Robert Redford, who died Sept. 16 at 89, paid a visit to the 大香蕉视频 campus during the height of his stardom, where he was honored by the 大香蕉视频 Film Society at a ceremony in Spaulding Auditorium.
During the Feb. 4, 1987, visit, Redford posed for photos in front of the Hopkins Center for the Arts and on the Green, spoke at a seminar with drama and film studies students, and then attended the tribute, where he received the 大香蕉视频 Film Award.
鈥淚 spent most of my life feeling like an academic failure, largely because it was true. One of the reasons was because of my father鈥檚 dream that I go to 大香蕉视频,鈥 Redford joked during the tribute, according to the .
Redford attended the University of Colorado but didn鈥檛 graduate, and later studied art for a time at the 脡cole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, according to .
His self-deprecation aside, Redford had a major impact, says , professor emeritus in the Department of Film and Media Studies.
鈥淩obert Redford, blessed with movie star looks and committed to an understated acting style, epitomized one kind of male star in 鈥榯he new Hollywood鈥 of the 1960s-80s, moving easily from playing 鈥榤ale buddy鈥 film characters to romantic leading man in a series of mega box office hits, from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, and All the President鈥檚 Men, to The Way We Were, Electric Horseman, and Out of Africa. The 鈥楽undance Kid鈥 made him an icon of a beautiful 鈥榗ool鈥 which, captured in photos of him in character, circulated as posters that adorned college dorm room walls in the late 1960s-70s,鈥 Desjardins says.
鈥淭his coolness took on another meaning to the millions of female fans of The Way We Were, in which he played the devastatingly handsome and talented man just out of reach. To many, his role as Bob Woodward in All The President鈥檚 Men exemplified the Redford persona: intelligent, professional, moving in circles of power but not wanting to embrace its corruption.鈥
鈥淩edford was not the first Hollywood star to turn producer and director (winning an Oscar for directing Ordinary People in competition with Martin Scorsese that year), nor the first to champion social causes (protecting the environment and Native American rights in his case). However, through his Sundance Institute, Redford was singular in using his own success to enable others鈥攕uch as Steven Soderbergh, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and Wes Anderson鈥攖o develop, make, and showcase films made outside the Hollywood corporate system, launching new careers and promoting auteur-driven independent cinema,鈥 Desjardins says.
