Cinema legend Robert Redford, a screen great both in front of and behind the camera whose career spanned six decades, died early on Tuesday morning at his home in Utah, US media reported. He died at the age of 89.

Redford died in his sleep, and a specific cause was not given, according to a statement by Cindi Berger, the chief executive of publicity firm Rogers & Cowan PMK, as cited by the New York Times newspaper.

The tousled-haired and freckled heartthrob made his breakthrough alongside Paul Newman as the affable outlaw in the hippy Western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” in 1969.

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After 20 years as an actor, he moved behind the camera, becoming an Oscar-winning director and co-founding the flagship Sundance festival for aspiring independent filmmakers.

A committed environmental activist, Redford also fought to preserve the natural landscape and resources of Utah, where he lived.

Born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, he was the son of an accountant.

AFP