The Heartbreaking Death Of Robert Redford's Son

We're all worn down by everything that 2020 has brought down on our heads, but this year doesn't appear to be done with any of us, and the horrors that have been offered up continue unabated. Today, veteran actor Robert Redford has announced that his son James has succumbed to bile-duct cancer at the age of 58. James' death was announced earlier, on October 16, by his wife Kyle on social media. She posted photos of James with the caption, "Jamie died today. We're heartbroken. He lived a beautiful, impactful life & was loved by many. He will be deeply missed. As his wife of 32 yrs, I'm most grateful for the two spectacular children we raised together. I don't know what we would've done w/o them over the past 2yrs." Kyle also told The Salt Lake Tribune than the cancer had been discovered in the bile duct last November, and James had been waiting for a liver transplant.

Robert Redford's rep told People that the actor "is mourning with his family during this difficult time and asks for privacy. The grief is immeasurable with the loss of a child. Jamie was a loving son, husband and father. His legacy lives on through his children, art, filmmaking and devoted passion to conservation and the environment."

James Redford is Robert Redford's third child with ex-wife Lola Van Wagenen. He struggled with health problems since he was a child. According to IMDb, he had been diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis when he was a child, which Mayo Clinic defines as a disease of the bile ducts. The illness triggers scarring in the ducts, making them hard and narrow, gradually triggering serious liver damage. James Redford received two liver transplants in 1993. 

But he didn't let his illness define him, and he went on to found the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness, a nonprofit organization which sought to spread the word about organ and tissue donation. He and his father also founded The Redford Center in 2005, another non profit group that provides grants to filmmakers looking to direct films that address climate change and the environment (via People).

Kyle and James Redford have two children, Dylan and Lena.