Six months after the legendary actor died at the age of 89, his The Way We Were costar took part in a special tribute to Robert at the 2026 Oscars, hosted by Conan O’Brien at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood March 15. Barbra stepped out in a black gown during the In Memoriam segment as she recalled how Robert used to tease her.
“I miss him now more than ever, even how he loved teasing me,” Barbra shared. “He’d call me, ‘Babs.’ And I’d say, ‘Bob, you know, do I look like a Babs?’ But the way he said it made me laugh.”
“Many years later, we were chatting on the phone about the usual, politics, art, Modigliani—our favorite,” she continued. “And as we were hanging up, he said, ‘Babs, I love you dearly, and I always will.’”
That phone call left an impression on Barbra, and played a role in the final note she wrote to Robert, saying, “I ended it with, ‘I love you too,’ and I signed it ‘Babs.’”
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And Barbra couldn’t help but rave about her former costar, sharing his accomplishments from defending the freedom of the press to protecting the environment and founding the Sundance Institute.
“He was thoughtful and bold,” she said. “I called him an intellectual cowboy who blazed his own trail.”
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