Barbra Streisand paid tribute to her friend and former co-star Robert Redford at the 98th Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
The actor and singer, 83, sang a portion of the title song from his 1973 romantic drama The Way We Were, directed by Sydney Pollack, after recalling the couple’s mutual respect and affection.
The film, he said, “is also about a dark time in our history. The late ’40s and early ’50s, when people snitched on each other and were subject to loyalty oaths.”
He paid tribute to Redford’s political bravery, saying he “spoke to defend press freedom, protect the environment and encourage new voices” at the Sundance Institute.
“I called him an intellectual cowboy,” he said, “who blazed his own trail.”
He concluded by saying that he had told Redford that he loved him in his last note, before singing.
Streisand’s most recent appearance on the Oscars stage was 13 years ago, when she performed the same song in honor of her late composer, Marvin Hamlisch, as part of the ceremony’s In Memoriam segment.
Redford won an Oscar for his directorial debut, Ordinary People (1980), as well as receiving an honorary Academy Award, presented to him by Streisand in 2002.
The filmmaker, who also founded the Sundance festival, died in September 2025, at age 89. Streisand paid tribute to him on Instagram, writing: “Every day on the set of The Way We Were was exciting, intense and pure joy. We were very opposites: he was from the horse world; I was allergic to them! Yes, we kept trying to discover more about each other, like the characters in the movie.
“Bob was charismatic, intelligent, intense, always interesting… and one of the greatest actors of all time.”
Redford’s other key credits include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting and All the President’s Men.
