Robert Redford, who died Tuesday at 89, will be remembered as an acclaimed actor, Academy Award-winning director, environmentalist and founder of the Sundance Institute.

Near the beginning of his prestigious career, the film icon spent time acting in Bucks County — an experience he credited as important to his success.

Redford appeared in two of his earliest plays at The Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope — "Tiger at the Gate" in 1959 and Neil Simon's "Nobody Loves Me" in 1963. The latter became known as "Barefoot in the Park" once it hit Broadway.

Redford came to New Hope as an apprentice from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, which had an informal relationship with the Bucks County Playhouse in the mid-20th century, according to the theater.

"Of all the starry

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