Actor, director and producer Robert Redford, who was both the quintessential handsome Hollywood leading man and an influential supporter of independent films through his Sundance Institute, had died at the age of 89, The New York Times reported, citing his publicist.

Once dismissed as "just another California blond," Redford's charm and craggy good looks made him one of the industry's most bankable leading men for half a century, and one of the world's most recognizable and best-loved movie stars.

Redford made hearts beat faster in romantic roles such as "Out of Africa," got political in "The Candidate" and "All the President's Men" and skewered his golden-boy image in roles like the alcoholic ex-rodeo champ in "The Electric Horseman" and middle-aged millionaire who offers to buy sex in "Indecent Proposal."

He used the millions he made to launch the Sundance Institute and Festival in the 1970s, promoting independent filmmaking long before small and quirky were fashionable.

He never won the best actor Oscar, but his first outing as a director - the 1980 family drama "Ordinary People" - won Oscars for best picture and best director.

Yet he remained best known for the two early movies he made with Paul Newman - the 1969 western caper "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," and "The Sting" (1973), both of which became classics.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VENICE, ITALY (FILE - SEPTEMBER 1, 2017) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. U.S. ACTOR, ROBERT REDFORD ARRIVING ON RED CARPET WITH PARTNER SIBYLLE SZAGGARS FOR "OUR SOULS AT NIGHT" PREMIERE

2. VARIOUS OF REDFORD AND SZAGGARS POSING

3. SZAGGARS LEAVING AND REDFORD POSING FOR PHOTOS

4. VARIOUS OF REDFORD POSING

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA (FILE - SEPTEMBER 10, 2018) (REUTERS - Access all)

5. ROBERT REDFORD (R) WITH ACTOR DANNY GLOVER (L) BEING INTERVIEWED AT "THE OLD MAN & THE GUN" PREMIERE

6. REDFORD SPEAKING TO REPORTER

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, ROBERT REDFORD, SAYING:

"The work, just the work. If you look at the whole journey, I think that says it. Look at all the films and judge it yourself. I just had fun doing them."

8. REDFORD SPEAKING TO REPORTER

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - JANUARY 12, 2014) (UNRESTRICTED POOL - Access all)

9. ROBERT REDFORD WITH SIBYLLE SZAGGARS ARRIVING AT THE GOLDEN GLOBE RED CARPET

PARK CITY, UTAH, UNITED STATES (FILE - JANUARY 16, 2014) (REUTERS - Access all)

10. VARIOUS OF ROBERT REDFORD (R) ON STAGE POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS BEFORE SPEAKING AT THE ANNUAL PRESS CONFERENCE HELD AT SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND SUNDANCE INSTITUTE FOUNDER, ROBERT REDFORD, ON NOT BEING OSCAR NOMINATED FOR "ALL IS LOST", SAYING:

"Would it have been wonderful to be nominated? Of course. But I'm not disturbed or upset by it because of what I just said, it is a business and we couldn't conform to that."

12. REDFORD ON STAGE AT ANNUAL SUNDANCE PRESS CONFERENCE

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND SUNDANCE INSTITUTE FOUNDER, ROBERT REDFORD, SAYING:

"The obvious place to take a festival like this would've been either New York or Los Angeles, so I said, 'well let's go to Utah, put it in the middle of winter, make it weird.' Make it weird and strange for people to get to, maybe that'll be something."

14. REDFORD ON STAGE

15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND SUNDANCE INSTITUTE FOUNDER, ROBERT REDFORD, SAYING:

"Our job and our role is to create a space and a platform to bring new voices and new ways of seeing the world using independent film to this place. That's it. We're not interested in the money, that's somebody else's issue."

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, UNITED STATES (FILE - JANUARY 23, 2015) (REUTERS - Access all)

16. ACTOR-DIRECTOR ROBERT REDFORD POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS AT PREMIERE OF "A WALK IN THE WOODS"

17. VARIOUS OF REDFORD SPEAKING TO REPORTERS

18. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR ROBERT REDFORD, SAYING:

"Well, first of all, we don't have a red carpet, that's the first thing that's nice. Secondly, I live here, and I'm happy to do something here where I live, and the fact that I can bring something here to this community, and also tie it to the film festival, which is great, so I'm pretty happy."

19. REDFORD POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS

20. ACTOR NICK NOLTE, STAR OF REDFORD'S FILM, "A WALK IN THE WOODS", AND REDFORD GREETING EACH OTHER

CANNES, FRANCE (FILE - MAY 22, 2013) (REUTERS - Access all)

21. ROBERT REDFORD TURNING AND BLOWING A KISS TO CROWD AT CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, WHERE HE IS PROMOTING "ALL IS LOST"

22. PHOTOGRAPHERS / REDFORD SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS

23. REDFORD SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS

24. VARIOUS OF REDFORD AND HIS PARTNER SIBYLLE ON THE RED CARPET

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - FEBRUARY 1996) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS - Access all)

25. ROBERT REDFORD BEING INTERVIEWED FOR "UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL"

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES (FILE - AUGUST 5, 1998) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

26. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ROBERT REDFORD ANSWERING QUESTIONS AT AN AUGUST 5 NEWS CONFERENCE IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS WHILE ANNOUNCING THAT HIS SUNDANCE INDEPENDENT MOVIE CHANNEL HAS BEEN PICKED UP BY THE MEDIAONE CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - NOVEMBER 8, 2003) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

27. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF JAMES REDFORD (2ND L), DIRECTOR OF THE FILM "SPIN", HIS DIRECTORIAL DEBUT, AND HIS WIFE KYLE (L) POSING WITH HIS FATHER, ROBERT REDFORD AND SISTER, ACTRESS AMY REDFORD (R) AT THE FILM'S SCREENING AT THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE'S AFI FEST 2003

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - MARCH 24, 2002) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

28. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ROBERT REDFORD ARRIVING AT THE 74TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND SIBYLLE SZAGGARS

29. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ROBERT REDFORD ARRIVING

30. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF REDFORD HOLDING HIS HONORARY OSCAR

ROME, ITALY (FILE - OCTOBER 23, 2007) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

31. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ROBERT REDFORD (L) AND ACTOR, TOM CRUISE POSING AS THEY ARRIVE AT THE PREMIERE OF THEIR LATEST MOVIE "LIONS FOR LAMBS" AT THE ROME INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

VENICE, ITALY (FILE - SEPTEMBER 1, 2017) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

32. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ROBERT REDFORD (L) AND ACTOR, JANE FONDA RECEIVING A GOLDEN LION AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AT THE 74TH VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

MONACO (FILE - SEPTEMBER 26, 2019) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

33. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ROBERT REDFORD AND ACTOR, NICOLE KIDMAN POSING ON THE RED CARPET TO ATTEND THE MONTE CARLO GALA FOR THE GLOBAL OCEAN IN MONACO

34. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ROBERT REDFORD POSING

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, UNITED STATES (FILE - JANUARY 10, 2002) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

35. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ROBERT REDFORD, FOUNDER OF THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, SPEAKING DURING THE OPENING NIGHT OF THE 2002 FESTIVAL PRIOR TO A SCREENING OF THE FILM "THE LARAMIE PROJECT"

PARIS, FRANCE (FILE - FEBRUARY 22, 2019) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

36. VARIOUS STILL PHOTOGRAPHS OF ROBERT REDFORD RECEIVING AN HONORARY CESAR AWARD FROM KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS, PRESIDENT OF THE CESAR AWARDS, DURING THE 44TH CESAR AWARDS CEREMONY

WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE - DECEMBER 3, 2005) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

37. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF KENNEDY CENTER 2005 HONOREE, ROBERT REDFORD (R) CHATTING WITH U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE AS THEY DEPART THE GALA DINNER AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT IN WASHINGTON

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - OCTOBER 25, 2006) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

38. VARIOUS STILL PHOTOGRAPHS OF ROBERT REDFORD ATTENDING A NEWS CONFERENCE WHERE HE SUPPORTED CALIFORNIA BALLOT PROPOSITION 87 IN LOS ANGELES OCTOBER 25, 2006. THE PROPOSITION CALLS FOR A 25 PERCENT REDUCTION IN THE USE OF GAS AND DIESEL FUELS OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS AND OFFERS INCENTIVES FOR THE USE OF HYBRID VEHICLES

WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE - JUNE 12, 2006) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

39. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ENVIRONMENTALIST, ROBERT REDFORD SPEAKING ABOUT A NEW ENERGY DIRECTION FOR THE U.S. DURING THE "TAKE BACK AMERICA" CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON, D.C. JUNE 12, 2006. THE THREE-DAY CONFERENCE HELD BY CAMPAIGN FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE BRINGS TOGETHER PROGRESSIVE LEADERS TO DISCUSS A STRATEGY FOR MOVING THE U.S. IN A NEW DIRECTION

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - JUNE 29, 2015) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

40. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ROBERT REDFORD SPEAKING DURING A NEWS CONFERENCE FOLLOWING HIS ADDRESS TO A HIGH-LEVEL UNITED NATIONS MEETING ON CLIMATE CHANGE AT THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK

VENICE, ITALY (FILE - SEPTEMBER 1, 2017) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

41. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ROBERT REDFORD POSING DURING A PHOTOCALL FOR THE MOVIE "OUR SOULS AT NIGHT" AT THE 74TH VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

MARRAKECH, MOROCCO (FILE - DECEMBER 7, 2019) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

42. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ROBERT REDFORD ATTENDING THE "CONVERSATION WITH" SECTION AT THE 18TH EDITION OF THE MARRAKECH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA (FILE - SEPTEMBER 10, 2018) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

43. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ROBERT REDFORD ARRIVING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE OF THE OLD MAN & THE GUN AT THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (TIFF)

VENICE, ITALY (FILE - SEPTEMBER 6, 2012) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

44. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ROBERT REDFORD POSING DURING THE PHOTOCALL OF THE MOVIE "THE COMPANY YOU KEEP" AT THE 69TH VENICE FILM FESTIVAL