Hollywood icon Robert Duvall, star of films including The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, has died at the age of 95.
The Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker died peacefully at home on Sunday, his wife Luciana said, in a statement paying tribute.
“Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and one of the greatest actors of our time,” she said, adding that he “passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort”.
Luciana and Robert Duvall at the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California. Pic: AP
“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 said.
“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.”
Robert Duvall in 1984. Pic: AP
Duvall grew up in Annapolis, Maryland, the son of a Navy admiral and an amateur actress.
After graduating from Principia College in Illinois and serving in the US Army, he moved to New York – where he lived with Dustin Hoffman and befriended Gene Hackman when the three were struggling acting students.
Robert Duvall and Johnny Cash at the 26th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in 1991. Pic: AP
He appeared in various Broadway and off-Broadway plays, including productions of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and A View From The Bridge, and had TV roles before making his big screen debut in the 1963 adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird, playing Arthur “Boo” Radley.
During his prolific career on screen, Duvall created a range of unforgettable characters that made him one of Hollywood’s greats.
He earned his first Oscar nomination in the best supporting actor category for playing Mafia consigliere Tom Hagen in 1972’s The Godfather – a role he reprised in The Godfather Part II.
In 1979, he was nominated in the supporting category once again, this time for his scene-stealing performance as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore in 1979’s Apocalypse Now.
Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, who directed both films, once described him as being “one of the four or five best actors in the world” in an interview with People Magazine.
Duvall (left) at the launch of The Godfather video game in 2005. Pic: AP
Robert Duvall, winner of the Icon Award, at the Palm Springs International Film Festival gala in 2015. Pic: AP
Duvall received seven Academy Award nominations in total – taking home the statuette for best actor in 1984 for Tender Mercies, in which he played a country music star recovering from alcoholism – and was also nominated for eight Golden Globe awards.
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Some of his other notable films include “The Natural” (1984), Colors (1988), Days Of Thunder (1990), Deep Impact (1998) and A Civil Action (1998), Gone In 60 Seconds (2000), Gods And Generals (2003), We Own the Night (2007) and The Judge (2014), as well as The Apostle in 1997, which he directed, wrote and starred in.
