A Young and Handsome Robert Redford Photographed by Ron Greene in New York, 1959

Ron Greene first met Robert Redford in 1959 when Redford was a student at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and Greene was working as a photographer. Redford contacted Greene for head shots, and they had several photo sessions. Greene described Redford as a “natural before the camera” who required very little direction. Greene also mentioned visiting Redford and his wife, Lola, and believed a friendship had developed between them.

However, after a family tragedy where Redford and his wife’s infant son died, the contact between them was lost. Years later, when Greene saw Redford on a film set, he attempted to reconnect, but Redford did not remember him. Greene then recalled that Redford had not paid for a photograph he had ordered and was glad he had brought a copy with him, which Redford immediately recognized and paid the seven dollars he owed.

“Robert Redford was my friend. Or maybe he wasn’t. Time has a way of shifting the narrative.” Here’s the story as told by Greene:

“I met Redford in 1959 when he was a student at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. I had come to New York earlier in the year hoping to become a fashion photographer. That ambition faded quickly when I realized I was more interested in the models than the clothes. Not quite ready to give up photography, I drifted into theater work.

“I was living in my second floor photo studio in Hell’s Kitchen, just scraping by, when Redford phoned about head shots. I had never heard of him, few people had. He came by a few days later and we started what would be the first of several photo sessions.

“I noticed immediately that he stood out from the other acting students who passed through my studio. He seemed more intense, more intelligent, and more introspective than most. I liked him immediately, I think because he was totally devoted to his career but not in the least pretentious. There wasn’t anything “theatrical” in his manner.

“But what a natural before the camera! Over the years people have asked how I got Redford to pose as he did. The answer is that I did very little directing; I just pointed the camera and he did the rest. People have also asked about the cigarettes. He didn’t inhale.

“Redford returned to the studio two or three of times over the next few weeks and I visited him and his wife Lola once or twice in their Upper East Side apartment. A friendship developed (at least in my mind), but was interrupted by a terrible family crisis. Lola and Robert’s month’s-old child, Scott, died of sudden infant death syndrome.

“I wanted to call to see how they were doing, but felt awkward and just couldn’t get myself to pick up the phone. It seems dumb now, but that’s the way it was.”

Greene’s story is a personal reflection on the nature of their relationship, questioning whether their connection was a true friendship or merely a professional one that he had exaggerated in his own mind.