James Redford obit

Robert Redford's filmmaker son James Redford dies at 58

 He was not on the list.

James Redford, the son of actor Robert Redford, died on Friday from bile-duct cancer in his liver.

In a tweet James’ wife, Kyle, posted to her account, she wrote their family is “heartbroken.”

“Jamie died today. We’re heartbroken,” she wrote. “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.”

A representative for Robert Redford told TODAY he is “mourning with his family during this difficult time and asks for privacy."

"The grief is immeasurable with the loss of a child," his representative, Cindi Berger, said in a statement. "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."

While in graduate school, James was diagnosed with colitis, which leads to swelling in the colon, and sclerosis cholangitis, an autoimmune disease that affected his liver, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. His wife told the outlet that his past liver disease had returned two years ago, and his doctors discovered cancer last November while he was awaiting a liver transplant.

James directed several documentaries usually covering the environment and health over the course of his career. In 2005 he, together with his dad, founded The Redford Center, which produces films and provides grants to filmmakers who address climate change and the environment.

The Sundance Institute posted a thread mourning James' death on Monday evening.

"Jamie was a fierce advocate for the power of storytelling to drive impact on the issues that matter most, critical work that he did through @redfordcenter and in his own storytelling," the institute posted, in part. "Jamie was a deeply intuitive and kind collaborator. Our community of artists and colleagues grieves this loss, and sends condolences to the Redford family; Jamie’s warmth, passion and generosity of spirit will continue to inspire us."

His wife told The Salt Lake Tribune he was nearing completion on a new documentary, “Where the Past Begins” for PBS’s “American Masters” series. The film traces the immigrant journey of author Amy Tan, who famously wrote "The Joy Luck Club."

Redford directed his first documentary, The Big Picture; Rethinking Dyslexia (2012), which was based on the challenges faced by his son Dylan in school. Interviewees in the documentary included Richard Branson, Charles Schwab, David Boies, and Gavin Newsom. Also in 2012 he produced Watershed.

His 2013 documentary Toxic Hot Seat dealt with the health problems caused by the use of flame-retardant materials used in furniture.

Other movies included Paper Tigers (2013) , Resilience (2016) , and Happening: A Clean Energy Revolution (2017). Cast members of Happening included Mark Ruffalo, Lisa Jackson, mayor Dale Ross and entrepreneur Emily Kirsch among others.