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For Charles Robert Redford Jr, August 18th 1936 – September 16th, 2025)
They were the two best looking men of their time,
Of that there’s no question. So, in joining his pal Paul
Newman now, Robert Redford in slipping from set’s
Soon unsaid. And yet his image and work leave a mark
For both what we look for and where we are led
By star, screen and example. Tragic then, that another
At the ominous age of 89 is now dead.
His face grew into itself from beach bleached blonde
To brow beaten, as his eyelashes darkened he focused
That face for the frame which loved him at once,
Capturing all of his starting spirit, be it in Lumet’s Iceman
Cometh, or Barefoot in the Park which brought fame.
He is hilarious there, and ripe with life and no beefsteak.
The same for both Newman and Beatty, these three pretty boys
Were deep men, each talented directors as well, not to mention
Producers, and keen to urge image past the typewriter keys
Or white pen to edit and make cinema count well beyond
Easy profit. Whether its Jeremiah Johnson, All the President’s
Men, The Candidate, or Brubaker, Three Days of the Condor,
Or Ordinary People of course, Redford’s roar from within
Moneyed angst and shattered souls in the suburbs
Is like a book of John Cheever stories in which RR
As director shaped stunning and searing performances
From Sutherland, Hutton and the wondrous Mary Tyler Moore.
Redford in your film brought gravitas and charisma,
Not forgetting male glamour, in denim no doubt,
Or courdroy, and the relatively recent film All is Lost
In which he is a solo sailor at sea, and storm threatened
Is virtually dialogue free, and yet as you watch him
As he strives to survive there’s dark joy. If Newman was
A colourful Gary Cooper, Redford was a more efficient
Clark Gable. He took his one image and versed varieties
From God’s ode on what men are and can be, not just
In light but in action. The Sundance Institute and Foundation
As started by him sets the code for independence in film,
And Redford always seemed independent. In every film
He is looking for ways to get out at odd times. But there is
Also a furtiveness to his face as he looks beyond what’s
Accomplished. Both Hoffmans had this. Great actors transcend
Light and line, giving us something more. Their images are in
Terms of themselves influential, as was their knowledge
Of what came before and what’s next. The film stars
They praised before them did not think so deeply.
They instead lived the lifestyle that more often than not,
We’d expect. But for Bob, causes came and Robert Redford
Had many. He moved from soundstage to pipeline,
Putting what he was to good use, defending LGBT,
Native rights and the environment in all quarters.
He was the American male as imagined, but free of cliché,
Clear, without truce. He did not sell out, but paid for
Many a career, cause and action. He allowed himself
Noble aging as Clint Eastwood has done, as Paul did.
And the fact that he’d have to pay for Demi Moore
In Indecent Proposal at the age of 57, brought humour
And some deprecation too to his id. We will not see
His like. But like it or not, they’re all leaving, those men
And women remembered for advancing not only
The form, but the state of what a star is. In Our Souls
At Night with Jane Fonda, reuniting after barefoot
He was 81 and as handsome as she was beautiful.
Contemplate your parents or grandparents now
And measure them against RR and JF if you need to.
For they all set a standard unknown to many
These days, unsurpassed. As they die lost worlds
Fade, as nothing is now technicolor. Instead its coloured
In, recreated, but with all of the soul split like glass.
Redford and Newman had soul. You could look up
At their eyes and distinguish what sets films stars
Apart from stage actors; it is something near astral,
More cathedral bright. Its not class, or come to that,
Craft. It is a feeling within that they grant us. That all
Will work wisely. We can trust them, not just to be
Entertained, but enchanted by what they themselves
Learned to be: leaders in light. Showing the way,
Owing nothing. Robert Redford we’ll miss you.
Quiz Show, Baggar Vance and that running river
Commend you. Man, let fans finds you.
You’re out of Africa now. You’re home free.
David Erdos 16/9/25
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