Robert Duvall, the Oscar-winning American actor known for landmark films including “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now“, has died. He was 95.
His death was announced in a statement posted by his wife, Luciana Duvall, on Monday.ย “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,” she wrote.ย
“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,” his wife added.ย
Remembrances pour in for Robert Duvall
“What a blow to learn of the loss of Robert Duvall,” wrote Francis Ford Coppola, the director of “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” as well as other movies Duvall was in, on Instagram. “Such a great actor.”
Al Pacino, Duvall’s co-star in “The Godfather,” wrote that it was “an honor” to have worked with him.ย
“He was a born actor as they say, his connection with it, his understanding and his phenomenal gift will always be remembered,” Pacino said in a statement to AP news agency.ย
Adam Sandler, who starred with Duvall in “Hustle” wrote on X: “Funny as hell. Strong as hell. One of the greatest actors we ever had.”
Son of admiral and actress
Duvall, the son of a Navy admiral and an amateur actress, grew up in Annapolis, Maryland. After graduating from Principia College in Illinois and serving in the US Army, he moved to New York City.
He worked on a variety of television shows and made a strong impression even in small roles, including his first film appearance as the mysterious recluse Boo Radley in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
He was cast in the part at the recommendation of the film’s screenwriter, Horton Foote, who had enjoyed Duvall’s performance in one of his plays.
One Oscar, seven nominations
Duvall won an Academy Award for best actor in 1983 for his portrayal of a washed-up country singer in “Tender Mercies.” He was nominated six other times.
His most memorable characters include the soft-spoken, loyal mob consigliere Tom Hagen in the first two “Godfather” films and the maniacal Lieutenant Colonel William Kilgore in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam War epic “Apocalypse Now.”
Duvall had only a few minutes of screen time in “Apocalypse Now,” but he nearly stole the film. His war-loving character delivers one of cinema’s most famous lines: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning,” as US warplanes bomb a beachfront tree line where he wants to go surfing.
His other notable roles include playingย the outlaw gang leader who gets ambushed by John Wayne in “True Grit”; Jesse James in “The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid”; the pious and beleaguered Frank Burns inย “M-A-S-H”; the TV hatchet man in “Network”; Dr. Watson in “The Seven-Per-Cent Solution”; and the sadistic father in “The Great Santini.โ
Still, the actor often said that his favorite role was Augustus McCrae, a seasoned Texas Ranger turned cowboy, in the 1989 TV miniseries “Lonesome Dove,” based on Larry McMurtry’s novel.
Duvall was a blunt talker and a prolific actor. During his six-decade career, he excelled in both lead and supporting roles before becoming a director.
Edited by: Louis Oelofse and Alex Berry