world: to be mistaken for someone else,” Herjavec said Tuesday.
Herjavec said he hopes to attend at least one World Series game in Los Angeles and another in Toronto. He is not the Dodgers’ $700-million man, but he said he would enjoy meeting Ohtani.
“I’m very disappointed,” Herjavec said with a laugh, “he hasn’t reached out to me for financial advice.”
He is no different than the rest of us, Ohtani’s teammates included. Watching Ohtani play calls to mind the words Jack Buck used to call Kirk Gibson’s home run: I don’t believe what I just saw.
“To me, as a layman and a couch athlete, the ability to throw a ball at 100 mph and then go out and hit three home runs?” Herjavec said. “It’s mind boggling.”
To be a successful businessman takes talent too, no?
“That’s the beauty of business,” he said. “I always say to people, business is the only sport where you can play at an elite level with no God-given talent.”
On that fateful Friday, Herjavec and his 5-year-old twins were en route to Toronto, and normally he would have known what was happening on the ground before he landed. However, he had turned off all the phones and tablets on board so he could play board games with his children in an effort to calm them.
“I gave them too much sugar,” he said. “They were wired.”
Upon landing, Canadian customs agents boarded the plane, in a hopeful search for Ohtani. Herjavec and his kids got off the plane, descending into a storm of national news because the Blue Jays are Canada’s team.
I asked Herjavec if he ever had disappointed so many people at any point in his life. He burst out laughing.
“That is such a great question,” he said. “That is my crowning achievement: I let down an entire nation at one time.”
The Blue Jays have a rich history. In 1992-93, they won back-to-back World Series championships, the feat the Dodgers are trying to duplicate.
The Jays have not appeared in the World Series since 1993, but that is not even close to the longest or most painful championship drought in Toronto.
The Maple Leafs, playing Canada’s national sport, have not won the Stanley Cup since 1967. That would be like the Dodgers or Yankees not winning the World Series since 1967.
“Speaking of letting people down,” Herjavec said.
The difference between Americans and Canadians, he said, is that Americans expect to win and Canadians believe it would be nice to win.
He counts himself in the latter camp. He can call both the Dodgers and Blue Jays a home team, but he is rooting for Toronto in this World Series.
“I have to,” he said, “because I’ve already disappointed the entire country once.
“I’m hoping, with my moral support, this will redeem me to Canadians.”
Emmerdale have released a preview for next week that sees Kev make his return to the village after his prison release, where he drops a claim on a confused Victoria Sugden
00:00, 18 Oct 2025Updated 00:09, 18 Oct 2025
Robert Sugden’s drama with his secret husband Kev continues on Emmerdale next week.
The character is still hiding the truth about Kev, with only his sister Victoria Sugden knowing who he is. But even she is in for a bombshell of her own, thanks to a comment made by Kev next week.
A new preview shows the moment Robert and Kev are reunited, hugging it out as Kev shows up to see him. Of course he’s staying with his partner Aaron Dingle, with both Aaron and Kev unaware of each other’s situation with Robert.
That all changes next week when Aaron spots Kev and Robert kissing, and the truth comes to light. Prior to this, Robert is hiding his whereabouts from Kev, claiming to be working on the farm when actually he’s been with Aaron.
He’s still trying to live two separate lives until he has to spill all, still believing he can keep Aaron and Kev separate. But Kev’s bombshell claim to Victoria sparks more questions, as it emerges Robert has lied about his sister.
Kev announces that Victoria is “looking well” for someone who has had brain surgery. Victoria is baffled, demanding answers from Robert who confesses he lied that he was caring for her.
Having to explain why he’s not been visiting Kev, he’s lied to his husband that Victoria had an operation on her brain and needed to be looked after. In the preview clip, Kev checks in on Victoria with Robert watching on awkwardly.
Victoria then finds out from Kev that he’s staying with Charles and Claudette Anderson as part of his outreach programme. Victoria points out Robert didn’t tell her this information, to which he feigns surprise over missing out this part.
When Kev pops out of the room, Victoria wastes no time in making it clear to Robert that the time is now to confess all. With Kev now staying in the village, she knows it’s only a matter of time before he and Aaron meet.
With that, she tells Robert he has to confess about Kev to Aaron before he finds out from someone else. Robert places his head in his hands, realising he’s in trouble.
Next week spoilers have revealed Kev is introduced to Charles and Claudette, and he soon runs into Aaron. A teaser preview has hinted that Robert tells both Aaron and Kev that neither of them have anything to worry about – but will he regret this?
A Texas court has issued a stay of execution for Robert Roberson, a man whose 2003 murder conviction has raised serious questions about the validity of “shaken baby syndrome” as a medical diagnosis.
Thursday’s decision arrived with only a week remaining until Roberson’s scheduled execution date on October 16.
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Roberson, a 58-year-old autistic man, was accused of having killed his two-year-old daughter Nikki Michelle Curtis in January 2002, after he brought her to a hospital emergency room unconscious.
He has maintained that Nikki had been sick and fell from her bed overnight. But prosecutors argued that her head trauma must have been caused by “shaken baby syndrome”, a diagnosis popularised in the late 1990s as evidence of physical abuse in infants and toddlers.
But that diagnosis has been increasingly rejected, as doctors and medical researchers point out that the symptoms of “shaken baby syndrome” — namely, bleeding or swelling in the eyes or brain — can be caused by other conditions.
Roberson’s defence team has argued that Nikki suffered from chronic pneumonia in the lead-up to her death, and the medications she was given, including codeine, contributed to her death.
In Thursday’s decision, the judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed to pause his execution in light of a similar case being overturned in 2024.
Judge Bert Richardson contrasted the shifting nature of the medical research with the finality of execution in his concurring opinion.
“There is a delicate balance and tension in our criminal justice system between the finality of judgment and its accuracy based on our ever-advancing scientific understanding,” Judge Richardson wrote.
“A death sentence is clearly final and, once carried out, hindsight is useless. Thus, when moving forward in such a way, we should require the highest standards of accuracy so that we can act with a reliable degree of certainty.”
But the court limited its judgement to reopening Roberson’s petition for habeas corpus, which questions the constitutionality of a person’s imprisonment.
It declined to reconsider Roberson’s case as a whole. That prompted some of the judges on the court to issue a partial dissent.
Judge David Schenck, for instance, argued that “a new trial is necessary and mandated by our Constitution”, given the new evidence that has emerged in the two decades since Roberson was sentenced to death.
“The merits of Roberson’s claims and the cumulative effect of the evidence Roberson presents — in his fifth application as well as his previous and subsequent applications — would be more properly and more swiftly assessed at this point by a jury in a new trial,” Schenck said.
He added that a new trial would also offer the state of Texas “an opportunity to present this case on its merits”.
Still, some judges on the panel said they were opposed to reopening the case, arguing that the shift in medical consensus did not rule out an act of violence in Nikki’s death.
“Arguably credible and reliable scientific evidence still exists to suggest that shaking a child can cause serious injury or death,” Judge Kevin Yeary wrote in his opinion.
This is not the first time that Roberson’s case has been delayed. He has spent nearly 23 years on death row and was also slated to be executed a year ago, in October 2024.
But that execution date was scuttled in an extraordinary series of events. With his execution scheduled for October 17 of that year, a bipartisan group of legislators in the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence agreed to issue a subpoena for Roberson on October 21 — effectively setting up a battle between the legislature’s will and the court’s.
The subpoen sparked a court case about the separation of powers in Texas: A witness could not answer a legislative subpoena if the justice system executed him first.
Further, the members of the Texas House committee had argued that a 2013 state law barring the use of “junk science” in court cases had failed to be applied in Roberson’s case.
The case reached the Texas Supreme Court, which halted Roberson’s execution while the matter was resolved. Execution dates are set with at least 90 days’ notice in Texas, resulting in a prolonged pause.
On July 16, after appeals from Roberson’s defence team, a new execution date was set for this month.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, has accused critics of Roberson’s sentence of “interfering with the capital punishment proceedings” and has repeatedly pledged to push forward with the execution.
But even those involved in Roberson’s original capital murder trial have sought to see his sentence overturned.
Brian Wharton, the lead investigator in Roberson’s case, had once testified in favour of the prosecution. But last year, he told the Texas House committee that he supported Roberson’s appeal, given the new evidence that has come to light.
“He is an innocent man, and we are very close to killing him for something he did not do,” Wharton said.
On Thursday, one of the jurors who helped convict Roberson also published an opinion column in the Houston Chronicle, asserting that she was “wrong” to side with the prosecution.
“If we on the jury knew then what I know now — about the new evidence of Nikki’s missed pneumonia, how her breathing would have been affected by the Phenergan and codeine doctors gave her that last week, the signs of sepsis, and all the things that were wrong with the version of shaken baby syndrome used in the case — we would have had a lot more to discuss,” Terre Compton wrote.
“Based on all that has come out since the trial, I am 100% certain that Robert Roberson did not murder his child.”
Texas has executed 596 people since 1982, the most of any state.
Sir Keir Starmer has hit out at the Shadow Justice SecretaryCredit: Reuters
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The PM slammed Robert Jenrick over his recent commentsCredit: Reuters
Sir Keir slammed the comment on Thursday night, saying “it’s quite hard to take anything that Robert Jenrick says seriously.”
He accused the senior Tory of “running a leadership campaign” instead of making serious political arguments.
Speaking on a flight to Mumbai, where he will meet Indian President Narendra Modi, Sir Keir said: “We’re working hard on questions of integration, but we need no lessons or lectures from Robert Jenrick on any of this.
“He’s clearly just engaging in a leadership campaign.”
Read more on Robert Jenrick
The row erupted after senior Conservatives rallied behind Mr Jenrick’s claim that Britain must confront “ghettoised communities” and a “dangerous” lack of social cohesion.
Labour figures branded the comments “racist”, but Tory leader Kemi Badenoch defended her colleague, saying there was “nothing wrong with making observations.”
Shadow Cabinet Minister Claire Coutinho also backed him, saying: “If you walk through an area and don’t see a single white face, it is a sign that integration has failed.”
The controversy broke out during the Tory party conference in Manchester after The Guardian obtained a secret recording of Mr Jenrick describing a 90-minute visit to Handsworth earlier this year.
He told members at an Aldridge-Brownhills dinner: “I went to Handsworth in Birmingham the other day to do a video on Twitter and it was absolutely appalling.
“It’s as close as I’ve come to a slum in this country.
Robert Jenrick rationalises his ‘one nation under one flag’ stance on Kate’s Dates
“But the other thing I noticed there was that it was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to.
“In fact, in the hour and a half I was filming news there I didn’t see another white face.”
Just nine per cent of Handsworth’s population is white, with most residents of Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi heritage, official data shows.
Asked if he regretted his comments, Mr Jenrick told the BBC: “No, not at all and I won’t shy away from these issues.”
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Tory leader Kemi Badenoch defended her colleagueCredit: Alamy
He said he mentioned skin colour “because it’s incredibly important that we have a fully integrated society regardless of the colour of their skin or the faith that they abide by.”
Emmerdale’s Ryan Hawley and Danny Miller told The Mirror there’s ‘explosive’ twists to come for Robron on the ITV soap with the arrival of Robert Sugden’s secret husband Kev
20:15, 01 Oct 2025Updated 20:18, 01 Oct 2025
With a reunion confirmed for Emmerdale’s Robron, it seems there’s still the challenge of Robert Sugden’s secret husband Kev to deal with(Image: ITV)
With a reunion confirmed for Emmerdale‘s Robron, it seems there’s still the challenge of Robert Sugden’s secret husband Kev to deal with.
Wednesday night’s episode saw Robert and his soulmate Aaron Dingle finally reunite onscreen, agreeing to give their love another chance. They decided to keep it between them for now, but of course this isn’t the only secret Robert’s hiding.
We met his secret husband Kev this week, and now The Mirror can reveal the character will be back in the village soon – and fans should expect explosive twists and turns. With a new love triangle of sorts in true soap fashion, Robert is left torn over keeping things on track with Aaron, and making Kev happy in his final months following the bombshell that he is dying.
Soon enough, it becomes clear Kev will cause problems for Robert and his relationship with Aaron. Robert actor Ryan Hawley told us: “It would be boring if true love ran smoothly in a soap wouldn’t it?
“Poor Robert is going to have this huge dilemma and it’s a stressful time for him. He’s come back to the village to try to stop a marriage and now there is this other guy who is dying.
“When Aaron finds out Robert has a husband, it’s going to be explosive. But all is not what it seems and Kev is volatile, broken, damaged and he creates so many problems for Robert and Aaron.”
Aaron actor Danny Miller dubbed Kev an “endearing psychopath”, as he mocked the likeness to Aaron’s killer husband John Sugden. He told us: “It’s a new way of actually highlighting how Aaron and Robert do think the same – they have both found psychopaths separately in their lives who have both come in between them to really test their love and passion.
“Chris is brilliant as Kev and he’s a great addition.” Ryan agreed: “He has such a lot of experience. It’s great to be working with him and Danny together.”
But Ryan did share hope for Robron, with he and Danny thrilled to see the pair back together again. He shared: “All the obstacles are out the way and Robert and Aaron are free to be back together. They agree to keep it a secret because they don’t want the distraction of other people’s opinions – after all, Aaron has just found out his husband is a serial killer, he’s out of a coma and his husband is on the run.
“It’s time to move on! The fact it is so soon and he is jumping in with Robert doesn’t matter to them. They think it is best for them.” As for whether Robron will ever walk down the aisle again, the truth is something not even the actors know.
Both agree it would, however, be the perfect icing on the cake if they did. “Hopefully one day, they will be able to be out in the open and honest with everyone,” said Danny. “But we will just have to wait and see!”
Emmerdale’s latest episode reveals who mystery newcomer Kev, played by actor Chris Coghill, really is and how he’s linked to Robert Sugden on the ITV soap amid a new twist
Emmerdale’s latest episode reveals who mystery newcomer Kev, played by actor Chris Coghill, really is(Image: ITV)
There’s a big discovery on Emmerdale on Monday, as newcomer Kev’s link to Robert Sugden comes to light.
Actor Chris Coghill debuts on the ITV soap in the episode that is available to watch on ITVX now. In said episode, we finally find out who he is and why he’s in the village.
The Mirror have chosen not to give these details away just yet for viewers tuning in to ITV1 on Monday evening. This article does contain some slight spoilers though, so look away now if you want to avoid any details.
In the episode, Kev locates Robert and he soon gets invited into his home. It follows Friday’s episode that saw someone, known as K, texting Robert and leaving him unnerved.
The message asked Robert to “stop ignoring” him, and Robert began looking around to see if anyone was watching him. On Monday, we see Kev arrive in the village and asking for directions to where he might find Robert.
Robert opens the door to a very familiar face, Kev. As he watches to see if anyone has spotted them together, he quickly closes the door and it becomes clear they know each other.
In this episode it details who he is and how he and Robert know each other, as we learn more about his time in prison. Victoria Sugden, Robert’s sister, walks in on the pair holding hands and quickly questions what is going on.
Confused, she demands answers with Robert left to explain who Kev is. Viewers can expect an explanation about it all, while later in the week spoilers reveal Robert is caught up in a “tricky situation” that he has caused for himself.
But what does this mean for Robert and Aaron Dingle, amid hopes of a Robron reunion? On Friday Aaron tried to kiss his ex, after a traumatic few weeks thanks to his killer husband John Sugden.
Robert rejected the kiss though, telling Aaron that he didn’t want them to reunite “like this”, knowing what Aaron was going through. Aaron initially acted out over this but soon realised Robert was supporting him.
He told Robert he couldn’t get through the turmoil on his own, grateful to have him by his side even if “just as mates”. Robert promised he’d help “fix” him and that he was going nowhere – but what will Kev’s arrival bring to the pair, and how will Aaron react to Kev’s arrival when he finds out?
Emmerdale newcomer Kev is shown in a first-look clip for Monday’s episode, that sees him and Robert Sugden discussing some ‘big news’ ahead of their link being explained
00:00, 27 Sep 2025Updated 00:08, 27 Sep 2025
There’s a new arrival on Emmerdale next week, and a new video preview has teased scenes with Robert Sugden.
Newcomer Kev makes his debut on Monday and it soon becomes clear he and Robert are known to each other from their time in prison. Monday’s episode will reveal all, with Robert’s secrets in terms of his past with Kev and their mystery link coming to light.
A new preview has revealed Kev shares some “big news” with Robert, that leaves him emotional. Robert tells Kev he’s “gutted”, and it’s something Kev has had to “get his head around”.
It’s clear he’s keen for Robert’s support, wanting him to make him laugh, while Robert seems shocked by what he has uncovered. Fans will find out what it is when the episode airs next week.
They will also see the moment Robert’s confused sister Victoria Sugden walks in and sees them together. Questioning what she’s walked into, Robert is clearly hiding something from Kev.
Kev knows all about Robert’s sister, leaving her surprised. But as Robert claims Victoria knows who Kev is, he pulls a face at her that makes it abundantly clear he’s never mentioned him – while Kev doesn’t see this.
So why exactly is Robert hiding Kev from Victoria? Again, all will be revealed as the scenes air on Monday. In the clip shared, Robert tells Kev: “I’m gutted for you,” and he seems upset and shocked.
Kev replies: “I’ve got my head around it. I just need you to smile, make me laugh, distract me.” In that moment Victoria walks in and says: “Oh I’m sorry, am I interrupting?”
Robert tells her: “I didn’t know you were gonna be back so soon,” to which she says: “Clearly…” But Kev already knows who she is, saying: “Victoria, it’s so nice to finally meet you.”
Confused she’s even more baffled when Robert claims to have told her all about Kev. He then pulls a face at her as if to encourage her to play along, as Kev says he has to leave but hopes to see them again.
Robert claims they can meet properly next time, to which he comments: “I’ll bring something for Harry, too.” Victoria looks alarmed at this, before it’s clear she wants answers.
It comes as the latest episode of the ITV soap hinted at a Robron reunion for Robert and his ex Aaron Dingle. The pair seemed closer and Aaron tried to kiss his ex, only for Robert to say it wasn’t the right time.
A longtime partner at the Washington law firm Williams & Connolly, Barnett was the go-to lawyer for politicians and public officials moving into private life
Robert Barnett, a Washington attorney who represented powerful politicians and many of the biggest stars in TV news business, died Friday after a long, unspecified illness. He was 79.
Barnett’s death in a Washington hospital was confirmed by his wife, retired CBS News correspondent Rita Braver.
A longtime partner at the Washington law firm Williams & Connolly, Barnett was the go-to lawyer for politicians and public officials moving into private life. He helped procure multimillion-dollar book contracts for former Presidents Obama, Clinton and George W. Bush.
Barnett was a Democratic political insider as well. He would play opposing candidates in mock debates to help prepare the presidential tickets of Al Gore and Joe Lieberman in 2000, John Kerry and John Edwards in 2004, Hillary Clinton when she first ran for president in 2008, and Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro in 1984.
“I baited [Ferraro] a lot and she got so angry with me that she frequently walked over to me and slugged me on the arm,” Barnett told CNN in 2008. “So I left the process black and blue.”
Barnett was also Bill Clinton’s debate sparring partner during the 1992 presidential campaign. He also advised the Clintons when White House aide and family friend Vince Foster killed himself in 1993 and when the world learned that Bill Clinton had an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Barnett’s TV news client list included former NBC News anchor Brian Williams, “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl, CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, Chris Wallace, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell, and Jesse Watters and Peter Doocy at Fox News. He also represented his wife, whom he married in 1972.
As an attorney, Barnett was known for his ability to come up with deals tailored to the needs of his clients.
“Many of these people who come out of government have an enormous number of offers,” Barnett told the Financial Times in 2008. “The first thing we do is sit down and say: ‘What are your goals? Do you want to live here or there? You wanna make money or have fun?’”
One reason many clients gravitated to Barnett is that, unlike agents, he did not take a commission. They paid a high hourly rate for his services, not the traditional agent fees of 10% to 15% of salaries or book advances.
Barnett’s clients believed he gave them 100% regardless of their stature.
“Bob represented me in my negotiations with ABC and made me feel just as important as his more celebrated clients,” retired correspondent Judy Muller wrote on Facebook. “A really decent, smart man.”
The sentiment was shared by CBS News Executive Editor Susan Zirinsky.
“Every person who worked with Bob knew their secrets were safe,” Zirinsky said in an interview. “He was the ultimate protector.”
Barnett also drew praise from the companies that paid the lucrative contracts for his TV clients.
“His pristine integrity, wise counsel and knowledge of our business were an invaluable resource to me over the course of our 30-year relationship,” Suzanne Scott, chief executive of Fox News Media, said in a statement.
Barnett also represented bestselling authors James Patterson and Mary Higgins Clark.
Barnett was born in Waukegan, Ill., where his father operated the local Social Security office and his mother worked part time in a department store. He majored in political science at the University of Wisconsin and received a law degree from the University of Chicago.
He moved to Washington in the early 1970s. He clerked for Supreme Court Justice Byron White and worked as an aide to then-Sen. Walter Mondale of Minnesota. He joined Williams & Connolly in 1975, and was made a partner three years later.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Meredith Barnett; a sister; and three grandchildren.
Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.
Robert Redford died this week at age 89 at his home outside Provo, Utah. The actor, producer and director had been a star for more than 60 years, going back to the 1963 comedy “Barefoot in the Park” and covering an enormously long list of performances in films such as “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Hot Rock,” “Downhill Racer,” “The Way We Were,” “The Candidate,” “The Sting,” “Three Days of the Condor,” “All the President’s Men,” “The Electric Horseman,” “The Natural” and many more.
Redford was also an accomplished director, winning an Oscar for his debut “Ordinary People” and going on to make films such as “A River Runs Through It,” “Quiz Show,” “The Horse Whisperer,” “The Conspirator” and others.
In a survey of his career, Amy Nicholson wrote, “To appreciate Redford fully, we have to applaud not only the work he did but the simple, feel-good roles he rejected. He could have become a celebrity without breaking a sweat as the war hero, the jock, the husband, the cowboy, the American ideal made incarnate. Yet, he had the rare ability to sidestep what audiences thought we wanted from him to instead give us something we didn’t know we needed: selfish victors (‘Downhill Racer’), self-destructive veterans (‘The Great Waldo Pepper’) and tragic men who did everything right and still failed (2013’s ‘All Is Lost’).”
Robert Redford at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York in 2015.
(Evan Agostini / Invision / AP)
Nicholson added, “Lately, the Redford roles I’ve been thinking about are the ones where his all-American appeal makes us examine all of America, good and bad. The two that instantly jump to mind are his pair of political thrillers: ‘Three Days of the Condor,’ in which he plays a CIA agent on the run from his own co-workers, and ‘All the President’s Men,’ in which he doggedly uncovers the Watergate scandal. Both films believe in the power of getting the truth out to the press; neither is so naive as to think the truth alone will save the day.”
And then there is a whole other side to Redford: his extensive work as an activist on behalf of environmental causes and his founding of the Sundance Institute, which lead to the creation of the Sundance Film Festival.
I took a look at Redford’s work with Sundance and how he did nothing less than transform Hollywood, carving out a space for independent artists and opening doors for those who had been previously shut out by the industry.
“Mr. Redford was a shining example of how to leverage success into community building, discovery and empowerment,” filmmaker Ryan Coogler said in a statement. Coogler’s own career was launched via Sundance.
“In these trying times it hurts to lose an elder like Mr. Redford, someone who through their words, their actions and their commitment left their industry in a better place than they found it.”
Robert Redford and Lauren Hutton in 1970’s “Little Fauss and Big Halsy.”
(Steve Schapiro / Fahey / Klein Gallery)
I personally met Redford only once, when I moderated a Q&A in 2013 for “The Company You Keep,” in which he starred as a former ’60s radical. It would be the last feature film he directed. I was introduced to him shortly before we were to go in front of an audience together and he wanted to sit and talk for a moment. He immediately asked me about myself, where I was from and how long I had been a journalist.
It was thoroughly disarming to have someone so famous engage with me in a way that felt so genuine. Suddenly he was not a movie star, though he did indeed possess an otherworldly grace, charm and rugged beauty, but rather something even larger, someone who engaged with the world from a place of true curiosity. He leaves a lasting legacy, having touched countless lives.
There will surely be many more tributes and events to come, but Vidiots has already announced a screening of Alan J. Pakula’s 1976 “All the President’s Men,” starring Redford and Dustin Hoffman, on 35mm for Friday, Oct. 3.
‘Mysterious Skin’ in 4K
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, left, and Brady Corbet in the movie “Mysterious Skin.”
(Tartan Films)
Seeing the ongoing revival of Gregg Araki’s filmography in restored versions as fans wait for his upcoming film, “I Want Your Sex,” has been very gratifying. Tonight, the Academy Museum will present Araki’s 2004 “Mysterious Skin” in a new 4K restoration followed by a conversation with Araki, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt and novelist Scott Heim, moderated by “Anora” filmmaker Sean Baker.
“Mysterious Skin” is a delicately told, crushingly disturbing tale of two young men (played by Gordon-Levitt and future “The Brutalist” director Brady Corbet) who each process an incident of sexual abuse from their childhood in different ways. The cast also includes Elisabeth Shue, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Michelle Trachtenberg, who died earlier this year.
Reviewing the film at the time, Kevin Thomas wrote, “The most mature work by the idiosyncratic and gifted Araki, ‘Mysterious Skin,’ based on the book by Scott Heim, highlights the director’s talent for inspiring the most demanding of portrayals from actors and for richly evoking the world his characters inhabit. The film has a mesmerizing floating quality, heightened by Harold Budd and Robin Guthrie’s deceptively serene score, and it has considerable offbeat, deadpan humor to offset its dark undertow. … it’s hard to imagine a more serious or persuasive indictment of the horrors inflicted on children by sexual abuse than ‘Mysterious Skin.’”
“I like that it was a real departure for me and that people didn’t expect it,” said Araki. “I really appreciate that aspect of it, that I’ve never done a serious drama before. I do think that the film totally makes sense with all my other movies. There is a thematic similarity and the sensibilities of Scott [Heim] and myself are really attuned to each other. It’s not as if I’ve directed ‘Chicago.’”
J. Hoberman’s avant-garde NYC
An image from Ken Jacobs’ 1961 “The Whirled (aka Four Shorts of Jack Smith).”
(The Film-makers’ Coop)
On Thursday at 2220 Arts + Archives, Acropolis will present an evening in celebration of J. Hoberman’s inspiring and vivid recent book, “Everything Is Now: The 1960s New York Avant-Garde — Primal Happenings, Underground Movies, Radical Pop.”
Hoberman, formerly the longtime film critic for the Village Voice and an insightful cultural chronicler, will be present for a signing and Q&A along with a program of short films from the era surveyed by the book, when New York was a bubbling cauldron of creativity and restless energy. Titles screening will include Ken Jacobs’ 1961 “The Whirled (aka Four Shorts of Jack Smith),” Ron Rice’s 1962 “Senseless,” Michael Snow’s 1964 “New York Eye and Ear Control” and Jud Yalkut’s 1966 “D.M.T.”
In the introduction to his book, Hoberman explains his thesis of creating a snapshot of a time and place — he pays incredible attention to actual addresses, mapping out what was happening where — by saying, “Cultural innovation comes from the margins and is essentially collective. … New York City in the 1960s was one such cradle of artistic innovation. Boundaries were transgressed, new forms created. A collective drama played out in coffeehouses and bars, at openings and readings, in lofts and storefront theaters and ultimately in the streets.”
Points of interest
Joe Dante’s ‘Pirahna’
A scene from the 1978 movie “Piranha.”
(New World Pictures)
It is always heartening to see longtime local hero Joe Dante celebrated. He will be appearing at Vidiots on Friday, this time with his 1978 film, “Piranha.” Made for producer Roger Corman, the movie was obviously one in a series of films intended to capture the excitement and scares generated by “Jaws,” and it certainly accomplishes that, but it is also so much more.
From a screenplay written by John Sayles, who would go on to an illustrious career as a director himself, and with sharp, smart direction by Dante, “Piranha” is about a mutant strain of killer fish engineered by the military and accidentally released into a small community’s waterways.
Writing about the film in 1978, Charles Champlin said, “‘Piranha’ is what it is: a swift, efficient program picture which squeezes the most out of its dollars to squeeze delicious chills from the audience. But it also plays to the attitudes as well as the emotional needs of its young customers. The bad guys are scientists, the military, the police, the politicians (what were we doing in Vietnam?), authority in almost any uniform.”
Writing about the film in 2012, Dennis Lim added, “This was Dante’s first solo directorial outing after several years at Corman’s New World Pictures, where he got his start editing trailers, and it establishes a distinctive tone that he has sustained throughout his career, right on the line between homage and parody. The actors — several, including [Dick] Miller and [Kevin] McCarthy, who would go on to become frequent Dante collaborators — give performances that are once committed and tongue-in-cheek and the effects, in contrast to the sophisticated animatronics of ‘Jaws,’ are charmingly rough and ready.”
Aaliyah x2
Jet Li and Aaliyah star in “Romeo Must Die.”
(Kharen Hill / Warner Bros. Pictures)
As part of an ongoing Y2K Fridays series, the Gardena Cinema is showing a double-bill of movies starring the late singer and actor Aaliyah, with Andrzej Bartkowiak’s 2000 “Romeo Must Die” and Michael Rymer’s 2002 “Queen of the Damned.”
Riffing on “Romeo and Juliet,” the story of “Romeo Must Die” revolves around Jet Li and Aaliyah as members of warring crime families in Oakland who fall for each other.
Kevin Thomas wrote, “Body counts run high in this genre, but ‘Romeo Must Die,’ which marks Li’s first English-language starring role, tries for some depth and sophistication. … The film is a new step for both Li, who hopes to break out with it, and for recording star Aaliyah, in an accomplished film debut.”
Stuart Townsend and Aaliyah in “Queen of the Damned.”
(Jim Sheldon / Warner Bros. Pictures)
Based on one of the novels from Anne Rice’s popular “Vampire Chronicles,” “Queen of the Damned” stars Stuart Townsend as the vampire Lestat, here taking on the guise of a rock star, and Aaliyah as Akasha, the first vampire.
In his review at the time, Kenneth Turan wrote, “As directed by Michael Rymer and with the late rock star Aaliyah in the title role, ‘Queen of the Damned’ turns out to be a muddled limp biscuit of a movie, a vampire soap opera that doesn’t make much sense even on its own terms. Though the previous film based on Anne Rice’s popular novels, the Tom Cruise-starring ‘Interview With the Vampire,’ was far from a success, this brain-dead venture makes it look like a masterwork by comparison.”
Sanchez took out Mbeumo just four minutes and one second into the match to receive Chelsea’s earliest red card in the Premier League.
“It was rough… the red card [would be] difficult not only for Chelsea, it [would be] difficult for any club,” said Maresca.
“After the red card, all the planning and everything doesn’t exist any more.”
Maresca said afterwards he would have preferred to go a goal down than lose his goalkeeper.
“It’s the best solution, because we are still 95 minutes to play,” he said.
“I think even Robert is aware of that, but also it’s difficult because he has to take a decision in one second or two seconds.”
The Italian manager took off two attackers in Pedro Neto and Estevao Willian for replacement goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen and defender Tosin Adarabioyo after Sanchez was sent off.
The change effectively left Chelsea with a back five, three midfielders and just Joao Pedro in attack.
Maresca explained why he had made such a defensive reaction to the dismissal, saying: “We needed to defend with five players – we can defend with four when we are 11 v 11.”
However, that decision looked like a mistake when Fernandes opened the scoring and Palmer then went off injured.
When Andrey Santos replaced the England playmaker 21 minutes into the match it was the earliest any team in Premier League history had made their first three substitutions.
Chelsea failed to register a shot on target in the first half as Casemiro put United 2-0 up.
However, the Brazil midfielder’s ill-timed lunge just before the break left both sides down to 10 men.
Chalobah managed to pull a goal back in the 80th minute but it only proved to be a consolation for the Blues, who suffered a second successive defeat in what has been a tough week of away fixtures.
They drew at Brentford last weekend before losing to Bayern Munich in their Champions League opener on Wednesday.
“When it went to 10 a piece I felt no urgency from Chelsea to try to get back into it,” said former England striker Wayne Rooney on Match of the Day.
“They were slow, side to side. If you’re a Chelsea fan you’d want to see a lot more urgency.”
Saturday’s loss at Old Trafford leaves Chelsea sixth in the top-flight table, and they will hope to avoid a prolonged absence for star man Palmer.
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who wasn’t expecting to hear this much about “Celebrity Family Feud” in 2025.
The talk around Hollywood on Wednesday — and beyond — has centered on late night after Walt Disney Co.-owned broadcaster ABC said it was suspending “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely over the host’s remarks about right-wing activist Charlie Kirk and his accused killer. (Airing in its place so far? You guessed it, “Celebrity Family Feud.”) Let us help you get up to speed on the situation. Media reporters Stephen Battaglio and Meg James have an inside look behind the decision to bench Kimmel. The decision, of course, has rocked the late-night circuit, and Kimmel’s colleagues didn’t shy away from using their own platforms to address the matter — here’s what they had to say. And does Kimmel’s suspension have echoes to ABC’s firing of Roseanne Barr? Culture and representation reporter Greg Braxton explains the parallels and differences here. Our reporters were also at the demonstration that took place outside the El Capitan Entertainment Centre in Hollywood, where Kimmel tapes his show.
For the record:
3:09 p.m. Sept. 19, 2025An earlier version of this newsletter said ABC’s “High Potential” airs on Wednesdays. It airs on Tuesdays.
That wasn’t the only shocking news to hit Hollywood this week. Robert Redford, a generational movie star and titan of filmmaking, died Tuesday at the age of 89. If you haven’t already, take a moment to read our obituary that captures why he was one of Hollywood’s most influential figures. Film reporter Mark Olsen also dives into the legendary actor’s impact on independent cinema through the Sundance Institute. And members of the film team explain Redford’s legacy through 10 essential films.
Also in this week’s Screen Gab, Judy Reyes stops by Guest Spot to discuss her role as tough but compassionate Lt. Selena Soto in ABC’s hit “High Potential,” which returned for Season 2 this week, and how she’s feeling about reprising one of her most well-known characters, Carla Espinosa, in the upcoming “Scrubs” reboot. Plus, our streaming recommendations include a documentary telling the remarkable true story of four Colombian children who survived a plan crash and 40 days alone in the Amazon rainforest, and a Redford classic.
ICYMI
Must-read stories you might have missed
Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson is poised to release his latest film, “One Battle After Another,” an action thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti.
Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
A scene from “Lost in the Jungle.”
(National Geographic / Anit)
“Lost in the Jungle” (Disney+, Hulu)
If you haven’t canceled your Disney+ and/or Hulu subscriptions yet, I highly recommend this riveting, complex, exquisitely made documentary about the survival of, and search for, four Indigenous children in the Colombian jungle after the crash of a small plane that killed their mother and the pilot — and the fraught family history that brought them there. Proceeding with the force of a fairy tale, including an evil stepfather, incidentally helpful monkeys and confounding forest spirits, it on the one hand focuses on a resourceful 13-year-old who keeps three younger siblings, including a baby, alive in a dangerous world for 40 days, and on the other, the military and Indigenous searchers who learn to cooperate as they navigate weather, illness, “things that can’t be seen, not with human eyes” and a history of distrust marked by narco-guerillas, industrial exploitation and state neglect. Directors E. Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin and Juan Camilo Cruz combine interviews with family members, searchers and soldiers, with footage from the forest and line animations illustrating the children’s experience into something suspenseful, strange and beautiful. — Robert Lloyd
Robert Redford, right, with Dustin Hoffman in a scene from “All The President’s Men.”
(Sunset Boulevard / Corbis via Getty Images)
“All the President’s Men” [VOD]
It’s stands as one of the most discerning and potent films ever made about the crucial and essential role of journalism as a public watchdog in holding political leaders accountable and protecting democracy. Based on the book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the 1976 film chronicles the unearthing of the Watergate scandal, tracking the duo’s time as Washington Post reporters — with Robert Redford as Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as Bernstein — trying to pin down the connection between Robert Nixon’s reelection campaign and the burglary and wiretapping at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex that ultimately brought down Nixon’s presidency. It plays as a deeply engrossing thriller, and every scene between Redford and Hoffman, as dogged journalists whose work became enormously consequential and a turning point in American history, is gripping to watch. It’s a fitting film to screen this week — to reflect alone on one of Redford’s most powerful performances. — Yvonne Villarreal
Guest spot
Judy Reyes in a scene from Season 2 of “High Potential”
(Jessica Perez / Disney)
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching
Every genius needs a little structure and guidance to keep them on course. In “High Potential,” Morgan Gillory (Kaitlin Olson) is a single mom with an exceptional mind who works as a cleaner at the police department and finds her way into detective work after successfully examining some evidence during her shift. But putting her unique talent to effective use couldn’t have happened if Lt. Selena Soto, the head of the major crimes division played by Judy Reyes, didn’t see Morgan’s potential and nurture it.
The quirky crime procedural has been a breakout hit for ABC since its launch last year and it returned this week for its second season; new episodes air Tuesdays, and are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ the next day. Here, Reyes discusses how Soto’s approach as a boss came into focus this season and how she’s feeling about revisiting “Scrubs” 15 years after the comedy ended its run. — Yvonne Villarreal
How has Selena Soto come into focus for you this season? And can you share an anecdote of a boss looking out for you — however small or big — that has stood out to you during your time in the industry?
I think Soto saw herself in Morgan: someone for whom truly being themselves takes a lot of risks. She can’t be anything else, and the expectations from the world create a lot of problems with others who can’t handle the burden of those being completely unique.
My first manager took a huge chance on me at the restaurant I worked in as a hostess for years in NYC. She and her husband were regulars, and her husband chatted me up one night, and when I confessed that I was an actor, he convinced his wife to take a meeting with me, and she convinced her associates to give me a chance, and the rest is history.
Morgan is a cleaner with an exceptional mind who found her way into detective work after examining some evidence during her shift at the police department. What’s a career you’d love to pivot to if given the chance?
I always wanted to be a gymnast. Or some kind of athlete … tennis! You asked …
You’ll be reprising your role as Carla in the new “Scrubs” series. What does this moment bring up for you? What intrigues you about revisiting this character 15 years later?
I’m filled with gratitude and appreciation. I recognize how in my youth I took for granted the adventure and opportunity. I’m moved by how much people love the show and Carla, and how much all of it mattered to fans in different stages of their lives. I’m overwhelmed with the gift of being part of a magical moment in TV, and to get to revisit it as adults with the same folks is exciting because Bill and the writers are so daring with their humor and drama. I just know Turk and Carla keep going strong in their marriage and continue in their friendship. I’m honored by what this character continues to mean to Latinos, especially in this time.
What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?
I’ve watched “Hacks” [HBO Max] because I’m obsessed with Jean Smart. I’ve watched “The Summer I Turned Pretty” [Prime Video] because I need to connect to my teenager and it’s a fun love/hate watch. I watch “Abbott Elementary” [Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max] because it’s f— funny and you can’t go wrong with it; it reminds me of “Scrubs” [Peacock, Hulu, Disney+] in a lot of ways. I just started watching “Severance” and “Shrinking” [both Apple TV+]. “Severance” because it’s so original and “Shrinking” for the same reason; it also feels so familiar … and Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams.
What’s your go-to “comfort watch,” the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?
“The Devil Wears Prada” [Hulu, Disney+], “Girls Trip” [Tubi, Prime Video], “Bridesmaids” [Netflix], “Love & Basketball” [VOD] [and] any of “The Matrix” movies [VOD].
Emmerdale’s John Sugden sneaks into the home of his siblings Robert and Victoria Sugden next week, armed with a filled syringe as he plots revenge on the ITV soap
00:00, 20 Sep 2025Updated 00:02, 20 Sep 2025
A spoiler video for next week’s Emmerdale hints at killer John Sugden’s next plan as he remains at large.
A first look for Monday shows the moment he sneaks into the home of his siblings Robert and Victoria Sugden, armed with a filled syringe. He looks as though he’s preparing to use it on either Robert or Victoria, no doubt the former.
It’s no secret that John hates his brother Robert, knowing his husband Aaron Dingle loves his ex Robert over him. It was this jealousy that made John drag Aaron off a cliff, nearly killing him.
But when Aaron woke from his coma, he was able to alert everyone about killer John’s crimes and the fact that poor Mack Boyd had been kidnapped. At the end of this week the truth about John was made clear and he seemed to have a new target.
Fans noticed that as Victoria and Robert hugged it out and Robert vowed to stay around, John was watching them intently. Now, a new preview hints John will plot revenge.
A spoiler video for next week’s Emmerdale hints at killer John Sugden’s next plan(Image: ITV)
John sneaks into the house and is in the kitchen, listening in as Victoria and Robert discuss the situation and Aaron. John is keeping low, and suddenly takes a syringe out of his pocket as if he’s preparing to use it.
It’s filled with something no doubt to drug either Vic or Robert, and our money is on his brother. It’s not clear if he manages to use it, but it certainly confirms someone is in danger.
But will John be caught by his siblings, and will he go through with it? As Victoria shares her sadness over how things panned out, John appears remorseful and as though he could change his mind.
The chat outside sees Robert admit that Aaron is pushing him away, with him being accused of using the John situation to get back in his good books. Victoria suggests this is a fair comment to make knowing what Robert’s like.
A first look for Monday shows the moment he sneaks into the home of his siblings(Image: ITV)
But Robert insists he’d do no such thing, but that it’s clear Aaron is in no rush to reunite with him. Robert then appears sad, as he tells Victoria how much he “hates” John for what he’s done to him, to Aaron and to everyone else.
It’s then that Vic gets emotional, blaming herself over John. She shares how she was the one who asked him to stay in the village, as she questions if her brother even loved her or if it was all a lie.
Robert does his best to comfort his sister, unaware that his killer brother is behind the wall – so what happens next?
It looks like wowing the judges on “Dancing With the Stars” is now an Irwin family tradition.
Robert Irwin hit the stage Tuesday for the first time with pro partner Witney Carson on the Season 34 premiere of “Dancing With the Stars,” knocking out an upbeat jive set to “Born to Be Wild.” The first thing the wildlife conservationist did after nailing the routine was run to hug his sister, Bindi Irwin, who was in the audience along with other family and friends.
The judges called the performance, which closed out the night, “absolutely brilliant.”
“Crocs are my comfort zone, dancing is not,” Robert Irwin said in the introductory package that was shown right before his performance. In the same compilation, Carson explained that a jive is difficult for a first dance and praised Irwin’s positivity.
Bruno Tonioli was the first judge to address the pair, getting on his feet to tell Irwin that the performance “wasn’t [just] good, that was great.”
Derek Hough, who was Bindi’s pro partner when they won the Mirror Ball during “Dancing With the Stars” Season 21, told Robert that he was “so relieved because you had some big shoes to fill.”
“You didn’t just fill them; you owned those shoes,” said Hough, who asked if Irwin had been practicing for this moment for the last 10 years. “That was probably the best first dance I’ve ever seen on this show.”
Earlier in the episode, Irwin said that when he watched his sister win 10 years ago, he had thought, “One day, that’s going to be me.”
Watching Bindi win in 2015 also served as preparation for Robert.
“I feel like I had a good idea of what this show was about coming into it, cause my sister had done it,” Irvin told E! News. “Bindi just said, ‘Take a breath and enjoy every single second of it … really try and enjoy this cause it goes by so fast.’”
Irwin and Carson was awarded 15 points, which put them in a tie for top marks alongside team Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas.
It all started with a purchase of land in the 1960s. Then, from that small slice of Utah and the founding of the Sundance Institute in 1981 and, later, its expansion into the Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford developed a vision that would reshape on-screen storytelling as we know it. Sundance opened doors for multiple generations of filmmakers who might not otherwise have gained entry to the movie business.
Redford, who died Tuesday at age 89, was already a hugely successful actor, producer and director, having just won an Oscar for his directorial debut “Ordinary People,” when he founded the Sundance Institute as a support system for independent filmmakers. His Utah property, named after his role in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” would become a haven for creativity in an idyllic setting.
Evincing a rugged, hands-on attitude marked by curiosity and enthusiasm about the work, Redford embodied a philosophy for Sundance that was clear from its earliest days.
“When I started the Institute, the major studios dominated the game, which I was a part of,” Redford said to The Times via email in 2021. “I wanted to focus on the word ‘independence’ and those sidelined by the majors — supporting those sidelined by the dominant voices. To give them a voice. The intent was not to cancel or go against the studios. It wasn’t about going against the mainstream. It was about providing another avenue and more opportunity.”
The first of the Sundance Lab programs, which continue today, also launched in 1981, bringing emerging filmmakers together in the mountains to develop projects with the support of more established advisers.
The Institute would take over a small film festival in Utah, the U.S. Film Festival, for its 1985 edition and eventually rename it the Sundance Film Festival, a showcase that would go on to introduce directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Nia DaCosta, Taika Waititi, Gregg Araki, Damien Chazelle and countless others while refashioning independent filmmaking into a viable career path.
Before directing “Black Panther” and “Sinners,” Ryan Coogler went through the Sundance Lab at the beginning of his career and saw his debut feature “Fruitvale Station” premiere at Sundance in 2013 where it won both the grand jury and audience awards.
“Mr. Redford was a shining example of how to leverage success into community building, discovery, and empowerment,” Coogler said in a statement to The Times on Tuesday. “I’ll be forever grateful for what he did when he empowered and supported Michelle Satter in developing the Sundance Labs. In these trying times it hurts to lose an elder like Mr. Redford — someone who through their words, their actions and their commitment left their industry in a better place than they found it.”
Chloé Zhao’s debut feature “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” premiered at the festival in 2015 after she took the project through the labs. With her later effort “Nomadland,” Zhao would go on to become the second woman — and still the only woman of color — to win the Academy Award for directing.
“Sundance changed my life,” Zhao said in a statement on Tuesday. “I didn’t know anyone in the industry or how to get my first film made. Being accepted into the Sundance Labs was like entering a lush and nurturing garden holding my tiny fragile seedling and watching it take root and grow. It was there I found my voice, became a part of a community I still treasure deeply today.”
Satter, Sundance Institute‘s founding senior director of artist programs, was involved since the organization’s earliest days. Even from relatively humble origins, Satter could already feel there was something powerful and unique happening under Redford’s guidance.
“He made us all feel like we were part of the conversation, part of building Sundance, right from the beginning,” Satter said of Redford in a 2021 interview. “He was really interested in others’ point of view, all perspectives. At the same time, he had a real clarity of vision and what he wanted this to be.”
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For many years Redford was indeed the face of the film festival, making frequent appearances and regularly speaking at the opening press conference. Starting in 2019 he reduced his public role at the festival, in tandem with the moment he stepped back from acting.
The festival has gone through many different eras over the years, with festival directors handing off leadership from Geoffrey Gilmore to John Cooper to Tabitha Jackson and current fest director Eugene Hernandez.
The festival has also weathered changes in the industry, as streaming platforms have upended distribution models. Steven Soderbergh’s 1989 drama “sex, lies and videotape” is often cited as a key title in the industry’s discovery of the Utah event as a must-attend spot on their calendars, a place where buyers could acquire movies for distribution and scout new talent.
“Before Sundance, there wasn’t really a marketplace for new voices and independent film in the way that we know it today,” said Kent Sanderson, chief executive of Bleecker Street, which has premiered multiple films at the festival over the years. “The way Sundance supports filmmakers by giving their early works a real platform is key to the health of our business.”
Over time, Sundance became a place not only to acquire films but also to launch them, with distributors bringing films to put in front of the high number of media and industry attendees. Investors come to scope out films and filmmakers look to raise money.
“It all started with Redford having this vision of wanting to create an environment where alternative approaches to filmmaking could be supported and thrive,” said Joe Pichirallo, an arts professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and one of the original executives at Searchlight Pictures. “And he succeeded and it’s continuing. Even though the business is going through various changes, Sundance’s significance as a mecca for independent film is still pretty high.”
At the 2006 festival, “Little Miss Sunshine,” directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, sold to Searchlight for what was then a record-setting $10.5 million. In 2021, Apple TV+ purchased Siân Heder’s “CODA” for a record-breaking $25 million. The film would go on to be the first to have premiered at Sundance to win the Oscar for best picture.
Yet the festival, the labs and the institute have remained a constant through it all, continuing to incubate fresh talent to launch to the industry.
“Redford put together basically a factory of how to do independent films,” said Tom Bernard, co-president and co-founder of Sony Pictures Classics. Over the years the company has distributed many titles that premiered at Sundance, including “Call Me by Your Name” and “Whiplash.”
“He adapted as the landscape changed,” Bernard added of the longevity of Sundance’s influence. “And as you watched the evolution to where it is today, it’s an amazing journey and an amazing feat that he did for the world of independent film. It wouldn’t be the same without him.”
Through it all, Redford balanced his roles between his own career making and starring in movies and leading Sundance. Filmmaker Allison Anders, whose 1992 film “Gas Food Lodging” was among the earliest breakout titles from the Sundance Film Festival, remembered Redford on Instagram.
“You could easily have just been the best looking guy to walk into any room and stopped there and lived off of that your whole life,” Anders wrote. “You wanted to help writers and filmmakers like me who were shut out to create characters not seen before, and you did. You could have just been handsome. But you nurtured us.”
The upcoming 2026 Sundance Film Festival in January will be the last one in its longtime home of Park City, Utah. The festival had previously announced that a tribute to Redford and his vision of the festival would be a part of that final bow, which will now carry an added emotional resonance.
Starting in 2027, the Sundance Film Festival will unspool in in Boulder, Colo. Regardless of where the event takes place, the legacy of what Robert Redford first conceived will remain.
As Redford himself said in 2021 about the founding of the Institute, “I believed in the concept and because it was just that, a concept, I expected and hoped that it would evolve over time. And happily, it has.”
Robert Redford looked like he walked out of the sea to become a Hollywood god. He was physically flawless. Pacific blue eyes, salt-bleached hair, a friendly surfer-boy squint. Born in Santa Monica to a milkman and a housewife, his first memory was of sliding off his mother’s lap at the Aero Theatre as a toddler and running toward the light, causing such a ruckus that the projectionist had to stop the film.
He definitely grew up to grab the movies’ attention. He wasn’t just telegenic but talented, although that wasn’t a requirement for stardom when he emerged in the late ’50s when the industry was scooping up hunks like him by the bucket for television and B-movies. All a male ingenue needed to do was smile and kiss the girl. It would have been so easy to do that a couple times and wind up doing it forever. You can understand why so many forgotten actors made that deal, without realizing that forever can lead to a fast retirement.
But if Redford had sensed at 2 years old that he was meant to be onscreen, by his 20s, he insisted he’d only do it on his own terms. At 27, with nearly zero name recognition, he horrified his then-agent by turning down a $10,000-a-week TV gig as a strait-laced psychiatrist to do a Mike Nichols theater production for just $110. His rejection of the easy money was an unusual choice, particularly for a cash-strapped father of two.
To appreciate Redford fully, we have to applaud not only the work he did but the simple, feel-good roles he rejected. He could have become a celebrity without breaking a sweat as the war hero, the jock, the husband, the cowboy, the American ideal made incarnate. Yet, he had the rare ability to sidestep what audiences thought we wanted from him to instead give us something we didn’t know we needed: selfish victors (“Downhill Racer”), self-destructive veterans (“The Great Waldo Pepper”) and tragic men who did everything right and still failed (2013’s “All Is Lost”).
In spirit, Redford never strayed far from the teen rebel he’d been — a truant who’d skipped school, stole booze and crashed race cars — and the radical artist he hurled himself into becoming by quitting everything traditional (the football team, his fraternity, college altogether) to move to Paris where he took up oil painting and marched against the Soviets. He might have excelled at the sleazy roles that made Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino famous. On the outside, he knew they didn’t fit, either.
Sometimes Redford said no even when I wish he’d have said yes. Imagine if he’d agreed to face off against Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Instead, he told Nichols he’d rather tangle with Anne Bancroft in “The Graduate,” only to be rejected as too handsome for the role. “Can you honestly imagine a guy like you having difficulty seducing a woman?” Nichols told him.
Instead, Redford used his all-American good looks to make us question our flattering image of ourselves. In the 1974 adaptation of “The Great Gatsby,” he was the first person you’d think of to play the title role because he fully understood the point of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book — how it felt to represent our country’s whole image of success while knowing it’s a phony put-on. I imagine him making a devil’s bargain with his face, vowing that he won’t hide behind goofy accents and stunt wigs the way other too-handsome oddballs do, if he’s allowed to use his appeal like a Trojan horse.
If there’s one thing that unites his roles, from 1966’s “The Chase” to “Lions for Lambs,” it’s his willingness to give the screen his full charisma — to let audiences stare at him for the whole running time of a movie — as long as we’ll agree to ask what’s lurking in his underbelly. Most often, we’ll find frustrated idealism just at the moment it starts to sour.
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The films of the 1960s and ’70s that made Redford an icon mostly cleave into two categories: scamps and truth-seekers. (The latter can overlap with suckers and stooges.) His antihero crooks in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “The Sting” captured something in our national id, our not-so-secret belief that it’s OK to break a few rules to get ahead — that we can forgive a sin if we like the sinner. I like how those movies give you a guilty little tingle about rooting for Redford even when it means scratching off a couple of the Ten Commandments. (Thou shalt not steal unless you’re Robert Redford, who got away with it all the way through 2018’s “The Old Man and the Gun.”)
Lately, the Redford roles I’ve been thinking about are the ones where his all-American appeal makes us examine all of America, good and bad. The two that instantly jump to mind are his pair of political thrillers: “Three Days of the Condor,” in which he plays a CIA agent on the run from his own co-workers, and “All the President’s Men,” in which he doggedly uncovers the Watergate scandal. Both films believe in the power of getting the truth out to the press; neither is so naive as to think the truth alone will save the day.
But let’s not overlook “The Candidate,” a movie that has Redford as underqualified political scion Bill McKay, pressed to run for governor of California. “He’s not going to get his ass kicked — he’s cute,” his father (Melvyn Douglas) says. Meanwhile, his own campaign team cares more about the length of his sideburns than ideas in his head. Released in 1972, five years into former actor Ronald Reagan’s own governorship, the movie hammers home that superficiality might be democracy’s downfall — and the stakes are bigger than who is Hollywood‘s latest heartthrob.
Vice President Dan Quayle once said “The Candidate” inspired him, triggering its screenwriter Jeremy Larner to dash this off in an op-ed: “Mr. Quayle, this was not a how-to movie, it was a watch-out movie. And you are what we should be watching out for!”
In his later years, Redford became a filmmaker himself and I can picture him pulling Brad Pitt aside on the set of “A River Runs Through It” to whisper: You don’t have to stay in that pretty–boy box. Feel free to get weird. As an actor and director, Redford continued to create characters who uncovered our our hidden rot, whether in our purported national pastime, baseball (“The Natural”), or in our actual one, watching television (“Quiz Show”). His turn in “Indecent Proposal” as the wealthy man who offers to rent his employee’s wife lives on as shorthand for tycoons who assume they can buy whatever, and whoever, they want. When he eventually signed on for a superhero film, it was, fittingly, alongside Captain America, that upright paragon of virtue — and Redford played the villain.
What Quayle missed about “The Candidate” is that when it comes to a Robert Redford movie, truth is never as plain as what your eyes can see. There’s always a deeper level and there’s no guarantee that justice would win. In fact, I’d argue in Redford’s films, it rarely does.
Robert Redford, right, and Dustin Hoffman in the movie “All The President’s Men.”
(Sunset Boulevard / Corbis / Getty Images)
Alan J. Pakula’s Watergate drama is remembered as one of the great political thrillers, but for Redford it was a gamble of conviction and clout. He optioned the Woodward-Bernstein book himself, pushing through doubts that a film built on phone calls, door knocks and note-taking could grip audiences. As Bob Woodward he strips away glamour, playing a reporter who is awkward, halting and dogged, yet unshakable once the trail begins to unfold. Opposite Dustin Hoffman’s Carl Bernstein — fast-talking, improvisational, always pushing — Redford is methodical and contained, and together they embody the tension and rhythm of investigative reporting, turning the grind into suspense. With this role, Redford showed that persistence, not bravado, could carry a movie, and that a star could trade charm for credibility without losing magnetism. It cemented his reputation not just as a leading man but as a cultural force who could will serious stories onto the screen. — Josh Rottenberg
Men envied his obvious friendship with Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, and almost all his female co-stars adored him.
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Robert Redford died in his sleep aged 89 at his ranch in UtahCredit: Getty
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The handsome star was haunted by nerves and self-doubtCredit: Kobal Collection – Rex Features
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Robert in The Way We Were with Barbra Streisand in 1974Credit: Alamy
In fact, Jane Fonda admitted she couldn’t keep her hands off him on set, while Meryl Streep said he was the “best kisser ever”.
Robert Redford, who yesterday died in his sleep aged 89 at his ranch in Utah, was rejected for 1967 movie The Graduate because no one would ever believe he was a loser with women.
But the handsome star was haunted by nerves and self-doubt that caused him to be endlessly late on set.
As the greatest names in showbiz paid tribute to the blond-haired icon, his representative revealed Redford was “surrounded by those he loved” when he passed away. She added: “He will be missed greatly.”
‘Love of pranks’
In blockbusters such as Barefoot In The Park, The Sting, All The President’s Men, The Great Gatsby, The Horse Whisperer, Indecent Proposal and Up Close And Personal, Redford was box office dynamite.
But the Oscar-winning actor was terrified stardom might turn him into a product for Hollywood studios to sell. He moaned: “Films to them are just like vacuum cleaners or refrigerators. The approach sickens me.”
The megastar even refused to make sequels to his biggest hits, Butch Cassidy and The Way We Were with Barbra Streisand.
He hated franchises, but appeared in Captain America: The Winter Soldier to please his grandkids.
And he became a champion of independent film-makers, founding the annual Sundance Film Festival to showcase their work.
Born Charles Robert Redford Jr in Santa Monica, California, on August 18, 1936, the actor’s mum was Martha and his dad Charles, a milkman.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid star Robert Redford dead at 89 after iconic career as actor & Oscar-winning director
His first taste of Hollywood was breaking into a studio as a teenager and trashing the place. He once said: “There was a strong dividing line with a railroad which ran near our house.
“Those who lived on the south side of the tracks, like us, helped to service the big houses on the north side as gardeners, cleaners, whatever.
“My dad would get up to go to work at 2.30 in the morning, come home late afternoon and go to sleep.
“It wasn’t his fault, but it was an inspiration [for me] to do something else with my life.”
Redford’s first plan was to be a baseball star, and he won a sports scholarship to Colorado University.
But he told showbiz writer Garth Pearce: “I was asked to leave because I was drinking too much.”
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Jane Fonda had a crush on the star in 1967Credit: Kobal Collection – Shutterstock
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Starring in Indecent Proposal with Demi Moore in 1993Credit: Alamy
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Robert at four with mum MarthaCredit: Alamy
His mother Martha had recently died and he turned to alcohol.
After being thrown out of college, he travelled to Europe. Redford recalled: “I became a pavement artist in Montmartre, Paris, and felt my life had begun at last. I had found my calling.
“Then I moved to Italy, where they openly laughed at my art. Eventually, I was told flatly that I would never make it or sell any paintings.”
So he moved back to New York and tried his hand at acting classes, enrolling at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
He said: “Suddenly, I was getting A-grade reports for the first time. I had failed at school, failed at university, failed as an artist. I thought, ‘There could be something in acting for me’. It was as simple as that, with no great calling.”
He couldn’t play a loser because of the way he looked
Director Mike Nichols
He began to get work, first on stage in New York and then in a succession of small-screen shows, such as Maverick, Perry Mason and Dr Kildare as TV boomed across America.
His movie breakthrough came opposite Jane Fonda in 1967’s Barefoot In The Park. She remembers: “I couldn’t keep my hands off him. I was constantly forcing myself on him.”
Redford auditioned for The Graduate, alongside Anne Bancroft as middle-aged Mrs Robinson.
But director Mike Nichols turned him down, recalling: “He couldn’t play a loser because of the way he looked.
“I told him so and he was dispirited. I said, ‘Look at it this way, ‘Have you ever been turned down by a woman?’. He replied, ‘What do you mean?’. I said, ‘My point precisely’.”
But his next part, The Sundance Kid, alongside Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy, would change Redford’s life forever. As they filmed the 1969 hit movie, he and Newman became best mates — bonding over Mexican beers and a love of pranks.
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The 1973 release of The Sting reunited Robert and good pal Paul NewmanCredit: Alamy
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Dustin Hoffman was Robert’s sidekick in All The President’s Men in 1976Credit: Alamy
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Robert refused to dye his blond hair to play the lead in The Great Gatsby in 1974Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Redford was a terrible time-keeper and, at the end of filming — during which he did his own stunts — Newman presented him with a tapestry cushion that read, “Punctuality is the courtesy of kings”.
For Newman’s 50th birthday, Redford sent him a wrecked Porsche wrapped in a bow. Newman had it crushed and sent back to his pal. Redford then had it turned into a garden sculpture and returned it.
Despite their 40-year friendship, Newman admitted he never really came to know Redford.
Even though Butch Cassidy was a huge success, Redford, a keen environmental campaigner, was still gripped with doubts about his ability.
He admitted: “I actually quit in the late Sixties, after appearing in some big films. It was not reported at the time but I took my family to a remote part of Spain. I attempted once again to make my living as an artist. But I was not good enough.”
By 1973, The Sting, in which he was reunited with Newman, gave him his only Best Actor Oscar nomination.
‘Not good enough’
His blond hair became his signature and he refused to have it cut in a 1940s style for 1977 war film A Bridge Too Far.
Director Sir Richard Attenborough asked him personally to get a short back and sides, but was forced to admit: “It’s no use. He just won’t have it touched.”
Redford once asked angrily: “What is it about my hair? I played Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby in 1974 and the director Jack Clayton wanted to dye my hair black.
“Even the studio wanted my hair black. I said, ‘Find me the part of the original book where it says that Gatsby’s hair is black. It’s not there’.”
Irritated by filmmakers, he decided to direct a movie of his own.
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Robert with second wife Sibylle at 2012 Venice Film FestivalCredit: Getty
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Robert and Paul playing ping pong on a break from filmingCredit: Alamy
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Robert and Paul Newman became best pals making the 1969 movie Butch Cassidy And The Sundance KidCredit: Alamy
Ordinary People, which came out in 1980, became one of the most acclaimed films of the decade and won him the only Oscar in his glittering career, for Best Director.
His hits dominated the Eighties and Nineties, with Out Of Africa alongside Meryl Streep winning seven Oscars, including Best Picture.
He directed A River Runs Through It starring a young Brad Pitt, Quiz Show and The Horse Whisperer, in which he also played the lead.
It was really hard . . . as a parent, you blame yourself. It creates a scar that never completely heals
Robert Redford
In between, he starred in Indecent Proposal as a millionaire who offered a married couple $1million if wife Demi Moore slept with him.
There was also romance in Up Close & Personal with Michelle Pfeiffer. But alongside great career success he suffered family tragedy.
His son Scott, who he had with first wife Lola, was a victim of cot death in 1959 at just two months.
The actor said: “It was really hard . . . as a parent, you blame yourself. It creates a scar that never completely heals.”
His second son, Jamie, who suffered constant ill health and underwent two liver transplants, died from cancer aged 58 in 2020.
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Robert in Out Of Africa in 1985 with Meryl StreepCredit: Alamy
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March’s cameo in Dark WindsCredit: Courtesy of AMC Network Entertainment LLC
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Robert in 2014’s Captain America
And eldest daughter Shauna witnessed the murder of her long-term boyfriend at university.
Redford told Garth Pearce: “All that personal stuff with my children meant some tough times. When you’re going through it, you lose part of yourself. I confess that I used work to prop me up.”
The Hollywood legend produced and directed films right into his 80s.
His final performance was an uncredited cameo earlier this year as a chess player in Dark Winds, a TV show he executive-produced. Redford officially retired from acting in 2018.
Redford is survived by second wife Sibylle, some 21 years his junior, who he married in 2009, and daughters Shauna, 64, and Amy, 54, from first wife Lola, who he divorced in 1985.
He said of his success: “The key to sanity in Hollywood is to have a life separate from movies and to never repeat yourself on film by doing a sequel.
“I lost my way and my focus several times. Having to deal with life, death, illness and catastrophe puts anyone to the test. Movies and acting was never my first love, but it was an enduring one.”
‘ONE OF THE LIONS HAS GONE’ – MERYL STREEP
THE worlds of showbiz and politics last night paid tribute to Redford.
Actress and activist Jane Fonda commented: “It hit me hard this morning. I can’t stop crying. He meant a lot to me and was a beautiful person in every way. He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for.”
Redford’s Out Of Africa co-star Meryl Streep said: “One of the lions has passed. Rest in peace, my lovely friend.”
Filmmaker Ron Howard described the star as “a tremendously influential cultural figure”, calling him an “artistic game-changer”.
Donald Trump, who learned of the star’s death as he began his trip to the UK, said: “Robert Redford had a series of years where there was nobody better. There was a period of time when he was the hottest. I thought he was great.”
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton posted: “I always admired Robert Redford, not only for his legendary career as an actor and director but for what came next. He championed progressive values like protecting the environment and access to the arts.”
Author Stephen King described Redford as being “part of a new and exciting Hollywood in the ’70s & ’80s”.
Actor Morgan Freeman posted: “After working with Robert Redford on Brubaker in 1980, we instantly became friends. Rest peacefully.”
Antonio Banderas added: “His talent will continue to move us forever, shining through the frames and in our memory. RIP.”
Ben Stiller said: “No actor more iconic.”
Marlee Matlin, star of Oscar-winning CODA, said the film came to the attention of everyone because of the Sundance Festival, adding: “Sundance happened because of Robert Redford. A genius has passed.”
Redford was a liberal activist and godfather for independent cinema under the name of one of his best-loved characters, the Sundance Kid.
Published On 16 Sep 202516 Sep 2025
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Robert Redford, the Oscar-winning actor, director and godfather for independent cinema as Sundance founder, has died at the age of 89.
Redford died “at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah – the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” publicist Cindi Berger said in a statement Tuesday.
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No cause of death was provided.
The iconic actor and director is best known for his acclaimed performances in All the President’s Men and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
The tousled-haired and freckled heartthrob made his breakthrough alongside Paul Newman as the affable outlaw in the hippy Western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” in 1969.
Redford made hearts beat faster in romantic roles such as “Out of Africa,” got political in “The Candidate” and “All the President’s Men” and skewered his golden-boy image in roles like the alcoholic ex-rodeo champ in “The Electric Horseman” and middle-aged millionaire who offers to buy sex in “Indecent Proposal.”
He never won the best actor Oscar, but his first outing as a director – the 1980 family drama “Ordinary People” – won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.
Despite their chemistry and long personal friendship, Redford was never to team up again with Newman, who died in 2008.
“Butch Cassidy” made blue-eyed Redford an overnight star but he never felt comfortable with celebrity or the male starlet image that persisted late into his 60s.
“People have been so busy relating to how I look, it’s a miracle I didn’t become a self-conscious blob of protoplasm. It’s not easy being Robert Redford,” he once told New York magazine.
His wavy blond hair and boyish grin made him the most desired of leading men, but he worked hard to transcend his looks – whether through his political advocacy, his willingness to take on unglamorous roles or his dedication to providing a platform for low-budget movies.
Intensely private, he bought land in remote Utah in the early 1970s for his family retreat and enjoyed a level of privacy unknown to most superstars. He was married for more than 25 years to his first wife, before their divorce in 1985. In 2009, he married for a second time, to German artist and longtime partner Sibylle Szaggars.
He used the millions he made to launch the Sundance Institute and Festival in the 1970s, promoting independent filmmaking long before small and quirky were fashionable. The festival has become one of the most influential independent film showcases in the world.
Redford used his star status to also quietly champion environmental causes such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Wildlife Federation.
“Some people have analysis. I have Utah,” he once remarked.
Although he never showed an interest in entering politics, he often espoused a liberal viewpoint. In a 2017 interview, during the presidency of Donald Trump, he told Esquire magazine that “politics is in a very dark place right now” and that Trump should “quit for our benefit”.
In 2001, Redford won an honorary, or lifetime achievement, Oscar.
