One of the giants of American cinema, Robert Redford has sadly died at the age of 89.

The iconic actor, who is probably best known for his performance alongside Paul Newman in Butch 

Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday 16 September, at his home in the mountains outside Provo, Utah.

An actual cause of death has not yet been given, but his publicist Cindi Berger said he was “surrounded by those he loved” before adding: “He will be missed greatly” and that the family are requesting privacy. 

After playing a series of small parts on TV, stage and film, Redford became known as the “go-to” leading man of the late 1960’s and 1970’s, gaining huge critical and commercial success with a string of massive hits at the box office. 

His breakthrough movie arrived in 1965 as a bisexual film star in Inside Daisy Clover opposite Natalie Wood, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe; but it was his role as the “Sundance Kid” in 1969 that raised his profile onto a completely different footing.

He following that film up playing opposite Barbara Streisand in the 1973 period romance, The Way We Were, before arguably his best role once again came with Newman at his side in The Sting, the brilliant crime comedy. 

The Great Gatsby, Three Days of the Condor and the Watergate drama All the President’s Men followed, all receiving massive acclaim. Out of Africa and Indecent Proposal were two more hugely successful films, as was his his solo performance in the survival-at-sea drama All Is Lost, although by the time they were made he had already turned his hand to directing.

The ensemble drama Ordinary People, won four Oscars in 1981, including Best Picture and Best Director for Redford – something he remarkably never managed for his acting. 

He played a key role in the establishment of American independent cinema by co-founding the “Sundance Film Festival”, which platformed films such as: Reservoir Dogs, The Blair Witch Project, Donnie Darko, and Coda; at the same time promoting the likes of Steven Soderbergh and Quentin Tarantino.

His final substantial acting role was in the 2018 crime drama The Old Man & the Gun, although he did make a cameo appearance in The Avengers: Endgame, in 2019. 

Over his career the actor was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2002, made a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur in 2010, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama in 2016, won a lifetime achievement Golden Lion from the Venice film festival in 2017, and gained an honorary César in 2019. 

Redford also acquired a reputation as one of Hollywood’s leading liberals and activists, campaigning on environmental issues throughout most of his career. In addition, he used his status to raise awareness about clean energy, and was on the board of the Natural Resources Defence Council, for several decades.

As America wakes to the sad news, the first of what undoubtedly will be scores of tributes have started to come in:

“One of the lions has passed. Rest in peace my lovely friend,” wrote Meryl Streep; whilst Colman Domingo – star of Sing Sing – thanked Redford for his “everlasting impact, which will be felt for generations.”

William Shatner sent his condolences to the Redford’s family on X and on Instagram Jamie Lee Curtis wrote: “A LIFE! FAMILY. ART. TRANSFORMATION. ADVOCACY. CREATION. LEGACY.”

Well-known Hollywood director, Ron Howard said: “RIP & thank you Robert Redford, a tremendously influential cultural figure for the creative choices made as an actor/producer/director & for launching the Sundance Film Festival which supercharged America’s Independent Film movement – artistic game-changer.”

Even Donald Trump took time to hail the actor, saying: “Robert Redford had a series of years where there was nobody better.” When asked which was his favourite film, the president responded: “You have a lot of them; he made seven or eight great films.”

He is survived by his wife, German artist Sibylle Szaggars, and two children from a previous marriage to Lola Van Wagenen: Shauna Jean Redford and Amy Hart Redford.