MIDDLEBURG, United States — Robert Duvall, the American actor whose performances ranged from restrained authority to volatile intensity across some of the most influential films of the late 20th century, died on Sunday, July 14, 2024, at his home in Middleburg, Virginia. He was 95.
His death was confirmed in a statement from his family, which said he died peacefully with his wife by his side.
The family said he had asked for no formal memorial service, encouraging admirers instead to honour him by “watching a great film, telling a good story around a table with friends, or taking a drive in the countryside to appreciate the world’s beauty.”
A Career of Range and Longevity
Over nearly six decades in film and television, Mr Duvall became known for his ability to disappear into roles both large and small.
He portrayed Tom Hagen, the composed Corleone family lawyer, in “The Godfather” (1972) and “The Godfather Part II” (1974); Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, the swaggering cavalry officer, in “Apocalypse Now” (1979); and Mac Sledge, an alcoholic country singer seeking redemption, in “Tender Mercies” (1983).
His performance in “Tender Mercies,” directed by Bruce Beresford, earned him the Academy Award for best actor in 1984.
In total, Mr Duvall received seven Oscar nominations and seven Golden Globe nominations during his career.
“It always comes back to ‘The Godfather,’” he told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2010. “The first ones are two of the best films ever made. About a quarter of the way into it, we knew we had something special.”
Early Life and Training
Robert Seldon Duvall was born on January 5, 1931, in San Diego, California, to Mildred Hart, an amateur actor, and William Duvall, a rear admiral in the United States Navy. He spent much of his childhood on military bases, including time in Annapolis, Maryland, and graduated from Principia College in Illinois in 1953.
After serving two years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he returned to New York, where he studied acting under Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse.
His classmates included Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and James Caan. During those years, he supported himself with a series of jobs while appearing on stage and in early television roles, including episodes of “The Twilight Zone.”
Mr Duvall made his film debut at 31, playing Arthur “Boo” Radley in the 1962 adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Though the role was small, it marked the beginning of a steady rise in cinema, with notable appearances through the 1960s in films such as “True Grit” and “The Rain People.”
Prominence in New Hollywood
By the 1970s, Mr Duvall had become a prominent figure in the so-called New Hollywood era, working frequently with directors who were reshaping American cinema. He appeared in Robert Altman’s “MAS*H” (1970) and starred in George Lucas’s first feature, “THX 1138” (1971).
His portrayal of Tom Hagen in “The Godfather” brought him widespread recognition and his first Academy Award nomination. He did not appear in the franchise’s third instalment, released in 1990, after failing to reach a salary agreement with Paramount Pictures.
That decade also produced some of his most widely cited performances, including Lieutenant Colonel Bull Meechum in “The Great Santini” (1979) and Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore in “Apocalypse Now,” in which he delivered the line: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
“I don’t know how many people have come up to me over the years and repeated to me, as though speaking a secret, ‘I love the smell of napalm in the morning,’” he told the Daily Telegraph in 2003.
Later Work and Directing
Mr Duvall continued to work consistently through the 1980s and 1990s, appearing in films such as “The Natural,” “Colors,” “Days of Thunder,” “Falling Down” and “Deep Impact.” He earned additional Oscar nominations for his roles in “A Civil Action” (1998) and “The Judge” (2014).
One of his most personal projects, “The Apostle” (1997), was a film he wrote, directed, financed and starred in. He invested $5 million of his own money in the production and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of a charismatic preacher in search of spiritual redemption.
“I thought I would have to put up a full-length mirror so I could yell at the director,” he told The Associated Press in 1997. “But I didn’t have to do that. We even finished one day ahead of schedule. It’s a movie I’m proud of.”
In later years, he appeared in roles that often cast him as an ageing authority figure, including performances in “Secondhand Lions,” “Crazy Heart,” “Get Low,” and “Widows.” He also directed four films over his career, the last being “Wild Horses” in 2015.
Family
Mr Duvall is survived by his wife, Luciana Duvall, an Argentine actor and director. He was previously married to Barbara Benjamin Marcus, Gail Youngs and Sharon Brophy.
His body of work, marked by discipline, versatility and longevity, secured his place as one of the most enduring figures in American film history.
