Recommendations of the Editorial team
The journalist Bob Woodward is reminiscent of Robert Redford as “a noble and faithful power of good” – In an obituary for the deceased actor who had embodied him in the Watergate film in 1976.
Redford’s influence on “the incorruptible”
“His influence on my life cannot be assessed high enough,” wrote Woodward about Redford, who died on Tuesday at the age of 89. “I loved and admired him – for his friendship, his fiery independence and for using every stage to make the world better, just and brighter for others.”
Redford encouraged him and his co-author Carl Bernstein to tell the Watergate story “by the eyes and experiences of our research and our relationship”. The incorruptible, the book that Richard Nixon’s fall trimmed and inspired Alan Pakula Oscar-winning film adaptation.
“He always said what he would do over 50 years of friendship, and then he did it,” said Woodward. “He will be remembered as one of the great storytellers in American history. He lifted stories beyond the mainstream. And he not only took care of the environment, he also did everything possible to protect them.”
Political conversations and late reflections
Woodward also revealed that he had had numerous talks with Redford “about the condition of this country” in the past ten years. He now published some excerpts “because they show the Redford I knew and loved.”
One of these talks took place on New Year’s Eve 2021. Redford said that he had just seen the incorruptible again: “I was impressed by how appropriate it is, how contemporary – and how little really changed. We no longer have Nixon, we have Trump.” And further: “We live in a country that cannot call itself united states of America. And we cannot. We are the divided states of America because of the parties that are so robust in their fears.”
In September 2022, after Woodward reported on his research that “Trump tried to destroy democracy,” replied Redford: “He didn’t understand. It is therefore so easy for him to destroy it. It is easy to destroy something that you don’t understand. You can say that it does not exist.”
Finally, Woodward quoted a statement by Redford from 2019: “One last thing before we continue about why I am as I am. I never wanted to be stuck. I was never fenced. I was completely free as a child. I was completely free … These early years explain why part of myself is still so. I don’t want to be drawn into a group today, I want to keep independence.”