Who is this guy?

I was a young teenager. Of course I knew who Paul Newman was. I’d seen him in a number of films quite liked him (although perhaps not as much as my mum did). I suspect he was the reason I went to see the film. But after a couple of minutes, it was all about the other guy.

I mean, c’mon. Yes, Newman is handsome, but Redford? Swoon. Seriously, who was this guy?

Turned out he may have been new to me, but he’d been around for a while. And happily those previous films turned up on television.

There was Inside Daisy Clover.

Okay, that was an interesting role. (And quite the departure from Von Trapp for Christopher Plummer.)

And then there was The Chase.

Quite the cast.

And then Barefoot in the Park.

And then Sundance.

And then going to the cinema for more. Not every film, mind you (don’t care about skiing), but quite a few.

Loved The Candidate.

Hated The Great Gatsby. I went to see it with my friend Laurie and wished afterwards that I’d known she would have been as happy as I would have been to walk out halfway through.

No idea how it ended up on this Rolling Stones list of Redford’s 20 best films. Speaking of which, where the hell is Brubaker in that list?

This was a great film. (Although, I have to admit, one of my strongest memories is of the dazzling Redford smile which appeared suddenly and completely threw me off anything else happening on screen for nearly a minute.)

All the President’s Men, of course. Along with so many more.

And then there was the role he played in featuring and promoting independent filmmakers with the Sundance Festival. This guy put back.

And your point is, lady? Nothing, really, other than being sad to hear Mr Redford has left the building.

I watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid again last night. It stands up. As did he. Thanks.