Robert Redford

With the financial proceeds of his acting success, starting with his salaries from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Downhill Racer, Redford bought a modest ski area on the east side of Mount Timpanogos northeast of Provo, Utah called "Timp Haven," which was renamed "Sundance" (over his initial objections). Redford's wife Lola was from Utah and they had built a home in the area in 1963. Portions of the movie Jeremiah Johnson (1972), a film which is both one of Redford's favorites and one that has heavily influenced him, were shot near the ski area. He founded the Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute, Sundance Cinemas, Sundance Catalog, and the Sundance Channel, all in and around Park City, Utah, 30 miles (48 km) north of the Sundance ski area. The Sundance Film Festival caters to independent filmmakers in the United States and has received recognition from the industry as a place to open films. In 2008, Sundance exhibited 125 feature-length films from 34 countries, with more than 50,000 attendees. The name Sundance comes from his character, the Sundance Kid. In addition, Redford owns a celebrated restaurant called Zoom, located on Main Street in the former mining town of Park City.

The film Jeremiah Johnson was a film I very greatly admired. I liked it for it's simplicity and length, and how well it told an unfolding story.Obviously these days the special effects and computer generated images hold sway in Hollywood.But I suspect the acting skills of the great stars will never be entirely made redundant by computers.But only time will tell. Of course,in the Senate I do believe Paul Newman made a recommendation that the images of actors after their death should not be enhanced for adertisments using computer technology for at least 50 or 100 years.Another sure sign of that actor's wisdom.