Leading man to a leader of cinema

Oscar winner and Hollywood golden boy who became a champion for independent film

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ROBERT Redford, the Holly wood golden boy who became an Oscar-winning director, liberal activist and godfather for independent cinema under the name of one of his best-loved characters, died on Tuesday aged 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. No cause of death was provided.

After rising to stardom in the 1960s, Redford was one of the biggest stars of the 1970s with such films as The Candidate, All The President's Men and The Way We Were, capping that decade with the best director Oscar for 1980's Ordinary People, which also won best picture in 1980.

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 films.

His roles ranged from Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward to a mountain man in Jeremiah Johnson to a double agent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and his costars included Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise.

But his most famous screen partner was his old friend and fellow activist and practical joker Paul Newman, their films a variation of their warm, teasing relationship off screen.

Redford played the wily outlaw opposite Newman in 1969's Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, a box-office smash from which Redford's Sundance Institute and festival got its name.

He also teamed with Newman on 1973's best picture Oscar winner The Sting, which earned Redford a best-actor nomination as a young con artist in 1930s Chicago.

Film roles after the 1970s became more sporadic as Redford concentrated on directing and producing, and his new role as patriarch of the independent-film movement in the 1980s and 90s through his Sundance Institute.