Robert Redford’s Funeral, Barbara Streisand’s TRIBUTE Is STUNNING!

The phone calls started at dawn. Hollywood legends weeping. A nation mourning. And somewhere in the mountains of Utah, the most beautiful man who ever graced the silver screen took his final bow. Robert Redford is gone at 89, and the tributes pouring in are absolutely stunning. But none more beautiful than what we’re hearing from Barbra Streisand – the woman who knew him better than almost anyone else.

[Music] The phone calls started at dawn. Hollywood legends weeping. A nation mourning. And somewhere in the mountains of Utah, the most beautiful man who ever graced the silver screen took his final bow. Robert Redford is gone at 89. And the tributes pouring in are absolutely stunning. But none more beautiful than what we’re hearing from Bargar Dryend, the woman who knew him better than almost anyone else. I’m still processing this news. September 16th, 2025, the day Hollywood lost one of its greatest icons. Robert Redford passed away at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah, surrounded by those he loved. The man who gave us Butch Cassidy, who brought us all the President’s Men, who created the Sundance Film Festival, he’s really gone. But here’s what’s getting everyone emotional right now. The tributes are flooding in from every corner of Hollywood, and each one is more heartbreaking than the last. Merryill Streep honored her Out of Africa co-star, saying, “One of the Lions has passed. Rest in peace, my lovely friend. When Meyer Street calls you one of the lions, you know you’ve made an impact and the political world is reacting too. President Donald Trump told of Redford’s passing while speaking to reporters before his visit to the UK said Robert Redford had a series of years where there was nobody better. Even in a divided political climate, Redford’s talent transcended everything. But it’s Barbara Stryzen’s connection to this story that’s absolutely stunning me. Their relationship wasn’t just professional. It was something deeper, more meaningful. And the way she’s honored him over the years shows a love and respect that goes beyond anything Hollywood usually produces. The way they were, a love story for the ages. Let me take you back to 1973. The Way We Were wasn’t just a movie. It was cultural lightning in a bottle. Redford played opposite Barbara Stryisend in The Way We Were featuring music by Hamlish who won three Oscars in 1974. Redford and I were very different on the surface. Stysander called it. I was raised in a Jewish family in Brooklyn playing skelly with bottle caps in the street. He was the blonde suntanned California guy surfing and riding horses while I was afraid of them. But inside we were alike, shy, sensitive, and both of us appreciated the mystery of relationships. Can you imagine that chemistry? Two people so different on the surface, but so similar underneath. That’s what made their on-screen magic so believable. But what most people don’t know is how hard Stzen had to fight to get Redford in that role. Redford might not have starred in the way we were had it not been for Barbara Stryzen’s tireless efforts to get him to commit to filming the 1973 movie, which is that when someone who can’t hide something, it’s more like a story in a less time. I had a particular actor in mind for Hubble, Robert Redford, who happened to be good friends with Sydney Pac director. So everything seemed to be falling into place. Strerisend wrote in her memoir, “I was drawn to him not because of his appearance. Guys with blonde hair and blue eyes were never my type, but Redford was hesitant. He believed that the role was not the right vehicle for him at the time.” Okay. I thought it was a great script and I thought it was right for Barbara, but the character in the initial script was I felt one-dimensional. He admitted they seemed more symbolic, a model for her to fall in love with. But I didn’t believe he had a flaw. If you had a flaw, that might be interesting. This is what made Redford special. Even at the height of his beauty and fame, he wanted depth. He didn’t want to be just a pretty face. Uh cuz he looked like things came easily. The assumption was that it was true. It would put too much pressure on him for expectations. Katie came and put a lot of pressure on him to meet expectations. Otherwise, I would be a kendall and that was for somebody else, Redford concluded. Streryen’s stunning tributes over the years. What makes Barbara Stryen’s relationship with Robert Redford so special is how she consistently honored him throughout their careers. In 2021, Steren wished Robert Redford a happy 85th birthday on Instagram with a throwback photo from The Way We Were. Dear Bob, happy birthday. It was great talking to you the other day. Sterisen captioned the still of her and Redford from the way we were. Even that simple message tells you everything about their friendship. It was great talking to you the other day, but they stayed in touch. After all these decades, they were still friends, still checking on each other. But Stryson’s most stunning tribute to Redford came in 2015. You never quite know what he’s really thinking. And that makes him fascinating to watch on screen, she said while presenting Redford with an award. Yeah, Bob understands the power of restraint. That’s such a perfect description of Redford’s screen presence. He never gave you everything. There was always something held back, something mysterious. While presenting him with the award, she also made a playful reference to the ill- fated romance of their characters, Katie and Hubble, in the movie. Okay, I’d like to say, “Dear Bob, it was such fun being married to you for a while. Too bad it didn’t work out.” She said, “Oh, but we made something that will last much longer than many real marriages. I am so proud of the work we did together. something that will last much longer than many real marriages. That’s the power of what they created together. 50 years later, people still tear up watching Katie push Hubble’s hair out of his face in that final scene outside the Plaza Hotel. The funeral that will stop Hollywood now. Here’s where this story gets even more emotional. Memorial services for Robert Redford are pending. Can you imagine what that funeral is going to look like? every A-list actor, every director he inspired, every person whose career he launched through Sundance, they’re all going to be there. The family is requesting privacy right now, which is completely understandable. Robert Redford passed away on September 16th, 2025 at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah, the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved. He will be missed greatly, his representative confirmed. The family requests privacy, but when those memorial services are announced, it’s going to be the most star-studded goodbye Hollywood has seen in decades. We’re talking about a man who didn’t just act, he discovered talent. He nurtured careers. He changed the entire landscape of independent film making. Marley Matlin captured it perfectly. Our film Kota came to the attention of everyone because of Sundance and Sundance happened because of Robert Redford. A genius has passed. RIP Robert. That’s the thing about Redford. His influence reaches everywhere. The tributes coming in today are just the beginning. Stephen King wrote, “Robert Redford has passed away. He was part of a new and exciting Hollywood in the 70s and 90s. Hard to believe he was 89. Even Stephen King is processing this loss. The Sundance legacy. Let’s talk about what made Robert Redford truly special. Yes, he was gorgeous. Yes, he was talented. But what set him apart was his vision for independent filmm. Redford founded the Sundance Institute in 1981 after winning the Oscar for directing ordinary people. The festival became a launchpad for previously unknown filmmakers as Quinton Tarantino, Steven Soderberg, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Darren Areronowski. Think about that for a second. Quinton Tarantino, Steven Soderberg, Paul Thomas Anderson. These are directors who shaped modern cinema and they all got their start because Robert Redford believed in independent voices. For me, the word to be underscored is independence. Redford told the Associated Press in 2018. It’s giving major lift. So, I think it becomes a sense of what takes off and makes it feel wrong. But realistically, I’ve always believed in that word. That’s what led to me eventually wanting to create a category that supported independent artists who weren’t given a chance to be heard. The industry was pretty well controlled by the mainstream which I was a part of. But I saw other stories out there that weren’t having a chance to be told and I thought, well, maybe I can commit my energies to giving those people a chance. As I look back on it, I feel very good about that. That’s the Robert Redford that Barbara Stryzen fell in love with. Not just the beautiful man, but the man with vision, with principles, with the courage to use his fame for something bigger than himself. the recent years and final goodbye. By 2025, the Sundance Festival had become so prominent that organizers decided they had outgrown Park City and approved relocating to Boulder, Colorado. Starting in 2027, Redford issued a statement saying that change is inevitable. We must always evolve and grow, which has been at the core of our survival. Even at 89, even as he was preparing for his final chapter, Redford was still thinking about evolution, about growth. That’s the man Stranden knew, always moving forward, always looking for the next challenge. Redford acted well into his later years, reuniting with Jane Fonda in the 2017 Netflix film Our Souls at Night. The following year, he starred in The Old Man in the Gun. At age 82, a film he said would be his last. But even then, he wasn’t really retiring. It to me, retirement means stopping something or quitting something. He told CBS Sunday Morning in 2018. There’s this life to lead. Why not live it as much as you can, as long as you can? That philosophy, live life as much as you can, as long as you can. That’s what made his friendship with Barbara Streryand so enduring. They both understood that art, that connection, that the work you create together can outlast everything else. The personal losses Redford’s later years weren’t without heartbreak. In October 2020, Redford’s 58-year-old son died from cancer. David James Redford, the third of four children born to Robert Redford and former wife Lola Van Wagnan, had followed in his father’s footsteps as an activist. filmmaker and philanthropist. Redford was married twice, most recently to Sibil Saggers. He had four children, two of whom have died. Scott Anthony, who died in infancy in 1959, and James Redford, an activist and filmmaker who died in 2020. Losing a child is something no parent should ever have to endure. But Redford, even in his grief, continued working, continued believing in the power of storytelling to heal and inspire. Hollywood’s reaction today, the entertainment industry is in mourning today, and the reactions are pouring in from every corner of the business. Omen Domingo posted, “With love and admiration, thank you, Mr. Redford, for your everlasting impact will be felt for generations. RIP.” Ron Howard wrote, “Nybd, a tremendously influential cultural figure for the creative choices made as an actor, producer, director, and for launching the Sundance Film Festival, which supercharged America’s independent film movement. Artistic gamecher, artistic game changer.” Kenneth Cole was stunned by the loss of Robert Redford, a colleague, a visionary friend, an idol, and a legendary artist. He created at sundance.org, where countless artists found their voice and audiences found tin. Design shows, their stories. His legacy has inspired me and so many other for decades and will live. But perhaps the most touching tribute came from Rosie O’Donnell who posted a photo on Instagram of Redford and Barbara Stysand from the classic romance film The Way We Were and added the caption, “We will never be the same. Good night, Bob. What a legacy.” Even Rosie O’Donnell chose a photo of Redford with Stryand that tells you everything about how their partnership defined both of their leg. What they thought was the right of Redford’s DNA. Redford’s DNA was all the intention of Redford’s DNA and Red Braids twist. In his 70s heyday, few actors possessed Redford’s star wattage, aided considerably by his tousled blonde locks, granite jaw, and million-doll smile. With his environmental activism, anti-establishment approach to film making, and pioneering efforts in providing a platform for indie filmmakers, Redford was able to use his celebrity to subvert the status quo. while advancing his own creative agenda. Like Gary Cooper, Gregory Peek, and Steve McQueen, Robert Redford was never about having a particularly wide range as an actor, but as a movie star in his prime, few could touch him. That’s what Barbara Stre saw in him. Not just the surface beauty, but the depth underneath. The man could hold his own opposite Paul Newman, who could carry a film like All the President’s Men, who could step behind the camera and direct Oscar-winning films like Ordinary People. Redford would star in 16 features between 1969 and 1980, many of them hits that traded on his remarkable screen presence. Downhill racer, the hot rock, Jeremiah Johnson, The Candidate, The Way We Were with Barbara Stryand, The Great Gatsby, with Mia Pharaoh, The Great Waldo Pepper, Three Days of the Condor, with Fay Dunaway, The Electric Horsemen with Jane Fonda and Brewbaker. Look at that list of leading ladies. Streryand, Pharaoh, Dunaway, Fonda. These weren’t just beautiful women. These were powerhouses, actresses with their own strong identities. Redford didn’t need a weak leading lady to shine. He elevated everyone around him. The enduring magic of The Way We were, but it keeps coming back to The Way We Were, doesn’t it? That film, that performance, that chemistry between Redford and Streryand, it captured something eternal about love and loss and the way time changes everything. One writer perfectly captured the magic of that final scene as Barbara Stryson takes her leather gloved hand and pushes his summer boy sandy blonde hair from Robert Redford’s forehead and he clasps her wrist gently pulling her into a final embrace. An inevitable farewell, the audience sobbed. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were old? Barbara Stryzen’s Katie says, “We would have survived all this and everything would be easy and uncomplicated and easy like it was when we were young.” Katie, it was never uncomplicated. It was never uncomplicated, but it was lovely. That could be Robert Redford’s epitap. His life, his career, his relationships, none of it was uncomplicated, but all of it was lovely. What Stryan taught us about Redford. Through all of Barbara Strerison’s statements about Robert Redford over the years, she revealed something essential about who he was as a person. Redford also looked back fondly on filming the beloved drama with Strerisand. I remember the fun we had, he once said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. I remember liking her energy and her spirit. It was wonderful to play off of. I also really enjoyed kidding her. She was fun to kid. That’s the Robert Redford that few people got to see. The playful one, the one who liked to joke around, the one who appreciated other people’s energy and spirit. Stressen brought that out in him and he brought out her more vulnerable side. Their professional relationship was stunning because it was built on mutual respect and genuine affection. In Hollywood, that’s rare than you might think. Too many partnerships are about ego, about who gets top billing, about who shines brighter. But Redford and Stryand understood that they were better together than apart. The final chapter. Redford is survived by his wife, Syibil Seggers Redford, and his two children, Shauna Redford Schlloer and Amy Redford August. His son, Scott, died as an infant. His son Jamie, a filmmaker and environmental activist like his dad, died in 2020 at age 58 from bile duct cancer in his liver. A life lived fully with joy and sorrow, triumph and loss. two of his last three helming efforts, Lions for Lambs, 2007 about Americans complicity in Afghanistan and The Conspirator, which examined the kangaroo court justice exercised in the aftermath of the Lincoln assassination, continued Redford’s proclivity for politically driven drama. Even in his final films, he was still asking hard questions, still pushing boundaries. He delivered a remarkably primal, almost entirely silent performance in JC Chandor’s 2013 film All is Lost about a man stranded alone at sea, though an Oscar nomination somehow eluded him. That film feels prophetic now. A man alone facing the vast unknown relying on his own strength and determination to survive. The memorial that Hollywood is planning while the family requests privacy. You know that when the memorial services are announced, they’re going to be extraordinary. We’re talking about a man who touched every corner of the entertainment industry, the actors he worked with, the directors he discovered, the causes he championed, everyone is going to want to say goodbye. And you know, Barbara Stray will be there. How could she not be the woman who fought to get him cast in the way we were? Who recognized his depth when others only saw his beauty? who maintained a friendship with him for over 50 years. She’ll be there to honor the man who helped create one of cinema’s greatest love stories. The tributes we’ve seen today are just the beginning. Utah Governor Spencer Cox wrote, “Decades ago, 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. Through Sundance and his devotion to conservation, he shared Utah with the world. Today, we honor his life, his vision, and his lasting contribution to our state. The legacy lives on. What strikes me most about all these tributes is how they focus not just on Redford’s beauty or his fame, but on his impact. The lives he touched, the careers he launched, the stories he helped tell. That’s what real stardom looks like. using your platform to lift others up. Barbara Stryzend understood that about him from the beginning. She saw past the golden hair and perfect jaw to the man who wanted to make meaningful films, who wanted to support independent voices, who wanted to use his success to create opportunities for others. The dunes relationship in the film directed by Sydney Pollock remains an iconic touchstone in Redford’s career. Pollock, the son of Jewish immigrants, would direct Redford in seven of his 21 films. Even his choice of collaborators showed his values. He worked with Sydney Pollock seven times because he trusted him, because they shared a vision. That’s what made Robert Redford stunning. Not just his looks, but his loyalty, his principles, his commitment to excellence. And that’s what made Barbara Stryson’s tributes to him so meaningful over the years. She recognized all of that in him, the final tribute. So, as we wait for news of the memorial services, as we process the loss of this incredible man, let’s remember what Barbara Stryson said about their work together. We made something that will last much longer than many real marriages. 52 years after The Way We Were was released, people are still talking about Katie and Hubble, still crying over that final scene, still believing in the power of love even when it can’t conquer everything. That’s Robert Redford’s real legacy. Not just the films he made, but the feelings he inspired, the dreams he encouraged, the independent voices he amplified through Sundance. He showed us that beauty with substance is truly stunning, that stardom with purpose can change the world. And through it all, Barbara Stryson was there recognizing his worth, celebrating his talent, maintaining their friendship decade after decade. Her tributes to him over the years weren’t just stunning because of what she said. They were stunning because of the love and respect they represented. The way we were, it was never uncomplicated, but it was always lovely. Rest in peace, Robert Redford. Your girl Barbara and all of us who loved you will miss you forever. What do you think about Robert Redford’s incredible legacy? Are you planning to rewatch The Way We Were after hearing this news? Let me know in the comments. And don’t forget to subscribe for more coverage of this developing story and the upcoming memorial services.