EXCLUSIVE: Robert Redford's Tragic Last Days — How Reclusive Star Spent Last 5 Years Riddled by 'Intense Sadness' After Death of Son… 'He Felt Like a Part of Him Had Been Lost'
Robert Redford had plenty of pain in his life before his death.
Sept. 18 2025, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
Robert Redford spent his last years quietly in the Bay Area before relocating to New Mexico, but friends and neighbors claimed the screen legend carried a visible sadness after losing his son James to cancer, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Oscar-winning actor and director died on Tuesday, September 16, at the age of 89. Redford, famed for roles in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men, had lived with his wife, artist Sibylle Szaggars, 67, in Tiburon, an affluent enclave overlooking San Francisco Bay.
'It Was Heartbreaking'
Redford is said to have carried around an 'intense sadness.'
Locals recalled he was friendly and approachable, though many noted the grief that followed James' death in 2020 at the age of 58. The younger Redford, a filmmaker and activist, had battled liver disease for decades before succumbing to bile duct cancer.
"He was one of my best customers," said a waiter at a bayside restaurant in Tiburon who often served Redford. "Bob would sit at the same table every week with Sibylle and friends. He was incredibly gracious; he'd chat with the staff and ask questions about our lives.
"But there was an intense sadness to him after his son died. He talked about how much he missed him, and it was heartbreaking."
Another local acquaintance, who met Redford frequently on the town's walking trails, echoed that sentiment.
"He felt like a part of him had been lost; it was hard for him to live without his boy," the neighbor added. "You could see it weighed on him, even as he tried to carry on with daily life."
Redford's Pain
Redford's infant son died in 1959.
James' illness had shaped much of his career. After receiving two liver transplants in 1993, he established the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness, later directing The Kindness of Strangers, a documentary about organ donors.
He went on to make a string of socially engaged films while raising two children with his wife, Kyle. The loss was not the first tragedy to strike the family. Redford and his first wife, historian Lola Van Wagenen, 86, lost their first child, Scott, to sudden infant death syndrome in 1959, when the actor was only 21.
In an interview with Esquire UK in 2017, Redford reflected on that time, saying: "Of course it was traumatic, and how that plays out over time, I don't know. We had to deal with it. You have to move on. And we had other children who came. But something like that doesn't get completely dismissed."
The Hollywood star was known for his kind and warm demeanor in his neigborhood.
Redford had purchased the Tiburon house in 2020 for $3.1million, later selling it in 2024 for $4.65million. Surrounded by redwoods, the split-level property offered sweeping views of Angel Island and San Francisco Bay.
He also sold a Napa Valley estate in 2019 for $7million. A friend said the decision to leave Tiburon was guided by his wife's love of the Santa Fe art scene.
"He said he loved Tiburon, but it was time for a change," the friend explained. "He promised to come back to visit, and everyone here missed him."Despite his reclusive later years, residents described moments of warmth. One woman recalled waving to him as he walked down Main Street, usually in a cap and sunglasses.
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Redford died on September 16, 2025.
"Seeing Robert Redford was a highlight," she said. "He'd wave back, and that was enough for everyone. No autographs, no photos – just respect."
Redford's publicist, Cindi Berger, confirmed he died at his Sundance home in Utah, "surrounded by those he loved."
