Screen icon and Sundance founder Redford dies at 89

Oscar-winning actor/director passed away at his Utah home

- ELLIE HARRISON

Robert Redford, Hollywood's former golden boy and star of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, has died aged 89.

The actor and Oscar-winning director's death was confirmed in a statement by Cindi Berger, chief executive of the publicity firm Rogers & Cowan PMK. She said that Redford died in his sleep at home in Utah, "surrounded by those he loved". A specific cause of death was not disclosed.

Redford was a screen idol, and at the height of his fame, in the Sixties and Seventies, had a global reputation both as a respected actor and a sex symbol, with his sandy blonde hair, megawatt smile and romantic roles opposite stars including Jane Fonda and Barbra Streisand.

Born in Santa Monica, California, in 1936, he moved to New York in the 1950s with hopes of being a painter, but found himself drawn to acting instead. In 1967, he got his big-screen breakthrough with a role playing a newlywed opposite Fonda in the romcom Barefoot in the Park.

Across a six-decade career, Redford made more than 50 movies.

He said his two favourites were his collaborations with Paul Newman: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and The Sting (1973).

Redford was 32 when he starred in the former, playing the Sundance Kid in what would become the most famous role of his career. The brilliant buddy movie told the story of Wild West outlaws Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and his partner, the Sundance Kid, who are on the run from the law after a series of train robberies.