Robert Redford’s journey from Bucks County Playhouse to Hollywood legend

Redford, who died on Tuesday at 89, made his Bucks County Playhouse debut in 1959’s “Tiger at the Gate” before returning to New Hope in 1963 to star in Neil Simon’s pre-Broadway production of “Nobody Loves Me.”

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Years before Robert Redford starred in films like “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,”  “All the President’s Men,” and “The Way We Were,” and won the best director Oscar for 1980’s “Ordinary People,” the hollywood legend cut his acting teeth at the storied Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope.

Redford, who died Tuesday at the age of 89, made his Bucks County Playhouse debut in 1959’s “Tiger at the Gate.” He returned in 1963 to star in Neil Simon’s pre-Broadway production of “Nobody Loves Me,” regarded as Redford’s breakout role. The Playhouse production, directed by Mike Nichols, moved to Broadway in October 1963, where it was retitled “Barefoot in the Park.”

The man who would go on to become an Oscar-winner, liberal activist, and godfather for independent cinema arrived in New Hope via an apprenticeship with the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, which had a working relationship with Bucks County Playhouse. 

“Of all the starry names that have appeared at the Bucks County Playhouse over the years, I’ve been most impressed with Robert Redford’s two stints on our stage,” Alexander Fraser, producing director of Bucks County Playhouse, said in a statement following Redford’s death.

Fraser said he was last in touch with Redford prior to the Playhouse’s 75th anniversary, when he extended an invitation to the Hollywood legend.

“He replied immediately, reflecting on fond memories of New Hope and the importance of the Playhouse to his career,” Fraser said. “Because of COVID-19, he said he wasn’t traveling, but he sent his best. We’ll remember him with the greatest respect.”