On This Day

Birthday of Robert Redford

August 18th 1936

14:37 18 August 2024

American actor and director Robert Redford was born on this day in 1936. Redford began his acting career on stage in New York in the late 1950s before moving to TV in 1960. He made his film debut in 'Tall Story' (1960) and rose to prominence when he starred opposite Natalie Wood in 'Inside Daisy Clover' (1965) for which he won the Golden Globe for best new star. He became a major Hollywood star when he appeared alongside his good friend Paul Newman in 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1969). 'Jeremiah Johnson' (1972) was a critical and box office hit and the following year he reunited with Newman to star in the blockbuster crime caper 'The Sting' (1973).

His star rose throughout the 70's with the hit movies 'The Way We Were' (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) and 'The Electric Horseman' (1979). His directorial debut came with 'Ordinary People' (1980) which won him the Academy Award for best director as well as winning the Best Picture Oscar.

Other notable credits as an actor include 'Brubaker' (1980), 'The Natural' (1984), 'Out of Africa' (1985), 'Sneakers' (1992) and 'The Old Man & the Gun' (2018). Redford continued to remain active as a director with stand out films including ' A River Runs Through It’ (1992) and 'Quiz Show' (1994). Robert Redford is also one of the founders of the prestigious Sundance Film Festival which over the years has grown to become the largest independent film festival in the United States. Happy Birthday Robert.