Rubber B has become well-known as a highly respected crafter of custom rubber watch bands for timepieces from some of the most respected watchmakers in the field, including such brands as Patek Philippe, IWC, and Breitling. Rubber B has a variety of straps in different colors and styles in our product portfolio that are appropriate for both business/formal wear and more casual situations as well.
In this particular blog entry, we are going to be learning more about the life, career, and watch collection of actor, director, producer, and activist Robert Redford. Since beginning his career in 1958, Redford has been one of the most storied figures in American cinematic history and has been come to be beloved by audiences across generations for his work in film, television, and the theater.
Redford retired in 2020 from show business, after working steadily in the industry for an astounding six decades, so in honor of all of his accomplishments, let’s take a closer look at the life, work, and watches of Robert Redford.
Who is Robert Redford?
Charles Robert Redford Jr. was born on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, to Charles Robert Redford, an accountant, and Martha Hart. His family moved to Van Nuys while his father worked in El Segundo, and Redford would attend Van Nuys High School.
He has previously described himself as being a “bad student” who was far more interested in art and sports. Regardless, he would manage to do well enough to graduate in 1954 and then attend the University of Colorado Boulder, for a year and a half. During this time, he would work at a restaurant called The Sink to support himself.
While in Colorado, Redford began drinking heavily and lost his half-scholarship, resulting in him being kicked out of school. He would later travel to Europe to study art, then come home to study painting at the Pratt Institute and take acting classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Robert Redford’s Early Show Business Career
Redford’s first professional acting job would come on Broadway, where he would appear in a small role in the play “Tall Story” in 1959. That same year, he would go on to appear in the play “The Highest Tree” and then return to the stage two years later in 1961 for “Sunday in New York.”
Theatrically speaking, he is most remembered for his role as the stuff husband in the original Broadway cast of Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park,” which premiered in 1963.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Mainstream Success
Redford’s first film appearance would be in 1960, in a film adaptation of “Tall Story,” which was the same play he had appeared in on Broadway the year before. The film also notably served as the screen debut of Jane Fonda, with whom he would go on to work with again several times in his career, including in 1967’s “Barefoot in the Park,” again seeing him in the film adaptation of a play he had previously appeared in on Broadway.
Redford made several films between those two, and during this time, he was starting to become concerned that he would be stereotyped as a handsome, oafish type who was not capable of playing characters with any depth to them.
That would all change in 1969, when he would appear in George Roy Hill’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” which would see him teaming with veteran actor Paul Newman for the first time. The two became fast friends during the filming of the movie, and the film was both a critical and commercial success as well.
The two would reteam for 1973’s “The Sting,” which would again be directed by George Roy Hill, and see Redford receive his only Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
In 1976, he would appear in “All The President’s Men,” a drama about the journalists investigating the Watergate scandal alongside Dustin Hoffman, which was also critically and commercially successful as well.
Robert Redford as Director
In 1980, Redford made his directorial debut with the domestic drama “Ordinary People.” The film would go on to win four Oscars, including one for Redford himself for Best Director and one for Best Picture, and effectively launch his directing career in the process.
He would not step behind the camera again until eight years later with The Milagro Beanfield War, which would also see him produce a film for the first time as well.
Sundance and More Recent Projects
Redford was most recently seen on screen as Alexander Pierce in a cameo in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” in what will likely be his last onscreen appearance. However, Redford is still keeping busy as the head of the Sundance Film Festival, which he initially founded as the Utah Film Festival in 1978, before it changed its name to the Sundance Film Festival in 1984.
The noted film festival is known for launching the careers of independent luminaries such as Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, and Robert Rodriguez.
What Kind of Watches are in Robert Redford’s Watch Collection?
Robert Redford seems to have been wearing the same watch, both on-screen and off, for the past forty years – a red Rolex Submariner. Supposedly, someone offered him a gold Rolex Submariner as a gift, to which he simply said “I’m not a gold kind of guy.”
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Every Rubber B custom rubber watch strap is made only from 100% vulcanized rubber, and all of our products are FDA and BVGG compliant as well.
If you would like to learn more about our complete product catalog, shipping policies, pricing, or have questions about our custom rubber watch straps, please visit the Rubber B website today for more information. One of our valued associates will be happy to answer your inquiry in a prompt manner.
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