Robert Duvall death: The Godfather actor and Oscar-winning Tender Mercies star dies aged 95

Robert Duvall, the legendary actor best known for his roles in Apocalypse Now and The Godfather, has died at the age of 95.

Duvall’s death was announced Monday by his wife, Luciana, who remembered him as “one of the greatest actors of our time” and “simply everything.”

“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, surrounded by love and comfort,” she wrote on Facebook.

“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,” she continued.

“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.”

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A cause of death was not announced.

Born in San Diego, California, Duvall earned his first of several Oscar nominations in 1973 for his supporting role as consigliere Tom Hagen in The Godfather.

“About a third of the way through [filming] Godfather I said, ‘We’re really doing something, I think, pretty special here that will live on for a long time to come,’” Duvall told the AV Club in 2022. “I felt that we were making a really important film.”

He later earned nominations for his performances in Apocalypse Now (1979), for portraying the hard-nosed military pilot Lieutenant Colonel Wilbur “Bull” P. Meechum in The Great Santini (also 1979), his self-directed gothic drama, The Apostle (1997), alongside John Travolta in the 1988 thriller A Civil Action, and the 2014 legal drama, The Judge.

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In 1984, Duvall won Best Actor for his portrayal of an alcoholic country singer in the Western drama Tender Mercies.

His performance in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now as the amoral warmonger Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore provided perhaps two of the most quotable lines in cinema: “Charlie don’t surf!” and “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”

The son of a Navy admiral and an amateur actor mother, Duvall was originally expected to follow in his father’s footsteps and attend the Naval Academy. Instead, he served in the U.S. Army before studying drama at Principia College in Illinois. After graduation, he moved to New York City and studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.

“I was terrible at everything but acting – I could barely get through school,” Duvall told People in 1977.

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Living in New York, Duvall became involved in the theatre scene. His acting in The Midnight Caller impressed the production’s playwright and screenwriter, Horton Foote, who recommended Duvall for the character of the troubled Boo Radley in the 1962 adaptation of his screenplay, To Kill a Mockingbird. The role marked his breakout screen credit at 31 years old.

He also earned acclaim for his role in the 1970 war comedy M*A*S*H, which would go on to inspire the 11-season sitcom of the same name.

Of his approach to acting, Duvall told American Film Magazine in 1981, “I don’t try to be a hard guy to work with. But I decide what I’m going to do with a character. I will take direction, but only if it kind of supplements what I want to do. If I have instincts that I feel are right, I don’t want anybody to tamper with them. I don’t like tamperers, and I don’t like hoverers.”

In 1977, Duvall made his directorial debut with the documentary We’re Not the Jet Set about a Nebraska ranching family. He directed his first feature film, Angelo My Love, in 1983, followed by The Apostle (1997), Assassination Tango (2002) and Wild Horses (2015).

While predominantly a film actor, Duvall began his career in television, making his on-screen debut in a 1960 episode of the anthology series The Robert Herridge Theater. He went on to star in numerous TV shows throughout his career, earning two Emmys for his work in the 2007 limited series Broken Trail. He also collected four Emmy nods for his leading roles in The Man Who Captured Eichmann, Stalin, Lonesome Drive and Ike.

His final acting credit was in Scott Cooper’s 2022 mystery thriller The Pale Blue Eye, starring alongside Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton and Timothy Spall.

Duvall is survived by his wife, Luciana, 54, whom he married in 2005. He was previously married to Barbara Benjamin from 1964 to 1975, Gail Youngs from 1982 to 1986, and Sharon Brophy from 1991 to 1995.