As the acting world mourns the loss of Robert Redford, the Mirror takes a look at some of the devastating tragedies the screen icon endured away from the cameras, including the loss of two of his children
As one of the leading lights of Hollywood,[1] Robert Redford[2] led a glittering life in many ways. But his charming red carpet-ready smiles hid a private pain.
Redford, famed for his roles in classics such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Way We Were (1973), and All the President’s Men (1976), has died in his sleep at the age of 89, leaving behind the sort of legacy many actors[3] wouldn’t even dare to dream of.
As well as honing his craft as an acclaimed thespian, Redford made a name for himself as a gifted director, with his 1980 debut Ordinary People scooping no fewer than four Academy Awards.[4] The following year, Redford founded the Sundance Institute, which is a nonprofit dedicated to nurturing new and exciting voices in cinema.
Sadly, for all his many achievements, Redford knew a lot of sadness in his life, including the deaths of two of his sons and the horrific murder of his daughter’s boyfriend.
READ MORE: Robert Redford dead: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid film icon dies at 89[5]
Tragic loss of first baby
On September 1, 1959, Redford and his then-wife, Lola Van Wagenen, welcomed their first child together, a little boy they named Scott Anthony Redford.
Tragically, on November 19, 1959, baby Scott died unexpectedly from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). He was only two-and-a-half-months-old, and the devastating loss had a profound effect on the young couple.
In November 2017, Redford opened up about Scott’s death in an interview with Esquire[6], sharing: “I was only 21; my wife was 20. We were just starting our lives; I was just starting my career in New York.
“Of course, it was traumatic, and how that plays out over time, I don’t know. We had to deal with it. You have to move on. And we had other children who came. But something like that doesn’t get completely dismissed. It probably shows up in various small ways you’re not even aware of.”
Death of lookalike son
On May 5, 1962, Redford and Wagenen went on to welcome their second son, David James ‘Jamie’ Redford. With his thick mop of fair hair, Jamie was his father’s double and also inherited his passion for filmmaking, going on to build a successful career as a documentary filmmaker.
Sadly, Jamie also had to contend with significant health problems throughout his life. He suffered from primary sclerosing cholangitis, a condition that affects a person’s liver and bile ducts, and had to undergo two liver transplants.
Using his talents for filmmaking to spread awareness of the importance of organ donation, father-of-two Jamie went on to make the 1999 documentary The Kindness of Strangers, which focused on the human stories behind organ donation.
On October 16, 2020, James’ wife, Kyle Redford, revealed that Jamie had passed away at their Marin County home from bile-duct cancer in his liver. He was only 58-years0old.
Taking to the social media platform X, then known as Twitter[7], Kyle wrote: “Jamie died today. We’re heartbroken. He lived a beautiful, impactful life & was loved by many,” she wrote. “He will be deeply missed. As his wife of 32 yrs, I’m most grateful for the two spectacular children we raised together. I don’t know what we would’ve done w/o them over the past 2yrs.”
The Salt Lake Tribune reported at the time that Jamie’s cancer was discovered in 2019, while he was awaiting another liver transplant.
Devastating murder
Redford’s daughter, Shauna, born November 15, 1960, grew up to be a talented artist, and it was while studying art at the University of Colorado Boulder that she first locked eyes with Sid Wells.
As reported by NBC News,[8] journalism student Sid fell for Shauna during his freshman year, when they shared a dorm together. He didn’t realise at first that the pretty young woman who’d captured his interest so completely was in fact the daughter of one of the greatest movie stars of all time.
Sid invited Shauna to the Navy ROTC ball, and sparks flew. The pair would go on to date for three happy years, with an unthinkable tragedy cutting their time together short. On August 1, 1983, Sid’s older brother Sam found his body, with a single 20-gauge shotgun wound inflicted to the back of the head.
Shauna, named as ‘survivor, girlfriend and best friend’ in Sid’s obituary, was so devastated by her boyfriend’s death that she left the university altogether. Supportive father Redford made sure to be there for his daughter at this agonising time, even stopping production of his film The Natural so that the family could attend the funeral.
Suspicions circulated around flatmate Thayne Smika, and after testing the crime scene, officers interviewed the student at his mother’s home, as per CNN. It was here they found a 20-gauge shotgun, the same weapon used to kill Sid.
Smika was arrested for first-degree murder on October 6, 1983; however, prosecutors ultimately decided against charging him, stating that there wasn’t enough evidence.
The following year, in 1984, Shauna was in a car accident close to Salt Lake City, but thankfully escaped with minor injuries.
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com
READ MORE: Hollywood icon Robert Redford returns to acting after hiatus for new thriller[9]
References
- ^ Hollywood, (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Robert Redford (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ actors (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Academy Awards. (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Robert Redford dead: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid film icon dies at 89 (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Esquire (www.esquire.com)
- ^ Twitter (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ NBC News, (www.nbcnews.com)
- ^ Hollywood icon Robert Redford returns to acting after hiatus for new thriller (www.mirror.co.uk)