It’s funny the things that stick with you…
Robert Redford died yesterday. And because I’m a Gen-Xer, the first things that popped into my head after learning he was gone were clips of his performances that impacted me the most.
The first one — His soothing portrayal of “Mr. Death” on the Twilight Zone in 1962.
I remember watching him is a little girl, somehow instinctively knowing before I should have that he was playing the Grim Reaper.
But I wasn’t afraid.
Yes, the man was handsome. His beautiful blue eyes pierced through the screen even in black and white!
Still, he was playing the Angel of Death personified, so the fact that I wasn’t frightened was a true testament to how great an actor he was.
Fast forward to his mesmerizing performance in one of my favorite films, “The Way We Were.” It was filmed in 1973, but I was two-years-old then, so I didn’t get to experience it until I happened to catch it on TV one lazy Saturday afternoon in the late 80’s’/early 90’s.
Clocking in at almost two hours, I was transfixed by the ups and downs of two un-fated opposites who loved each other deeply. But it was the final scene that stuck with me the most.
After Katie (Barbra Streisand) and Hubbell (Robert Redford ) – who’s with a new woman – bump into each other by chance, Hubbell turns to leave and Katie tenderly brushes a stray hair from his forehead and touches the back of his neck.
It was such a slight gesture and if you weren’t paying attention you would have missed it.
But, Fam, when I tell you how much that moment stuck with me!
How he melted into her impromptu touch…
It took root in me so much that when I directed my first film, “Carmin’s Choice,” I directed my actors to do the same thing — Just to try to capture the same emotion that struck me when I first saw Robert Redford bid a final farewell to his love on screen.
He had so many other films, and achieved so much. But this is what I remember.
As he reports on set to star in his final role, I also thank him for impacting me as a storyteller.
And I wish him peace.
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