Crutch Cassidy and the Sunset Kid

By CLEMMIE MOODIE

Last updated at 22:00 07 November 2006


Thirty-seven years ago, as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, they forged a legendary screen partnership.

And their piercing blue eyes and chiselled good looks played no small part in that winning formula.

Today, given a combined age of 151, Paul Newman and Robert Redford still look remarkably good for their years. But even Hollywood superstars, of course, are not immune to the ravages of time.

The two actors - who last appeared together on screen 33 years ago in The Sting - were reunited in New York this week for the 25th anniversary of the Sundance Institute.

Aged 81, Newman - who played Butch in the 1969 western - leaned heavily on his former co-star as they posed for red carpet.

There was a pair of distinctly uncool reading glasses hanging around his neck, with the Oscarwinner appearing to squint slightly at the photographer.

And although a hint of the dazzling smile remains, the hairline is now silver and receding. As for 70-year-old Redford, with his fair share of wrinkles, he is starting to look more like the Sunset than the Sundance Kid.

Although the former heart-throb, who lives on a ranch in Utah, is rumoured to have undergone a facelift, this has been confirmed neither by Redford nor his publicist.

He has, however, had surgery to protect his eyesight. The Horse Whisperer star had an eye lift to remove an overhanging flap of skin which had been impairing his vision.

While he has never publicly admitted to having any cosmetic procedures, he has apparently developed a rather unusual, quickfixmeans of looking young. To prepare for TV interviews, he reportedly splashes himself in icy cold water to tighten facial muscles and keep him looking fresher-faced.

Newman, meanwhile, has been quick to hit out at the Hollywood obsession with cosmetic surgery, labelling the trend a "sick obsession".

He recently said: "I'm not vain and insecure like many of my fellow actors and actresses. Quite frankly, I like the way I look.

"I'm not jumping on the Hollywood bandwagon and turning the clock back with a facelift. So what if my face is falling apart? I don't give a damn.

"Everyone thinks they can stay pretty for ever, but some come out of Beverly Hills surgeries looking scary to me.

"Everyone in Tinseltown is getting pinched, lifted and pulled. For many, it's become a sick obsession. They lose some of their soul when they go under the knife and end up looking body-snatched.