Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Classic Stars Match Play #11 - Warren Beatty vs Robert Redford

The classic stars match play for this week features two actors who broke through in the 1960's and had long successful careers acting, then even more success as directors. This week I give you Warren Beatty and Robert Redford. Beatty came on the scene in the late 50's on television. Specifically on the TV show, The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis. But it was in films, where he made his mark. His first film out of the box was Splendor in The Grass with Natalie Wood. And he was off and running. A few more films before he scored a major hit with Bonnie and Clyde in 1968. He had big hits during the 70's including Shampoo and Heaven Can Wait, scoring Oscar nods for writing and acting, respectively. He cut his teeth on co-directing Heaven Can Wait with Buck Henry. That set the stage for him to solo direct his 1981 masterpiece Reds, which earned him an Oscar for Best Director.

Robert Redford would follow a similar path. Getting his start on TV in 1960 with bits on Maverick, Playhouse 90, Twilight Zone, Perry Mason and other popular shows.  His first major movie happened to also star Natalie Wood, Inside Daisy Clover. The pair would reunite the following year in This Property Is Condemned. But Redford would cement his stardom when he paired with Paul Newman in a pair of films. The first was Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969), one of the most successful westerns ever made. Their next outing would be the even bigger smash hit, The Sting (1973). Redford would turn his attention to directing in the 80's and his first film, Ordinary People (1980) brought him a Best Director Oscar, one year before Beatty would pick his Oscar up for Reds. Redford would also start The Sundance Film Institute, where independent filmmakers could come and make their own kind of films, away from the big studios.

So here we have two golden boys from Hollywood that went on to become highly respected film-makers.
The match begins immediately and will run through Sunday 5 pm EST. Good luck to both gentlemen.

WARREN BEATTY

Name: Henry Warren Beatty
Birth Date: March 30, 1937 (Richmond, Virginia)
Height: 6' 2"
Academy awards: 6 nominations, 1 win: Best Director - Reds (1981)
Monties: none so far
My favorite Beatty film: Bonnie & Clyde
Match play record: 0-0, this is Warren's first match


CLASSIC STARS MATCH PLAY


ROBERT REDFORD


Name: Charles Robert Redford, Jr.
Birth Date: August 18, 1936 (Santa Monica, California)
Height: 5' 9"
Academy Awards: 3 nominations, 1 win: Best Director - Ordinary People (1980)
Monties: none so far
My favorite Redford film: Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
Match Play Record: 1-1


The Natalie Wood factor


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5 comments:

  1. The Lady EveDecember 6, 2011 at 10:44 PM

    Even though Warren Beatty is tall, dark and sorta handsome, I have to vote for Robert Redford. I've really never "gotten" Beatty as a lady-killer (though his list is long: Natalie Wood, Leslie Caron, Joan Collins, Julie Christie, Diane Keaton, Annette Bening - & that's probably less than .01% of the man's conquests). His too-styled hair, his teenage-boy's voice, his air of arrogance have always left me cold (apparently I missed something). On the other hand, I did like him lots in BONNIE & CLYDE and SHAMPOO...

    Mr. Redford was such a fetching pretty boy in BUTCH CASSIDY, THE WAY WE WERE and THE STING. Even a bit faded he still had appeal in OUT OF AFRICA.

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  2. AnonymousDecember 7, 2011 at 7:01 AM

    Redford is good looking, very inteligent and talented but much less approachable than Beatty, who is gorgeous, fiercely intelligent and equally talented. Redford may have his Sundance Festival, but it is Beatty who has the rolodex with tons of names who volunteers help behind the scenes at no cost to anybody who may need it. Beautiful inside and out. It's also too bad that Redford's plastic surgery got botched (too little, too late, too bad) while Beatty still looks like a SharPei with a turkey neck.

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  3. RobinfromCADecember 7, 2011 at 12:48 PM

    Hmm...this is a tough one. Personalities aside, I think Redford's total body of work edges out Beatty who has settled into a non-working celebrity role over the past several years. Robert Redford continues to work in film and, if you judge strictly on an industry basis, continues to encourage creativity out of young filmmakers with his Sundance Film Festival which has become an important credit for independent movies.
    Favorite Redford movie: The Sting
    Favorite Beatty movie: Heaven Can Wait

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  4. bond65August 20, 2014 at 5:05 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. bond65August 20, 2014 at 5:40 AM

    beatty was always more handsome, taller, muscular and a better actor than redford who being short with red hair that was later dyed blonde and having moles on his face. beatty also had the better personality over redford's more bland acting to go along with his somewhat bland average looks. always thought redford was overrated, beatty underrated. besides redford always got the roles beatty turned down.

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