Robert Redford died on Tuesday, September 16 at the age of 89. According to The New York Times, the Oscar-winning director died in his sleep at his Utah home. Robert was a legendary actor, starring in films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, and The Way We Were. And he was beloved in the industry. After his death was confirmed, his friends and former co-stars shared their reactions, calling him a "beautiful person," "charismatic, intelligent, intense," and "one of the finest actors ever."
I was not alive for the premieres of most of Robert's iconic films, but even though I'm only 30 years old, he was one of my favorite movie stars. Robert meant a lot to me and my family. His honesty on screen, his dedication to the craft, to depicting every character thoughtfully and meaningfully. My favorite Robert Redford film, while not his most acclaimed, was The Natural.
© Getty ImagesReleased in 1984, The Natural follows baseball player Roy Hobbs (played by Robert). He's a Nebraska boy who loves America's pastime. After his dad, Roy Gobbs Sr. died from a heart attack, lightning struck a tree next to where he met his end. Roy made a baseball bat from the tree, emblazing it with a lightning bolt.
© Corbis via Getty ImagesRoy goes on to become a middle-aged and relatively unknown professional baseball player, falling in love with Iris Gaines (played by Glenn Close). Roy's tempted by a seductress, Memo Paris (played by Kim Basinger), but stays true to his two loves – baseball and Iris. At the end of the film, during a game that the fictional New York Knights must win, Roy hits a home run so far and so hard that he breaks the right field lights, causing the lights around the stadium to explode into a shower of sparks.
You may wonder, why is The Natural my favorite Robert Redford film? Why not Barefoot in the Park or All the President's Men? The answer is simple. The Natural was my grandfather's favorite movie, so it's mine too. My grandpa, Richard Albert Greiner, loved St. Louis Cardinals baseball, western movies, and Robert Redford. He was 50 when The Natural premiered and he quickly taught his children to do the same.
© Getty ImagesOver a decade later, my mom taught me to love The Natural too. The film was a regular in my household. And anytime any of us – my nuclear family or my 21 first cousins – watch the Robert Redford classic, we text each other saying: "Roy Hobbs broke the lights again" as if we were watching it for the first time.
© Getty ImagesSo, here's to you Robert Redford. A legend of film and my grandfather's favorite actor. I can't wait to watch Roy Hobbs hit another home run sometime soon.
