Local leaders reflect on how Robert Redford ‘shared Utah with the world’
Sep 17, 2025, 8:00 AM
FILE - Robert Redford poses on a balcony along Main Street decorated with his Sundance Film Festival banners on Jan. 17, 2003, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File)
SALT LAKE CITY — Tributes to Robert Redford poured in from Utah leaders following the death of the Oscar-winning actor, who, among other things, put an international spotlight on Utah through his movies and the Sundance Film Festival, and the outdoors.
“Robert Redford came to Utah and fell in love with this place. He cherished our landscapes and built a legacy that made Utah a home for storytelling and creativity,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wrote on social media. “Through Sundance and his devotion to conservation, he shared Utah with the world.”
Redford died at his home in Sundance on Tuesday at the age of 89. No cause of death was provided, but his publicist said that he died in “the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved.”
Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, Park City Mayor Nann Worel, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall were among other state and local leaders who mourned Redford’s passing. They reflected on his ability to provide “meaningful storytelling,” his work to champion environmental stewardship in the state and his “respectful” approach to politics.
“Robert Redford left a legacy on Utah and the world that won’t be soon forgotten,” Mendenhall wrote in a social media post. “In uncertain times, I think of what he both lived for and advocated for in his actions: meaningful storytelling that brings people together by conveying complex emotions into powerful inspiration … and solace in the outdoors through his stewardship of the environment.”
Building Sundance
The legendary actor moved to Utah in 1961, after marrying Utah native Lola Van Wagenen, as he detailed in a 1989 interview with Architectural Digest. He bought 2 acres of land in the Provo Canyon area and built a cabin on it himself, CNN noted,
His move to Utah occurred just a year after landing his first movie role. And as he became a fixture on the silver screen in the ensuing decades, he also became one of Utah’s more prominent residents.
He’d eventually purchase all of Timp Haven, a resort in the area, in 1969, turning it into what is now Sundance Mountain Resort — a nod to his role as Harry Longabaugh, or the “Sundance Kid,” in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” The resort became a key filming location for “Jeremiah Johnson,” a 1972 film that highlighted all sorts of Utah’s natural splendor — from mountains to forests and red rocks.
He ultimately sold the resort in 2020, saying that it was “the right time, and with the right people” to preserve its legacy in the mountains. The resort set up a temporary memorial by the Rehearsal Hall pond in Resort Village at Sundance, where visitors “are invited to pay their respects,” resort officials said on Tuesday.
“With his generous spirit, kind nature, and artistic vision, Bob created something no one else could have built. Always looking ahead, his commitment to this canyon was a calling that went beyond love,” said Chad Linebaugh, president and general manager of Sundance Mountain Resort. “The Sundance brand he built – rooted in this place – has touched so many lives and will continue to benefit generations who love this preserved land.”
Elevating Utah’s film festival
But his tie to Utah is perhaps best known for turning what would become the Sundance Film Festival into a juggernaut. The annual event originated as the Utah/United States Film Festival in 1978 in Salt Lake City. Utah Film Commission officials initially operated the event for its first few years, but its success emerged after the Sundance Institute, led by Robert Redford, took over in the 1980s, drawing thousands of global submissions every year.
“Robert Redford changed the trajectory of Park City and left an indelible mark on Utah,” Worel said. “He was a maverick – unafraid to chart his own path – showing that ideas and creativity can flourish even amid our differences. His legacy is both beautiful and profound, and one for which we all should be deeply grateful.”
His death comes months after the Sundance Institute announced it was relocating to Boulder, Colorado, beginning in 2027. Redford thanked Utah and Park City at the time, saying event organizers and local leaders worked together to create something “remarkably special and defining.”
A special recognition of Redford was already planned for the final Sundance Film Festival in Park City that will begin in January 2026.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our founder and friend Robert Redford,” festival organizers said in a statement on Tuesday. “Bob’s vision of a space and a platform for independent voices launched a movement that, over four decades later, has inspired generations of artists and redefined cinema in the U.S. and around the world.”
