Robert Duvall, a prolific actor with a career in entertainment spanning 70 years, has died at the age of 95. The Oscar winner for 1983’s Tender Mercies was known for roles in films including The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, To Kill a Mockingbird and many more.
The actor’s wife, Luciana, announced the news on Monday, Feb. 16 on Faceb00k, writing, « 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. » TMZ was first to report on Duvall’s death.
« To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything, » she added. « His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court. 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. »
Duvall was born in San Diego, Calif., in 1931. His father was a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, and Duvall and his two brothers were raised primarily in Annapolis, Md., near the Naval Academy. His father was often away. « One time he came home after a long period at sea, and he spoke sharply to my younger brother, and my younger brother said to my mother, ‘Tell that man to go home.’ Because, you know, he didn’t connect, » Duvall told GQ in 2014.
His father expected him to follow in his footsteps, but Duvall took another path. « I was terrible at everything but acting — I could barely get through school, » he told PEOPLE in 1977. After high school, he joined the Army and served in Korea, though he never saw combat.When he returned, his parents encouraged him to pursue acting. He studied drama at Principia College in Illinois and after graduation moved to New York to study under Sanford Meisner at New York’s Neighborhood Playhouse. His classmates included Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and James Caan, who all became lifelong friends.
Duvall became involved in New York theater and impressed playwright-screenwriter Horton Foote in his play The Midnight Caller. Foote also wrote the screenplay for To Kill a Mockingbird and recommended Duvall to play Boo Radley. It was the actor’s big-screen debut.
« I want my work to be true, » he told PEOPLE in 1984. « Pure. Not a false note from the start to finish. »In 1965, he won an Obie for his Off Broadway performance in A View from the Bridge, and he made his Broadway debut in 1966’s Wait Until Dark.
Duvall became renowned for his work as a character actor, and in the ’60s appeared in movies like Bullitt and True Grit. He received acclaim in 1970 for his work in M*A*S*H, and the next year he starred in THX 1138, the first film directed by George Lucas. In 1972, he appeared in The Godfather as Tom Hagen, the pseudo-adopted son of the Corleone family who remains an outsider. It earned him his first Oscar nomination, and he reprised the role in the 1974 sequel.Francis Ford Coppola, who directed Duvall in The Godfather films and Apocalypse Now, told PEOPLE of the actor in 2003, « Actors click into character at different times — the first week, third week. Bobby’s hot after one or two takes. That’s all he needs. »
Duvall joked at the time that his only regret about The Godfather was that he didn’t have « a better hairpiece. » He was also inspired by working closely with his costar Marlon Brando, whom he called « a hero » and « a king. »
« About a third of the way through [filming] Godfather I said, ‘We’re really doing something, I think, pretty special here that will live on for a long time to come,’ » Duvall told the AV Club in 2022. « I felt that we were making a really important film. »In Coppola’s 1979 classic Apocalypse Now, Duvall played Lt. Col. Kilgore. He told PEOPLE in 2003 that he nailed the iconic line — « I love the smell of napalm in the morning » — in just a take to two. He said, « Just got up and did it. An epic scene and a fun film to do. » He received his second Oscar nomination for the movie.
But by 1977, Duvall was upset about the roles he was getting and wanted to move out of supporting roles into starring ones. So he starred in David Mamet’s American Buffalo on Broadway. He told PEOPLE at the time, « People keep asking me, ‘Why walk away when you’re hot?’ I hope this will get me better film roles. »
Still, he wasn’t sure he really wanted to be a leading man. « To be a McQueen or a Redford, » he said, « I don’t know. They do the same thing all the time. They do themselves, and that must get boring. »
March 1984 Robert Duvall The 1984 Academy Awards Deadline Room in Los Angeles, CA.
Robert Duvall with his Oscar in 1984.
Duvall received a third Oscar nomination in 1980 for his leading role in The Great Santini. In 1983, he directed Angelo My Love, a movie about Romani people.
Duvall won an Oscar, for Best Actor, in 1983 for Tender Mercies. He told PEOPLE in 1984, weeks before the ceremony, « I guess the main reason I want the Academy Award is for the artistic power and freedom it gives you. The right to choose your own director, to have control over the project. »
Actor Robert Duvall accepts the Oustanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie award for « Broken Trail » onstage during the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on September 16, 2007 in Los Angeles, California.
Other film credits for Duvall included Network (1976), Days of Thunder (1990), The Scarlet Letter (1995), Sling Blade (1996), Deep Impact (1998), Thank You for Smoking (2005) and Jack Reacher (2012). He earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for 1997’s The Apostle, and in 2014, Duvall starred with Robert Downey Jr. in The Judge, which earned him his seventh Oscar nomination.
Duvall never retired. Later roles for the actor included 2018’s Widows, 2022’s The Pale Blue Eye and 2022’s Hustle.
Though he appeared less often on television than on the big screen, Duvall was a five-time Emmy nominee. He won twice, for acting in and executive producing the AMC miniseries Broken Trail.He wed Barbara Benjamin in 1964, and they split in 1975. From 1982 to 1985, he was married to Gail Youngs. He was married to Sharon Brophy from 1991 to 1995.
Duvall married Luciana Pedraza in 2005; they began dating in 1996. She appeared alongside him in the 2003 film Assassination Tango, which he also wrote and directed.
In 2021, Duvall appeared on PEOPLE (The TV Show!) while promoting his film 12 Mighty Orphans, and he discussed what life was like after 70 years of acting in front of the camera.When asked what he loved most about being 90, Duvall said, « Love the most? I don’t know if I love any of it, but day to day with my wonderful wife. »
« She takes care of me, and I have good friends and try to work out and keep in some kind of shape, » he continued.
Noting that he was still acting, Duvall told PEOPLE. « I’m always living well. »
Duvall is survived by his wife.
