Legendary Actor Robert Duvall (1931 - 2026)

[Zoneboy]

https://abc7news.com/post/academy-aw...e-95/18608395/

Legendary actor Robert Duvall, who won the Academy Award for best actor for his role in "Tender Mercies", has died. He was 95.

His wife, Luciana Duvall, shared the news of his passing on Facebook on Monday, saying he "peacefully" died on Sunday at home "surrounded by love and comfort."

"To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything," Luciana Duvall said.

A statement from Duvall's representative said "In keeping with Duvall's wishes, no formal service will be held."

"Instead, the family encourages those who wish to honor his memory to do so in a way that reflects the life he lived 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," the statement continued.


Robert Duvall's career spanned 60 years with roles across film, television and theater. He was known for his roles in "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now".


Robert Duvall brought a signature naturalism to the roles he played, an unmannered style that infused his myriad characters with a calm intensity - a counterpoint to his self-confessed often hot-tempered on-set disposition - and earned him a reputation as one of his generation's finest actors. Beginning with his memorable film debut as Boo Radley in 1962's "To Kill a Mockingbird," in which he didn't utter a word, Robert Duvall went on to appear in more than 90 films over the next seven decades, working with some of Hollywood's most celebrated filmmakers and performers.

Duvall shared the screen as the outlaw Ned Pepper opposite John Wayne in 1969's "True Grit," originated the role of Maj. Frank Burns in Robert Altman's 1970 dark comedy "M*A*S*H," and starred in the title role in "Star Wars" creator George Lucas' 1971 directorial debut, "THX 1138." Duvall also played Corleone family consigliere Tom Hagen in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II" opposite his acting hero, Marlon Brando, and had a pivotal role the ruthless network VP Frank Hackett in the acclaimed 1976 media satire "Network."


As the shirtless, cowboy hat-wearing Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore in Coppola's 1979 Vietnam War epic "Apocalypse Now," Duvall delivered the film's most oft-quoted line: "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." Four years later, Duvall won the Academy Award for Best Actor for playing Mac Sledge, a recovering alcoholic country music star attempting to make amends in "Tender Mercies."

"Time teaches you a lot of things. It gets a little easier as you get older," Duvall, then 72, told ABC News' Charlie Gibson in 2003, reflecting in his craft. He went on to quote a line from his beloved "Lonesome Dove" character, Gus McCrae: "The older the violin, the sweeter the music. Maybe that applies somewhere."

ABC News contributed to this story.

[JamesG]

One of my favorites of his was the underrated Falling Down (1993).

[Hawkee]

Originally Posted by JamesG

One of my favorites of his was the underrated Falling Down (1993).

Falling Down is one of my dad's favorite movies and I had no idea that Robert Duvall was in it. My favorite part of Falling Down was when Michael Douglas's character goes to a fast food restaurant and demands he wants breakfast but they tell him that breakfast is no longer being sold at that hour and so he starts causing havoc and then leaves. Robert Duvall was also in Days Of Thunder too

[Dude111]

I like Colours...

I have seen that 1993 one....


Very sad

[TMC]

Stephen Colbert pays tribute to Robert Duvall — who once referred to him as “not funny”

Without naming Colbert, Duvall told David Letterman in an October 2014 Late Show interview: “That guy taking over is not funny.” When Letterman didn’t respond, Duvall added: “Sorry, maybe you’re friends.” On Monday’s Late Show, Colbert paid tribute to Duvall, who died Sunday at age 95, by re-airing his June 2021 visit to Duvall and his wife Luciana’s Virginia ranch for what would become the legendary actor’s final late-night interview. “He was one of Hollywood’s greats and, perhaps, the greatest,” Colbert said in his tribute to Duvall.

[Dude111]

Bobby was more SERIOUS than funny.. He played policeman excellent in Colours!

[GoldenTV]

Too bad Robert Duvall who played family lawyer in Godfather 1 and 2 did not star in the third installment of Godfather movie due to salary dispute. Even Ford Coppola who directed all three GF films stated that the 3th movie feels incomplete "without Robert Duvall's participation".

[TMC]

Robert Duvall, RIP

Posted on February 16, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I knew this day was going to come because he was only 5 years away from 100 but still, it breaks my heart.

Rest in peace, Robert Duvall.

In my opinion, Robert Duvall was the best of American actors to come to prominence during the 60s and 70s, someone who was consistently great, who could move you to tears or make you laugh, someone who was just as good at being a villain as he was at being a hero. It’s hard not to think of a single movie that was not improved by the presence of Robert Duvall.

He was the original Boo Radley and, though he was only in To Kill A Mockingbird for a few minutes, his performance was unforgettable. He captured both the shyness and the compassion of an outcast with a good heart.

In M*A*S*H, he was Major Frank Burns, the dangerously incompetent doctor who drove Bud Cort to tears, got punched out by Elliott Gould, and eventually tried to kill Donald Sutherland. Burns was the perfect villain, and Duvall wisely didn’t play the role for laughs.

In the original Godfather novel, Tom Hagen was described as being bland and colorless. In the films, Duvall transformed him into one of the most vibrant characters in the entire saga. During the first film, when he asks Michael “why am I out?,” he breaks your heart. When Michael snaps at him in the sequel, you realize that Michael is losing the one person who still cares about him. His absence in Godfather Part III is so deeply felt that it makes you realize that Robert Duvall was just as important to the saga as Pacino, Caan, Brando, and the rest.

(Robert Duvall had previously worked with Brando in The Chase and, on the set of The Godfather, he was one of the few actors who could call Marlon out. Once, when Marlon was holding up filming with a hundred nit-picky questions, Duvall said, “Don’t worry, Marlon, we don’t have anywhere to be either.” Marlon laughed and shot the scene.)

In Apocalypse Now, Duvall delivery of one line — “I love the smell of napalm in the morning,” — summed up everything that the film had to say about war.

In Tender Mercies, he gave one of the most honest performances that I’ve ever seen and he won a deserved Oscar. Tender Mercies is one of the great Texas films and that’s largely due to Robert Duvall.

In the miniseries Lonesome Dove, he made you laugh, he made you cry, he made you believe that he had stepped out of the Old West, and he made it all look easy.

With The Apostle, he proved himself to be as strong a director as an actor. He crafted one of the best American films about religion to come out in the 90s and he gave a fearless performance that should have won him a second Oscar.

Even in a seriously flawed film like The Judge, he could hold your attention like few other actors.

Robert Duvall was born in California, raised in Maryland, and began his career in New York and yet somehow, he was one of the most authentic Southerners that I’ve ever seen on screen. Down in my part of the world, we considered him to be something of an honorary Texan. By most reports, he had the fiercely independent but generous spirit that defines the best of the Southwest. When he was a struggling actor, his roommates were Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman. His best friend was James Caan. He knew and worked with the best actors and directors of the past 60 years.

He was a truly one of the greats. He may be gone but his performances will live forever.

[TMC]

TCM sets tribute to Robert Duvall

Following Duvall’s death on Sunday at age 95, Turner Classic Movies will honor the legendary actor’s life on March 10 by showing his Oscar-winning performance in Tender Mercies, followed by The Great Santini and Apocalypse Now.

[TMC]

Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall has passed away at the age of 95, and it's time to rank his greatest performances. Enjoy this tribute to a cinema icon!