Hollywood pays tribute to Robert Redford

After news broke on Sept 16 of the death at age 89 of Robert Redford — the Oscar-winning actor, director and producer who nurtured the independent film movement through his Sundance Film Festival - tributes from his Hollywood friends and colleagues flooded in.

- Derrick Bryson Taylor

The testimonies celebrated not only Redford’s commitment as a filmmaker and an activist, but also his loyalty as a friend and a mentor.

Barbra Streisand, 83

Streisand said on Instagram that when she and Redford starred together in the film The Way We Were (1973), which won two Oscars, every day on set was “exciting, intense and pure joy”.

In many ways, they were opposites, she said, but a friendship grew. “Bob was charismatic, intelligent, intense, always interesting and one of the finest actors ever. He was one of a kind, and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him.”

Jane Fonda, 87

Fonda, a frequent Redford collaborator, starring with him in films including The Chase (1966), Barefoot In The Park (1967) and Our Souls At Night (2017), said that Redford’s death had hit her hard.

“I can’t stop crying,” she said. “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.”