Legacy of a Hollywood Icon: From Independent Films to Sundance

Robert Redford died early Tuesday morning, according to his publicist. He was 89 years old.

Redford was a golden child of Hollywood, starring in dozens of movies. But he was never content just being an all-American matinee idol.

He became an Oscar-winning director, founded the Sundance Institute and grew the Sundance Film Festival, and advocated for environmental causes before activism became a Hollywood cliche.

Linda Holmes, host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, and film critic Bob Mondello look back on Robert Redford’s work and legacy.

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This episode was produced by Mallory Yu and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Jay Cyzs and Ted Mebane. It was edited by Clare Lombardo and Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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