Hollywood legend Robert Duvall dead at 95
Hollywood icon and Oscar-winner, Robert Duvall, has died aged 95.
The legendary actor’s death has been confirmed by his wife, Luciana, who revealed that Duvall passed away at their home on February 15th.
Luciana took to Facebook to write, “Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time. Bob passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort.”
Her moving tribute continued, “To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything. His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court.”
Luciana’s eulogy added, “For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented. In doing so, he leaves something lasting and unforgettable to us all. Thank you for the years of support you showed Bob and for giving us this time and privacy to celebrate the memories he leaves behind.”
Over the course of his storied career, Duvall was nominated for a total of seven Oscars, which spanned 42 years, receiving nods for his coveted performances in classic films, including The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. However, it was his performance in Tender Mercies that won him his only Oscar in 1983.
His final nomination came in 2014, then aged 83, for The Judge. Despite his age, Duvall continued acting into his 90s, with his final two films, Hustle and The Pale Blue Eye, arriving in 2022.
After starting out in the New York City theatre scene on off-Broadway productions, Duvall served in the US Army during the 1950s for a year before returning to his craft.
In the late ’50s, Duvall began to regularly get work in television, which put him on the path to making his feature film debut in 1962 with To Kill a Mockingbird. While his role as Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley was only minor, Duvall left an impression on audiences, placing him on an upwards trajectory in Hollywood.
It was his stand-out performance in M*A*S*H in 1970 that cemented his status as a future star, before The Godfather, two years later, confirmed that he was already one of the best actors that Hollywood had to offer.
In a 2022 interview with the Los Angeles Daily News, to celebrate The Godfather turning 50, Duvall recalled his reaction to reading the script for the first time, sharing, “Maybe a quarter of the way through, I said to myself there’s something really important here, a really important film. I’ve only felt that twice, and I felt it very strongly then.”
Duvall reprised his role as Tom Hagen in The Godfather II, to even more widespread acclaim, but declined the opportunity to appear in the third film of the series, released in 1990, due to a dispute over pay, stating in 2022, “If you’re going to pay so-and-so two and three and four times what you pay me, you’re not going to get me. But they went the other way, and so I said, ‘OK, I’m out.’”
Despite his huge status as a star of Hollywood, Duvall was unafraid to return to television in 1992 for the celebrated HBO television film Stalin, which won multiple Emmys and Golden Globes. While it’s now more common for A-list film stars to take television roles, it was a rare sight over 30 years ago, but Duvall believed in the project, regardless of the medium.
Outside of his acting career, Duvall was married a total of four times, and married Luciana Pedraza, who survives him, in 2005. He never had any children, revealing to Details in 2007 that he did attempt to have kids and also, at one stage, considered adoption.
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