Robert Redford, legendary actor and director of Oscar winner “Ordinary People,” has died at age 89.
Redford died on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at his home in Utah surrounded by loved ones, his rep Cindi Berger told USA TODAY.
Here’s what we know.
Robert Redford passes away at Sundance home
Berger said Redford died at his home in the mountains in Sundance, Utah, “the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved. He will be missed greatly. The family requests privacy.”
Berger did not specify a cause of death for Redford.
During his actor career, which spanned more than half a century, Redford displayed his talent in countless Hollywood classics, such as “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Sting,” “The Way We Were” and “All the President’s Men.”
Later in his career, Redford picked up directing and founded the Sundance Institute to foster the works of indie directors, theater artists and composers. Out of that organization came the popular Sundance Film Festival, an event held annually in Park City, Utah, that gave filmmakers Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Kevin Smith, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Thomas Anderson and many others their first big breaks in the movie industry.
He also used his star power to advocate for environmentalism and LGBTQ rights.
Director of Illinois-based film ‘Ordinary People’ will be missed
One of the many highlights of Redford’s career was stepping behind the camera to direct the 1980 drama “Ordinary People,” which was set in Illinois.
The film follows an affluent family as they struggle to deal with the grief of losing their oldest son in an accidental death, according to IMDb. The movie stars Donald Sutherland as the good-natured father, Calvin; Mary Tyler Moore as the bitter mother, Beth; and Timothy Hutton as the guilt ridden younger son, Conrad.
The film, which later won Redford an Oscar, was shot around northwestern Illinois, in the wealthy Chicago suburbs of Lake Forest, Highland Park and Northbrook.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Robert Redford, Oscar-winning director of Illinois-based ‘Ordinary People,’ dies at 89
Reporting by Hannah Hudnall and Brian Truitt, USA TODAY NETWORK / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
