A Tribute to Robert Redford

When someone makes a profound impact on your life, it only seems fitting to acknowledge them. So although this Blog may seem a bit off track for me, it is actually a side of me some of you may be unaware of.

I would like to pay tribute to Robert Redford (8/18/36 – 9/16/25)

No I didn’t know him personally but he has been a constant in my life since I was thirteen. Yes, I know, half the world of teenagers and woman alike had a mad crush on him, but I am happy to say mine went way deeper than that. Well, eventually!

He was one of my first heroes who helped forge my path into environmental awareness and ‘trying’ to protect the environment. But I jump ahead…for it all began in dark movie theater sitting beside two of my best friends, Sandy and Laura, when that unforgettable smile stretched across the big matinee screen and captured my heart. He was Sundance in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and I was smitten. First true love? Absolutely. But like any great relationship ours grew over the next fifty years. 

To give you the full picture of me at thirteen,

I share the below which I wrote as part of an assignment for a writing class. I think it sums up the thirteen-year-old me perfectly and it is entitled:

Star Struck at Thirteen

We were a great team–focused, committed and loyal. Each Saturday, like clockwork, we would set out on our mission. I would walk the half mile required to reach her house, but not along Madison Street as that was deemed too busy. Instead, I would head to the end of my cul-de-sac, cross the creek and then cut through the numerous yards that encompassed Ridgemoor Drive, 67th Street and finally 68th Street.  Approaching her house from the back, as always, since that was the quickest way up to her bedroom thanks to the somewhat secret narrow staircase in the back of her house.

Nancy Keller lived in brick house, much like other homes in the area, but her house had a sharp-pitched roof giving her bedroom on the second floor a big expansive feeling. The perfect environment to listen to music and dance around or talk about our latest crushes. The other great thing about Nancy’s house was it was just down the street from Kmart and Kmart had everything a 13-year-old girl could want.

Even though we weren’t wearing makeup yet—we were hopeful our Mom’s would allow us that rite of passage for our eight-grade-graduation dance scheduled for the end of the school year. This hope brought us back to the makeup counter week after week, besides we could always use another strawberry flavored glossy lip balm. The music department was the next stop. Given the mission at hand, we definitely needed to buy our favorite and latest 45 single so we could listen to it over and over again.

Nancy and I had many things in common, but our strongest bond was being stargazers. No not the astronomical kind—we were definitely not that sophisticated. I am talking movie stars, and Kmart had the best magazine section within walking distance where we could get our weekly fill of our latest Hollywood heartthrobs. Our lifeline to the stars were magazines like Tiger Beat, Teen Flip and Rona Barrett’s GOSSIP. If you were a somebody, Rona Barrett had you covered!

I don’t remember the exact cost of these magazines, but we felt they were worth every last penny of our babysitting money. We weren’t frivolous, however. We would only buy the magazines with the best pictures of our latest heartthrobs just so we could cut them up and paste their gorgeous faces into the pages of our treasured scrapbook.

The year was 1973 and this was the year that solidified my love for Robert Redford. I actually first caught sight of him a few years prior when he starred in the movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He certainly caught my eye with that big beautiful grin and all, but I didn’t know what to make of it at the time.  Now at thirteen, I knew it was love! The Sting was his latest big movie and its theme song, The Entertainer by Marvin Hamlisch, was a hit right along with the movie. Robert’s face was everywhere to be had now, and my scrapbook was ready and waiting for every last one of them. Nancy and I would spend hours up in her room, cutting, pasting, oohing and aahing like only a thirteen-year-old girl can.

When I would get home from Nancys, I would show my Mom my latest additions to my masterpiece. I was the fifth child out of six, and although she has a huge heart and apparently just as much stamina, I am sure she was grateful I was the only one of her children who became so star struck. For that year, I had her sign me up for a theater group because maybe, just maybe, one day I could star beside him. I also had her take me into Hinsdale to the local jeweler so I could buy a medallion just like the one he wore in The Sting. Luckily, for my Mom, Robert Redford didn’t tour or I would have been begging her to take me to those performances as well.

I still have my scrapbook! My Mom found it in the attic several years back and sent it to me for safe keeping. I don’t know where Nancy is now. I wish I did so I could call her up and see if she still has her scrapbook. As for my masterpiece, there’s a number of famous movie stars amongst its pages but Robert rules. Out of the 48 pages, Robert Redford fills up 30-1/2 of them! If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.

Yes, thirteen-year-old girls are a breed all to themselves! But as I grew so did my awareness, and Bob enlightened me on the needs and causes closest to my heart today—the environment. He was one of the first influential people who began speaking up about environmental issues that were (and unfortunately, still are) threatening our World.

When I was in my early 20s, I took note and began listening and learning. He soon fell in line with the likes of my other environmental hero, Mardy Murie (8/18/1902 – 10/19/2003), a.k.a. Grandmother of the Conservation Movement.

I joined organizations that had a broader voice than mine including the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), The Wilderness Society (TWS), National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), and National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Thanks to all of them I learned how to speak up about causes I cared about. These are organizations I still support to this day, and I am grateful for them because the threats to our environment have not diminished over the past forty-plus years and their outreach is stronger than ever.

To get a good feel for the impact Robert Redford has had on the environment, NRDC, of whom he was a Trustee, has outlined it best in their memoriam for Bob, “The Environmental Movement Has Lost a Giant”. If you prefer videos, this is worth a look Celebrating Robert Redford for 50 years of Service to the Environment.

So as I process the loss of the longest relationship I have had outside of my family, I will leave you with this for it seems even more relevant today: 

Bob often reflected on a favorite saying by T.S. Elliot: “‘There’s only the trying. The rest is not our business.’ It’s one of my favorite phrases. Because you can’t guarantee where the trying is going to get you. So, you can’t guarantee the result. The only thing there is in its place is the trying. That’s where the action is.” ~ Robert Redford

And with that, I will keep trying to do my part to carry on and to do my part in speaking up for the environment, nature and all that need a voice.

RIP Bob! Thank you for being my first heartthrob, for your artistic talents, for all that you did to protect the environment, and for broadening my horizons these past fifty years.

xxoox

PS: Did you notice that both Mardy and Bob were born on August 18? That is clearly a good day for the environment!