(FORTUNE Magazine) – Is high-minded Robert Redford low on cash? That's the latest buzz from New York City to L.A. to Sundance, Utah, the idyllic venue from which the actor oversees a socially conscious empire that includes a ski resort, restaurants, a mail-order catalog, his not-for-profit Sundance Institute, and the Sundance Channel indie-film TV network. Ever press-shy, Redford declines to comment on his reported financial troubles. But people close to him say that bankers at Allen & Co. (see "Inside the Private World of Allen & Co.") recently helped him restructure his holdings. And while he is in better shape than a year ago, he is looking to sell his 20% stake in the Sundance Channel. Allen & Co. has quietly shopped Redford's piece of the cable network for two years, but recent ownership changes make a sale more likely. General Electric, via its recent acquisition of Universal, inherited 50% of Sundance; Viacom owns the remaining 30%. Both media giants are known to prefer sole ownership to partnership, and one could well buy out the other in the next year or so.

The movie icon will never be as well regarded for his financial acumen as for his looks (his theater venture with General Cinemas a few years ago went bust). Still, you don't need an MBA to figure out that it's better to sell your stake in the Sundance Channel when two bidders are in the stable than when it gets down to one. Redford reportedly has met with GE's Bob Wright (who this year at Redford's Sundance Film Festival bought a documentary called Deadline for NBC) and talks regularly with executives at Viacom. But no deal is imminent. How much might Redford get for his 20% stake in the Sundance Channel? Roughly $70 million, say experts, who value the entire network at $350 million.

In the meantime, Redford, 66, is shilling for the corporate world. He recently did his first-ever mass-market TV commercial, for United Airlines. Listen to the familiar deep, soothing voice at the close of the current TV spots, and you'll hear, "Where you go in life is up to you...." Maybe this move is just another manifestation of Redford's desire to help the needy. United, after all, is in Chapter 11.

--Patricia Sellers