Beloved Hollywood actor Robert Redford passed away in his sleep at age 89 on Tuesday, September 16. He leaves behind a career in the entertainment industry spanning decades, which includes founding the Sundance Institute in 1981. He also starred in films such as 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the 1974 adaptation of The Great Gatsby, and the 1972 American Western Jeremiah Johnson — the origin of the “Nodding Man” meme. It’s also known as the “Jeremiah Johnson Nod of Approval” and now, the “Robert Redford Nodding” meme.
In the film, Redford plays the titular role of Jeremiah Johnson, a veteran of the Mexican-American War who lives in the Rocky Mountains as a trapper. While it was a box office hit in its time, audiences today will most likely recognize it from a snippet in GIF form. In the GIF, the camera zooms in as a bearded Redford looks back at his wife and son, smiling and nodding after finally learning how to catch fish.
According to Know Your Meme, Nodding Man has been used to signal approval on social media since 2012, 40 years after the film was released. But the internet also widely mistook Redford for American actor and comedian Zack Galifianakis.
In October 2021, animated sitcom Family Guy referenced Jeremiah Johnson and the meme, with Peter Griffin wearing the iconic beard and winter coat.
These days, the GIF isn’t as ubiquitous as it used to be, but the meme recently had a resurgence following Redford’s death. Now, it’s nice to imagine the meme as Redford nodding approvingly at us from the afterlife.
