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Ichiro Suzuki at bat

In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance. A batter starts with an at bat every time he faces a pitcher; however, the batter gets "no time at bat" in the following circumstances:

• He receives a base on balls (BB).^[1]
• He is hit by a pitch (HBP).
• He hits a sacrifice fly or a sacrifice hit (also known as sacrifice bunt).
• He is awarded first base due to interference or obstruction, usually by the catcher.
• The inning ends while he is still at bat (due to the third out being made by a runner caught stealing, for example). In this case, the batter will come to bat again in the next inning, though he now has no balls or strikes on him.
• He is replaced by another hitter before his at bat is completed (unless he is replaced with two strikes and his replacement strikes out).

Section 10.02.a.1 of the official rules of Major League Baseball defines an at bat as: "Number of times batted, except that no time at bat shall be charged when a player: (1) hits a sacrifice bunt or sacrifice fly; (2) is awarded first base on four called balls; (3) is hit by a pitched ball; or (4) is awarded first base because of interference or obstruction..."^[2]

Examples[link]

An at bat is counted when:

• The batter reaches first base on a hit
• The batter reaches first base on an error
• The batter is called out for any reason other than as part of a sacrifice
• There is a fielder's choice

At bat as a phrase[link]

"At bat", "up", "up at bat", and "at the plate" are all phrases describing a batter who is facing the pitcher. Note that just because a player is described as being "at bat" in this sense, he will not necessarily be given an at bat in his statistics; the phrase actually signifies a plate appearance (assuming it is eventually completed). This ambiguous terminology is usually clarified by context. To refer explicitly to the technical meaning of "at bat" described above, the term "official at bat" is sometimes used.

References[link]

See also[link]

• Batting order
• At bats with runners in scoring position

Look up bats in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Bats may refer to:

Entertainment[link]

• Bats (film), a 1999 horror film
• BATS Theatre, a New Zealand theatre venue
• BATS Improv, an improvisational theatre company in San Francisco, United States

Music[link]

• "Bats!", a song by The Bronx
• Bats (band), an Irish band
• The Bats, a New Zealand rock band

Group[link]

• Bats people, a small Nakh-speaking community in the country of Georgia
• Bats language, the language spoken by the Bats people

Other[link]

• Bats, Landes, a commune in France
• Joël Bats (1957-), a former French goalkeeper and international footballer
• Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study, a long-term oceanographic study site
• BATS Global Markets, an electronic equities exchange based in Lenexa, Kansas, United States

See also[link]

• Bat (disambiguation)
• BAT (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Curtis Granderson
Granderson during a game in 2011
New York Yankees – No. 14
Center fielder
Born: (1981-03-16) March 16, 1981 (age 31) Blue Island, Illinois
Bats: Left	Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 13, 2004 for the Detroit Tigers
Career statistics (through May 18, 2012)
Batting average	.267
Home runs	180
Runs batted in	508
Runs	674
Hits	1,010
Stolen bases	105
Teams
Detroit Tigers (2004–2009) New York Yankees (2010–present)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star (2009, 2011) Silver Slugger Award (2011) Led AL in RBI (2011) Led MLB in triples in 2007 and 2008 20–20–20 club Major League Baseball Player of the Month Award (August 2011)

Curtis Granderson (born March 16, 1981) is an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player for the New York Yankees. Before joining the Yankees in 2010, he played for the Detroit Tigers (2004–2009). Granderson is a left-handed batter who throws right-handed. A center fielder, Granderson is known for being a five-tool player. He is a two-time MLB All-Star (2009 and 2011) and won the Silver Slugger Award in 2011.

Off the field, Granderson is recognized for his commitment to the community through outreach and charity work.^[1] Many of his charitable endeavors support inner city children. He has also served as an ambassador for MLB abroad. Granderson won the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award in 2009 for his on-field performance and contributions in the community.

Early years[link]

Granderson grew up in Lynwood, Illinois, a city south of Chicago.^[2] His father, Curtis Sr., was a dean and physical education teacher at Nathan Hale Elementary and Middle School in Chicago. His mother, Mary, taught chemistry at Curie Metropolitan High School in Chicago. Granderson's half-sister, Monica, is an English professor at Jackson State University.^[3]

Granderson attended Thornton Fractional South High School (T.F. South) in Lansing, Illinois,^[4] where he played baseball and basketball.^[3] During his high school baseball career, Granderson batted .369 with 11 home runs and 88 runs batted in (RBI), and was named an All-State selection his senior year.^[4] Granderson wore #14 at T.F. South, choosing the number because his father wore it while playing softball.^[5] T.F. South honored Granderson by retiring his jersey in a December 2011 ceremony.^[4]

College career[link]

Granderson was recruited by a number of college baseball programs, and he chose the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC), in part because they allowed him to play basketball in addition to baseball.^[3] However, Granderson quit basketball two weeks into his freshman year in order to concentrate on baseball.^[3]

As a freshman at UIC in 2000, Granderson led the UIC Flames baseball team with seven home runs and 45 walks. He followed that by hitting .304 as a sophomore, leading the team in runs, home runs, and walks. After his sophomore year, Granderson played in a summer collegiate league for the Mankato Mashers, now known as the MoonDogs, of the Northwoods League, where he batted .328 in 44 games, with eight doubles, two triples, one home run, 17 RBI, 28 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases.^[6]

During his junior season at UIC, Granderson batted .483, second in the nation to Rickie Weeks.^[3] Granderson was named Second-Team All-American by Baseball America and USA Today's Baseball Weekly and a Third-Team Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-American. He graduated from UIC with a double major in business administration and business marketing.^[2][7]

Professional career[link]

Minor leagues (2002–2005)[link]

The Detroit Tigers selected Granderson in the third round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft. The Tigers assigned Granderson to the Oneonta Tigers, their minor league baseball affiliate in Class-A. With Oneonta, Granderson batted .344 in 52 games. Determined to complete his college education, though the fall semester began before the minor league season ended, Granderson made arrangements to begin his senior year at UIC via internet courses.^[3]

The Tigers assigned Granderson to the Class-A Advanced Lakeland Tigers in 2003 and the Class-AA Erie Seawolves in 2004. With the Seawolves, Granderson hit .303 with 21 home runs and 93 RBI.^[8] Baseball America named Granderson the Tigers' minor league player of the year and top prospect after the 2004 season.^[7]

Prior to the 2005 season, Baseball America rated Granderson as the 57th best prospect in baseball.^[9] Granderson competed for the role as the Tigers' starting center fielder in 2005 spring training, but the organization decided he needed more seasoning, and assigned him to the Class-AAA Toledo Mud Hens.^[10] With Toledo, he hit .290 with 15 home runs, 65 RBIs and 22 stolen bases.^[11]

Detroit Tigers (2004–2009)[link]

The Tigers promoted Granderson to the majors for the first time in September 2004.^[12] He made his major league debut on September 13 against the Minnesota Twins.^[13] He received his second promotion to the majors in July 2005, and he appeared in six games. After his third promotion to the majors, in August,^[11] he remained in the majors permanently. Granderson had his first career inside-the-park home run on September 15, a five-hit game September 18 and a walk-off home run on September 26 against the Chicago White Sox.^[14]

Granderson was nearly traded after the 2005 season, when the Tigers offered him and pitcher Justin Verlander to the Florida Marlins for southpaw Dontrelle Willis after his stellar season but nothing materialized. ^[15]

Granderson became the Tigers starting center fielder for the 2006 season after beating out Nook Logan for the position during spring training.^[16] From the start of his major league career in 2004, Granderson began a 151 game errorless streak, the longest by a position player to start his career since Dave Roberts went errorless in 205 games.^[17] Granderson hit two home runs during the 2006 American League Division Series and one in the 2006 American League Championship Series, but struggled in the 2006 World Series, batting .095, as the Cardinals defeated the Tigers.^[18]

Granderson during his tenure with the Detroit Tigers in 2007

Through June, Granderson ranked first among American League (AL) outfielders in triples (14), third in doubles (22), tied for fourth in runs (58) and tied for 10th in homers (11) with a .289 batting average in the 2007 season.^[19] Although Granderson was not listed on the 2007 All-Star Game ballot, due to the Tigers' decision to put Gary Sheffield as an outfielder on the ballot, he still received 376,033 write-in votes, the most write-in votes for any player.^[19] Granderson was named the AL Player of the Week on July 16, the first time he had won the award, as he hit .500 (8 for 16) with two doubles, a triple, and a home run during that week.^[20] Granderson slugged .938, drove in two runs, scored seven runs, and had fifteen total bases during Detroit's four-game series against the Seattle Mariners.^[21]

On August 7, Granderson became the second player in franchise history to have at least 30 doubles, 15 triples, 15 home runs, and ten stolen bases in a single season when he hit a double in a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The other Tiger to accomplish this feat was Charlie Gehringer in 1930.^[22] He became the sixth member of baseball's 20–20–20 club on September 7, joining the Kansas City Royals' George Brett (1979), Willie Mays of the New York Giants (1957), Cleveland's Jeff Heath (1941), St. Louis' Jim Bottomley (1928), and Frank Schulte of the Chicago Cubs (1911). Granderson stole his 20th base of the season on September 9, joining Mays and Schulte as the only players in major league history to reach 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in a season, a feat accomplished by the Philadelphia Phillies' Jimmy Rollins 21 days later.^[23][24]

Granderson hit .302 with 23 home runs for the season, and was 26 for 27 in stolen base attempts. He also improved his plate discipline, as he finished seventh in the AL in strikeouts with 141.^[25][26] He was one of only six batters in the AL to have at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, along with teammate Gary Sheffield, Ian Kinsler, Alex Rodriguez, Grady Sizemore and B. J. Upton. However, he was criticized for his propensity to strikeout, as he led the AL with 174 strikeouts.^[25][26]

During the 2007 season, Granderson accumulated 23 triples, which led all of baseball. The American League and Detroit Tigers record is 26 triples, a feat achieved by the all-time triples king, Sam Crawford, in 1914. Granderson is the first player since 1949 to manage at least 23 in a single season.^[27] Only ten of his triples were at home despite the fact Comerica Park has seen more triples since it opened in 2000 than any other ballpark in baseball. Granderson's 23 triples were as much or more than six entire teams managed in 2007, the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals all had no more than 23 team triples.

Prior to the start of the 2008 season, the Tigers signed Granderson to a five-year, $30.25 million contract with a club option for 2013.^[28] Granderson continued hitting well during the 2008 regular season, finishing with a .280 batting average, 13 triples and 22 home runs. He continued to improve his plate discipline, striking out only 111 times (versus 141 in 2007 and 174 in 2006) and drawing a career-high 71 walks.^[25] During August, he hit six triples,^[29] including two in consecutive innings during a game against the Texas Rangers.^[30]

With the Tigers failing to make the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, TBS employed Granderson as a commentator alongside Cal Ripken, Jr., Dennis Eckersley and Frank Thomas for its coverage of the 2007 and 2008 postseasons.^[31][32]

Granderson was chosen to appear in the 2009 MLB All-Star Game. It was his first All Star appearance. In the game, he hit a triple in the top of the 8th inning and scored the winning run.^[33]

New York Yankees (2010–present)[link]

Granderson hit 41 home runs in 2011.

After the 2009 season, the Tigers began shopping Granderson to other franchises in an effort to reduce their payroll.^[34] The Yankees acquired Granderson in a three-team trade on December 9. In the deal, the Yankees received Granderson while sending Phil Coke and centerfielder Austin Jackson to Detroit. Also, the Arizona Diamondbacks received Yankees pitcher Ian Kennedy and Tigers pitcher Edwin Jackson in return for young pitchers Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth, who joined the Tigers.^[35]

Granderson hit a home run in his first Yankee at bat on April 4, 2010, becoming the twelfth player to do so.^[36] Although he missed some games due to a strained groin, Granderson finished the season with 136 games played, a .247 batting average, and 24 home runs.^[37] Granderson, who struggled against left-handed pitching throughout his career, also put up subpar numbers against right-handed pitchers, causing Granderson to revamp his swing with the help of hitting coach Kevin Long in August 2010.^[38]

Granderson's work with Long was credited as a reason for his strong 2011 campaign.^[39] Granderson received over 6.6 million votes for the 2011 MLB All-Star Game.^[40] In August 2011, Granderson and Mark Teixeira became the first Yankees teammates to hit 30 home runs in 115 games since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961. On August 10, Granderson hit two home runs against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to tally a career-high 31 home runs.^[41] Granderson, Robinson Cano, and Russell Martin all hit grand slams in a game against the Oakland Athletics on August 25, the first time a team had three grand slams in one game.^[42] Granderson was named American League Player of the Month for August 2011, in which he batted .286, with a .423 on base percentage, slugged .657, hit ten home runs, recorded 29 RBI, and scored 29 runs.^[43] He became the first player to hit 40 home runs, 10 triples and steal 25 bases in one season.^[39] Granderson finished fourth in balloting for the American League Most Valuable Player Award.^[44]

On May 6, 2012, Curtis achieved his 1,000th hit against the Kansas City Royals.

Personal[link]

Granderson with the Yankees

As a child, Granderson grew up a fan of the Atlanta Braves, choosing not to root for the hometown Chicago Cubs because he often rushed home from school to watch Saved by the Bell and was disappointed when a Cubs game was on instead.^[40] Granderson is also an avid fan of World Wrestling Entertainment, and attended Wrestlemania 23 in Detroit. He considers the Ultimate Warrior, The Undertaker, Junkyard Dog, Macho Man Randy Savage, and Hulk Hogan among his favorite wrestlers.^[45][46] He is also an avid fan of college basketball and of the Kansas Jayhawks.^[47]

Off the field, Granderson has served as an ambassador for Major League Baseball International. He has traveled to Italy, China, South Africa and New Zealand to promote baseball.^[48] In appreciation for his efforts, Commissioner Bud Selig penned a thank-you letter to Granderson which read in part, "There are so many fine young men playing Major League baseball today, but I can think of no one who is better suited to represent our national pastime than you."^[3]

His foundation, Grand Kids Foundation, has raised money to benefit the educations of inner-city children around the country.^[2][3] When he endorsed Nike, Inc., Louisville Slugger and Rawlings, he asked them to donate money to his foundation or equipment to inner-city baseball programs rather than pay him.^[3] Granderson wrote a children's book, All You Can Be: Dream It, Draw It, Become It!, which was published in August 2009. The book is illustrated by students of the New York City public school system.^[2] In February 2010, Granderson represented MLB at a White House function announcing Let's Move!, a childhood anti-obesity effort sponsored by First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama.^[49]

Granderson has been involved in the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) since 2006. He has taken part in negotiations of the labor contract.^[40] Granderson was chosen as the 2009 Marvin Miller Man of the Year by the MLBPA for his off-field work.^[1]

Granderson was also voted one of the friendliest players in the Major Leagues, according to a poll conducted by Sports Illustrated to 290 players.^[40] Granderson is one of a few players in MLB who wears his socks high, which he does to honor players from the Negro leagues.^[36]

Publications[link]

• Granderson, Curtis (2009). All You Can Be: Dream It, Draw It, Become It!. Triumph Books. ISBN 1-60078-247-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=a8VcPgAACAAJ&dq=curtis+granderson&hl=en&ei=V_7nTsr1HIzMiQKbyeH-Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAQ. Retrieved December 13, 2011. 

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

• List of Major League Baseball triples champions

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Curtis Granderson

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Curtis Granderson's Grand Kids Foundation
• Curtis Granderson on Twitter
• Curtis Granderson on Facebook
• Official MySpace

Robert Redford
Robert Redford in 2006
Born	Charles Robert Redford, Jr. (1936-08-18) August 18, 1936 (age 75) Santa Monica, California, United States
Occupation	Actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist
Years active	1959–present
Spouse	Lola van Wagenen (1958–1985; divorced) Sibylle Szaggars (2009–present)[1]
Children	Scott (deceased), Shauna, Jamie, Amy

Charles Robert Redford, Jr. (born August 18, 1936),^[2] better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime Achievement in 2002. In 2010 he was awarded French Knighthood in the Legion d'Honneur. At the height of his fame in the 1970s and 1980s, he was often described as one of the world's most attractive men and remains one of the most popular movie stars. His popular films include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Downhill Racer (1969), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), The Candidate (1972), The Sting (1973), The Way We Were (1973), The Great Gatsby (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), All the President's Men (1976), A Bridge Too Far (1977), The Natural (1984), Out of Africa (1985), Sneakers (1992), Indecent Proposal (1993),The Last Castle and Spy Game (2001). As a filmmaker, his notable films include Ordinary People (1980), The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), A River Runs Through It (1992), Quiz Show (1994), The Horse Whisperer (1998) and The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000).

Early life[link]

Redford's family moved to Van Nuys while his father worked in El Segundo.^[3] He attended Van Nuys High School, where he was classmates with baseball player Don Drysdale.^[3] He has described himself as having been a "bad" student, finding inspiration outside the classroom, and being interested in art and sports.^[3] He hit tennis balls with Pancho Gonzales at the Los Angeles Tennis Club to warm him up. After high school, he attended the University of Colorado for a year and a half,^[3] where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.^[4] While there, he worked at the restaurant/bar The Sink; a painting of his likeness is prominent in the bar's murals.^[5] After being asked to leave the University of Colorado, he traveled in Europe, living in France, Spain, and Italy.^[3] He later studied painting at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and took classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.^[3]

Career[link]

Television[link]

Redford's career — like that of almost all major stars who emerged in the 1950s — began in New York, where an actor could find work both in television and on stage. Starting in 1959, he appeared as a guest star on numerous programs, including The Untouchables, Whispering Smith, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, Dr. Kildare, Playhouse 90, Tate, and The Twilight Zone, among others. He earned an Emmy nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Voice of Charlie Pont (ABC, 1962). One of his last television appearances was on October 7, 1963, on Breaking Point, an ABC medical drama about psychiatry.

Theater[link]

Redford's Broadway debut was in a small role in Tall Story (1959), followed by parts in The Highest Tree (1959) and Sunday in New York (1961). His biggest Broadway success was as the stuffy newlywed husband of Elizabeth Ashley in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park (1963).

Film[link]

Redford in Barefoot in the Park, 1967

While still largely an unknown, Redford made his screen debut in War Hunt (1962), co-starring with John Saxon in a film set during the last days of the Korean War. This film also marked the debuts of director Sydney Pollack, with whom Redford would often collaborate in the near future, and actor Tom Skerritt. After his Broadway success, he was cast in larger feature roles in movies. He was cast alongside screen legend Alec Guinness in the war comedy Situation Hopeless ... But Not Serious, in which he played a soldier who has to spend years of his life hiding behind enemy lines. In Inside Daisy Clover (1965), which won him a golden globe for best new star, he played a bisexual movie star who marries starlet Natalie Wood, and rejoined her along with Charles Bronson for Pollack's This Property Is Condemned (1966) — again as her lover, though this time in a film which achieved even greater success. The same year saw his first teaming with Jane Fonda, in Arthur Penn's The Chase. This film marked the only time Redford would star with Marlon Brando. Fonda and Redford were paired again in the popular big screen version of Barefoot in the Park (1967)^[3] and were again co-stars much later in Pollack's The Electric Horseman (1979).

After this initial success, Redford became concerned about his blond male stereotype image and turned down roles in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Graduate. Redford found the property he was looking for in George Roy Hill's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), scripted by William Goldman, in which he was paired for the first time with Paul Newman.^[3] The film was a huge success and made him a major bankable star,^[3] cementing his screen image as an intelligent, reliable, sometimes sardonic good guy.

Redford suffered through a few films that did not achieve box office success during this time, including Downhill Racer (1969); Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969); Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1970), and The Hot Rock (1972). But his overall career was flourishing with the critical and box office hit Jeremiah Johnson (1972);^[3] the political satire The Candidate (1972); the hugely popular period drama The Way We Were (1973); and the biggest hit of his career; the blockbuster crime caper The Sting (1973), which became one of the top 20 highest grossing movies of all time when adjusted for inflation and for which he was also nominated for an Oscar.^[3]

Between 1974 and 1976, exhibitors voted Redford Hollywood's top box-office name.^[3] His hits included The Great Gatsby (1974), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), and Three Days of the Condor (1975). The popular and acclaimed All the President's Men (1976), directed by Alan J. Pakula and scripted once again by Goldman, was a landmark film for Redford. Not only was he the executive producer and co-star, but the film's serious subject matter — the Watergate scandal — and its attempt to create a realistic portrayal of journalism also reflected the actor's offscreen concerns for political causes.^[3]

He also starred in a segment of the war film A Bridge Too Far (1977), the prison drama Brubaker (1980), playing a prison warden attempting to reform the system, and the fantasy baseball drama The Natural (1984).^[3] Redford continued his involvement in mainstream Hollywood movies, though with a newfound focus on directing. The first film he directed, Ordinary People, which followed the disintegration of an upper class American family after the death of a son, was one of the most critically and publicly acclaimed films of the decade, winning a number of Oscars, including the Academy Award for best director for Redford himself. His followup directorial project, The Milagro Beanfield War (1987), failed to generate the same level of attention. Sydney Pollack's Out of Africa (1985), with Redford in the male lead role opposite Meryl Streep, became an enormous critical and box office success and won seven Oscars including Best Picture, proving to be Redford's biggest success of the decade and Redford and Pollack's most successful of their six movies together.^[3] His next film, Legal Eagles (1986), was only a minor success at the box office.

Redford continued as a major star throughout the 1990s and 2000s. He released his third film as a director, A River Runs Through It, in 1992, which was a return to mainstream success for Redford as a director and brought a young Brad Pitt to greater prominence. 1993 brought Redford one of his most popular and recognised roles when he starred as a millionaire businessman who tests people's morals through bribery in Indecent Proposal, which became one of the year's biggest hits. He co-starred with Michelle Pfeiffer in the newsroom romance Up Close & Personal (1996), and with Kristin Scott Thomas in The Horse Whisperer (1998), which he also directed.^[3] Redford also continued work in films with political context, such as Havana (1990), playing Jack Weil, a professional gambler in 1959 Cuba during the Revolution, as well as Sneakers (1992), in which he co starred with the late River Phoenix among others.

He appeared as a disgraced Army general sent to prison in the political thriller The Last Castle (2001), directed by Rod Lurie, someone else with a strong interest in politics. In the same year, Redford reteamed with Brad Pitt for Spy Game, another success for the pair but with Redford switching this time from director to actor. Redford, a leading environmental activist, narrated the IMAX documentary Sacred Planet (2004), a sweeping journey across the globe to some of its most exotic and endangered places. In The Clearing (2004), a thriller co-starring Helen Mirren, Redford was a successful businessman whose kidnapping unearths the secrets and inadequacies that led to his achieving the American Dream.

Redford stepped back into producing with The Motorcycle Diaries (2004), a coming-of-age road film about a young medical student, Ernesto "Che" Guevera, and his friend Alberto Granado. It also explored political and social issues of South America that influenced Guevara and shaped his future. With five years spent in the film's making, Redford was credited by director Walter Salles for being instrumental in getting it made and released.

Back in front of the camera, Redford received good notices for his role in director Lasse Hallstrom's An Unfinished Life (2005) as a cantankerous rancher who is forced to take in his estranged daughter-in-law (Jennifer Lopez) — whom he blames for his son's death — and the granddaughter he never knew he had when they fled an abusive relationship. The film, which sat on the shelf for many months while its distributor Miramax was restructured, was generally dismissed as clichéd and overly sentimental. Meanwhile, Redford returned to familiar territory when he reteamed with Meryl Streep 22 years after they starred in Out of Africa, for his personal project Lions for Lambs (2007), which also starred fellow superstar Tom Cruise. After a great deal of hype, the film opened to mixed reviews and disappointing box office. Redford more recently signed on to direct and star in an update of The Candidate.^{[citation needed]}

Redford appears in the 2011 documentary Buck, where he discusses his experiences with title subject Buck Brannaman during the production of The Horse Whisperer in 1998.

Director[link]

Redford at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival

Redford had long harbored ambitions to work on both sides of the camera. As early as 1969, Redford had served as the executive producer for Downhill Racer.^[3] His first outing as director was in 1980's Ordinary People, a drama about the slow disintegration of an upper-middle class family, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director.^[3] Redford was credited with obtaining a powerful dramatic performance from Mary Tyler Moore, as well as superb work from Donald Sutherland and Timothy Hutton, who also won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Redford did not direct again until The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), a well-crafted, though not commercially successful, screen version of John Nichols' acclaimed novel of the Southwest. The Milagro Beanfield War is the story of the people of Milagro, New Mexico (based on the real town of Truchas in northern New Mexico), overcoming big developers who set about to ruin their community and force them out because of tax increases. Other directorial projects have included the period drama A River Runs Through It (1992), based on Norman Maclean's novella, and the exposé Quiz Show (1994), about the quiz show scandal of the late 1950s.^[3] In the latter film, Redford worked from a screenplay by Paul Attanasio with noted cinematographer Michael Ballhaus and a strong cast that featured Paul Scofield, John Turturro, Rob Morrow, and Ralph Fiennes. Redford handpicked Morrow for his part in the film (Morrow's only high-profile feature film role to date), because he liked his work on Northern Exposure. Redford also directed Matt Damon and Will Smith in The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000). In 2010, Redford released The Conspirator, a period drama revolving around the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Despite a subject matter of personal interest to Redford, the film received mixed reviews and proved to be a flop at the box office.

Honors[link]

U.S. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush pose with the Kennedy Center honorees, from left to right, actress Julie Harris, actor Robert Redford, singer Tina Turner, ballet dancer Suzanne Farrell and singer Tony Bennett on December 4, 2005, during the reception in the Blue Room at the White House.

Redford attended the University of Colorado in the 1950s and received an Honorary Degree in 1983.

In 1995, he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Bard College. He was a 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award/Honorary Oscar recipient at the 74th Academy Awards.^[6]

In 1996, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.^[7]

In December 2005, he received the Kennedy Center Honors for his contributions to American culture. The Honors recipients are recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts: whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008 he was awarded The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, one of the richest prizes in the arts, given annually to "a man or woman who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind's enjoyment and understanding of life."^[8]

The University of Southern California (USC) School of Theater announced the first annual Robert Redford Award for Engaged Artists in 2009. According to the school's web site, the award was created "to honor those who have distinguished themselves not only in the exemplary quality, skill and innovation of their work, but also in their public commitment to social responsibility, to increasing awareness of global issues and events, and to inspiring and empowering young people."^[9]

Robert Redford received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Brown University at the 240th Commencement exercises on May 25, 2008.^[10] He also spoke during the ceremonies.

On 14 October 2010, he was appointed Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur.^[11]

Sundance[link]

With the financial proceeds of his acting success, starting with his salaries from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Downhill Racer, Redford bought an entire ski area on the east side of Mount Timpanogos northeast of Provo, Utah, called "Timp Haven", which was renamed "Sundance".^[3] 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.^[3] 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.^[12] The name Sundance comes from his Sundance Kid character. In addition, Redford owns a celebrated restaurant called Zoom, located on Main Street in the former mining town of Park City.

Mount Timpanogos, panoramic view

Independent films[link]

Since founding the nonprofit Sundance Institute in Park City, in 1981, Redford has been deeply involved with independent film.^[3] Through its various workshop programs and popular film festival, Sundance has provided much-needed support for independent filmmakers. In 1995, Redford signed a deal with Showtime to start a 24-hour cable television channel devoted to airing independent films — the Sundance Channel premiered on February 29, 1996.

Personal life[link]

On August 9, 1958, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Redford married Lola Van Wagenen, who dropped out of college to marry him. They had four children: Scott Anthony, David James "Jamie", Shauna, and Amy Redford.

Son Jamie Redford is a writer/producer.^[13]

Scott — their first child — was born September 1, 1959, and died of sudden infant death syndrome on November 17, 1959, at age 2½ months. His remains have been buried at Provo City Cemetery in Provo, Utah. Lola and Redford divorced in 1985. He has five grandchildren: Dylan and Lena Redford (of son Jamie), Mica and Conor Schlosser (of daughter Shauna) and Eden August (of daughter Amy).^[14]

In July 2009, Redford married his longtime partner, Sibylle Szaggars, at the luxurious Louis C. Jacob Hotel in Hamburg, Germany. She had moved in with Redford in the 1990s and shares his Sundance, Utah, home.^[15] In May 2011 Alfred A Knopf published Robert Redford: The Biography by Michael Feeney Callan, written over fifteen years with Redford's input, and drawn from his personal papers and diaries.

Political activity[link]

Redford with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in 2009

Redford is politically liberal, and has supported environmentalism, Native American rights, and the arts. He has been noted as "an admirer of Edward Abbey, the late great anarchist voice of the desert Southwest."^[16] Most of his federal political contributions have been to Democrats (61%) or advocacy groups (34.6%), such as the Political Action Committee of the Directors Guild of America.^[17] Redford has on occasion also supported Republicans, including Brent Cornell Morris in his unsuccessful 1990 race for Utah's 3rd congressional district seat.^[17][18] Redford also supported Gary R. Herbert, another Republican and a friend, in Herbert's successful campaign to be elected Utah's Lieutenant Governor (he is currently the Governor of Utah). Redford is an avid environmentalist and is a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Redford has been a vocal critic of Barack Obama for his lack of follow-through on environmental policies. He wrote, "One reason I supported President Obama is because he said we must protect clean air, water and lands. But what good is it to say the right thing unless you act on it?" ^[19]

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]