Redford blames self for son’s death
By IANSSunday, January 23, 2011
LONDON - Hollywood legend Robert Redford doubts he will ever fully recover from the tragedy of losing his infant son more than 50 years ago.
The “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” star was just 23 when he and his then-wife Lola’s first child, Scott, died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) at two-and-a-half months old. Redford, now 74, has rarely spoken out about the heartbreak, but admits that the young couple blamed itself for the tot’s untimely demise - a “scar” he will bear for the rest of his life, reports imdb.com.
“It was really hard. We were very young. I had my first theatre job, which didn’t pay much. We didn’t know anything about SIDS, so the only thing you think is that you’ve done something wrong. As a parent, you tend to blame yourself. That creates a scar that probably never completely heals,” he said.
Redford went on to have three more children with Lola, before they divorced in 1985 after 27 years of marriage. He then wed his longtime girlfriend Sibylle Szaggars in 2009.
