Robert Redford Dies at 89; Old Pasadena’s Role in “The Sting” Cemented His Legacy

Robert Redford—whose iconic screen presence and enduring influence bridged blockbuster cinema and independent film—has died at 89, leaving a legacy entwined with Old Pasadena, where unforgettable scenes from “The Sting” were filmed decades before the area’s transformation.

Long before the city’s redevelopment, Redford brought 1930s Chicago to life amidst Hugus Alley, Smith Alley, and the storied Castle Green, embedding Old Pasadena in Hollywood’s golden era.

Rising from a tumultuous youth in La Cañada-Flintridge and Santa Monica, Redford evolved into one of film’s most celebrated figures. After his breakout in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” he returned to Southern California to shoot “The Sting”—earning what would become his only acting Oscar nomination, and cementing his place in cinematic history.

Beyond acting, Redford’s fierce commitment to social and environmental causes defined his public life. Living for decades in central Utah, he championed renewable energy and helped defeat a coal-fired plant in Kaiparowits.

In 1981, he founded the Sundance Institute in Park City to nurture filmmakers outside the studio system, insisting it stood not for “insurgents coming down from the mountain to attack the mainstream” but for expanding what the mainstream could be.

Over forty years, Sundance elevated voices from Quentin Tarantino to Ava DuVernay, making independent sensibilities viable for Hollywood studios.

Redford’s career spanned more than fifty films, from investigative thrillers like “All the President’s Men” and Westerns like “Jeremiah Johnson,” to directorial triumphs such as “Ordinary People” and “Quiz Show,” always imbuing each project with quiet intensity and conviction. Colleagues saw his “pretty, handsome, blond Golden Boy” image as masking a deep, private interior, a duality that made him such an enduring star.

Announced by publicist Cindi Berger, Redford’s death occurred September 16 at his home near Provo, Utah. His lasting imprint on film, activism, and the identity of Old Pasadena ensures that the story of Robert Redford is, unmistakably, worth the reader’s time.