Hollywood actor Robert Redford passed away on Tuesday, September 16, at the age of 89. Tributes have poured in on social media. When Calls the Heart star Melissa Gilbert shared about her chance encounter with the legend.
Love At First Sight
Redford was leading man material. He commanded the screen and made you fall in love with him. Gilbert felt the same way when she first met the Way We Were star. She shared an old photo of him on her Instagram account. In the caption, she recalled the time when she first met him.
Gilbert was just 11 years old when she and her fellow neighbors went to see the film, The Great Waldo Paper. She was blown away the first time that she saw Redford’s appearance. “The moment Robert Redford appeared onscreen, I gasped and whispered, ‘I’m going to marry him.’ I fell in love that day,” Gilbert wrote.
The First Meet
For the next years of her life and career, she studied his work. “I spent decades watching his work as an actor, director, with admiration, awe, and a desperately fluttering heart.” Finally, she met the Old Man and the Gun star years ago when she went to the Sundance Film Festival with her family. Unfortunately, she wasn’t at her best.
“One day during this trip, I was picking up the kids after skiing, in sweats, no makeup, and wild, sweaty hat hair… just not my best look,” Gilbert admitted. “We were walking a path to the car when I saw Jamie Redford walking towards us, and then I saw Bob. My heart dropped to my feet.”
Sweet Memories
The Hallmark star was afraid to look like a dork in front of the hunk. But she had no reason to worry. Gilbert recalled that Redford was “warm, inviting, engaging, and funny.” She also noticed that he was “complimentary, supportive, interested… absolutely everything I imagined and more.”
Gilbert will hold onto that memory forever. “I will never, ever, forget that wonderful night.” Then she concluded her post with the following: “Good night, sweet prince. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” Fans rushed to the comments section to swoon over Gilbert’s story, while others shared their own tributes to Redford.
