A Fond Farewell to an Acting Icon, Robert Duvall (1931-2026)

 

                An elite star who made his impact felt consistently in a wide array of movies during an impressive sixty year run in films in both leading and character roles, Robert Duvall passed away on February 15^th at age 95. Born in San Diego, Duvall would serve a stint in the Army before beginning a long tenure in New York theater and surrounding environs starting in the mid 1950’s, wherein colleagues during his studies at the Neighborhood Playhouse included Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and James Caan. An encounter with Horton Foote aided Duvall in gaining his brief but impactful screen debut as Boo Radley in 1962’s To Kill a Mockingbird, followed by a solid resume build up via frequent television (The Twilight Zone, The Wild, Wild West and The Mod Squad, etc.) and film (Bullitt, True Grit and M*A*S*H chief among these) appearances over the next ten years, as well as finally gaining a Broadway debut in 1966 via the suspense hit Wait Until Dark, before a major breakthrough and first Oscar nomination via 1972’s The Godfather, the Francis Ford Coppola Academy-Award winning blockbuster that helped usher in a more daring a progressive era of films.  

Duvall’s success in Godfather led to a wealth of acclaim in key portrayals over the next several decades, resulting in seven Oscar nominations and a win for 1983’s Tender Mercies, wherein Foote (who also won for his screenplay) came through and wrote a beautiful part for Duvall as down-on-his-luck Country Music star Mac Sledge. Duvall was able to bring great humanity to his roles, while combining strength and sensitivity and complexity to his roles, whether the characters be largely sympathetic (Mockingbird, Mercies, Get Low) or more interpersonally challenged (Apocalypse Now, The Great Santini, The Apostle) in nature. For the author, Duvall’s mesmerizing work as Marine “Bull” Meecham in Santini lingered in memory after an early 1980’s viewing as one of the most penetrating views of a certain type of out-of-control control freak, including a scene where the formidable Meecham taunts his more compassionate son, Ben (a brilliant Michael O’Keefe, Oscar-nominated for his sublime work here along with Duvall) during a basketball game. This moment counted among the best dramatic and truly unforgettable sequences I’ve ever seen in a film, and I was able to ask Mr. Duvall about it during an interview that took place at the Aero Theater in conjunction with a showing of one of his later-career highlights, Get Low. I filmed the interview, wherein the endearingly low-key, personable star gave a nice overview of his career and Low. The piece can be viewed here, and R.I.P. to one of the most notable and gifted actors of his or any generation, Robert Duvall.