Robert Redford, screen idol turned director and activist, dies at 89

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.