Barbra Streisand’s emotional tribute to Robert Redford at the Oscars: ‘He was an intellectual cowboy’

Barbra Streisand performed “The Way We Were” again, 13 years later, at the Oscars. During the 98th Academy Awards ceremony, held this Sunday in Los Angeles, the actress and singer paid a moving and highly anticipated tribute to Robert Redford, who died at 89 last September.

Streisand appeared at the traditional “In Memoriam” segment that the Hollywood Academy dedicates to filmmakers who have passed away in the last 12 months, and first wanted to thank Redford for their years of friendship. “He was brilliant... He defended freedom of the press, protected the environment, and championed new voices,” she said in a speech in which she also celebrated some of the actor’s achievements, such as the creation of the Sundance Institute to promote independent film.

“The last note I sent him ended with, ‘I love you too,’” the singer recalled, very emotional and on the verge of tears. “He was thoughtful and bold. I called him an intellectual cowboy who blazed his own trail,” she noted.

Streisand then sang, somewhat haltingly, a fragment of the song “The Way We Were,” the main theme from the film they made together in 1973, a performance that received a standing ovation from the audience at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The singer and actress starred alongside Redford in this iconic film, which won two Oscars, for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

The last time the singer performed at the Oscars was in 2013, when she sang “The Way We Were,” also during the “In Memoriam” segment, as a tribute to the late composer Marvin Hamlisch, who wrote the film’s score along with Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman. Redford passed away on September 16 at the age of 89, and Streisand posted a touching message on Instagram, accompanied by a photograph of the two of them during the filming of the movie.

In addition, the iconic comedian Billy Crystal paid tribute this Sunday to the influential director, actor, and activist Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Reiner, who were murdered last December allegedly by one of their sons. He highlighted their activism and said that the filmmaker was one of the most influential figures in Hollywood. A dozen Hollywood stars joined him on stage to complete the tribute before the In Memoriam segment.