Robert Duvall Dies at 95: Remembering ‘The Godfather’ and ‘Lonesome Dove’ Legend
The actors career spanned decades and brought so much joy to millions
Beloved actor Robert Duvall passed away on Sunday, February 16 at age 95. According to his wife Luciana Pedraza, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now and Tender Mercies actor “away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort.” To honor the late star, we have decided to look back at his iconic career that spanned decades and touched millions. Read on for more.
The beginning of Robert Duvall
Born Robert Selden Duvall in San Diego, California, he began attending the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City on the G.I. Bill in 1955, studying alongside Dustin Hoffman, with whom he shared an apartment.
The duo befriended another struggling actor, Gene Hackman, who also became Duvall’s roommate. He took on odd jobs to help pay the bills such as a Macy’s clerk, sorter at the post office and truck driver.
Throughout the 50s, Duvall concentrated on theater, including performances in Dial M for Murder, The Crucible, Picnic and many others. It was the 1957 summer season at Gateway Playhouse on Long Island that Duvall appeared as Mr. Mayher in Witness for the Prosecution, as well as the role which he once described as the catalyst of his career, Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge.
Acting teacher Sanford Meisner cast Duvall in a play, The Midnight Caller by Horton Foote. It was ultimately a fortuitous casting, as it was Foote who recommended Duvall to play the mentally disabled Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird in 1962. This was Duvall’s first major film role.
Robert Duvall jumps from stage to screen
Also in 1969, Duvall played bad guy Lucky Ned Pepper in True Grit, where he engaged in a climatic shootout with John Wayne’s Rooster Cogsburn on horseback. Duvall has said the only good thing about making this movie was working with The Duke.
Duvall is credited with creating the first Major Frank Burns in the feature film, MASH (1970). Then came his big breakthrough when Coppola reunited Duvall with Brando and Caan in The Godfather, where he received his first of six Oscar nominations for the role of Tom Hagan.
Solidifying his place in Hollywood, Duvall’s appearance as Kilgore in Apocalypse Now (1979) ushered in a second Oscar nomination and he was named by the Guinness Book of World Records the most versatile actor in the world.
Proving he was an established character actor who could segue from supporting to leading roles, Duvall was Oscar nominated for The Great Santini (1979) and Tender Mercies (1983). In the latter film, he showed the world he could sing. In fact, he insisted that he do his own singing and had it written into his contract.
Perhaps due to his rising star, Duvall demanded the studio give in to his assertion for a salary hike commensurate with that of Al Pacino’s $5 million for The Godfather III. The studio said no and so did Duvall.
The actor visits the wild, wild west
Along came an American TV Western, Lonesome Dove, a 1989 miniseries that had a profound effect on the filmmakers and actors alike. Duvall came to the project already a bonafide star, famous for his Tom Hagen role.
Coming onto this project meant a 20-year hiatus from the TV cameras was broken. Deep down, Duvall knew this miniseries and his role as Gus McCrea was something different and career altering.
The consummate actor thought McCrea was one of his best roles ever. “There are other parts I liked,” he told True West Magazine in 2016. “I played a Cuban barber in Wrestling Ernest Hemingway with Richard Harris, which was one of my favorite parts. But I would say Lonesome Dove was like my Hamlet or my Henry V, so to speak. When it was over, I felt like I could retire. I felt I’d done something fully and completely. He was a very complex guy. It was a fine character to be able to play.”
It was surprising that the TV role of Gus McCrea had a profound effect on such an established career. “It’s a lot like when I got an Oscar; a lot more recognition in airports,” he continued. “Wherever I go, people refer to that. When I was made an honorary Texas Ranger, a woman came up to me. ‘Mr. Duvall, we watch this once a year. I wouldn’t let my daughter’s fiancé marry into the family until he’d seen Lonesome Dove.’ In other places I go, too, but especially in Texas, it’s kind of a landmark for people.”
Duvall has stated that he is most proud of his role as the former Texas Ranger Augustus McCrae. While other films and projects have followed in Duvall’s illustrious career, Lonesome Dove stands out for both the actor and the audience. “The English have Shakespeare; the French have Moliere, the Russians have Chekov. But the Western is ours,” he told True West.
The later years of Robert Duvall
Following his role in Lonesome Dove, Duvall continued to act in a variety of projects including The Scarlett Letter (1995), Four Christmases (2008), The Judge (2014) and The Pale Blue Eyes (2022). In total, he starred in 145 different films and TV shows and received one Oscar for his role in Tender Mercies (1984).
Robert Duvall’s personal life
Duvall was married four times prior to his death, but had no kids. He is survived by his wife Luciana.
“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,” Pedraza’s statement reads. “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.”
May Robert Duvall rest in peace.
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