Oscar-winning American actor Robert Duvall, known for classics including The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, has died, aged 95.
According to a statement from his widow, Luciana Duvall, he passed away peacefully at his home in Virginia on Sunday (February 15).
Born in 1931 in San Diego, Duvall earned a degree in drama and served briefly in the US army before enrolling at the Neighborhood Playhouse School in New York.
His earliest roles were in TV series including Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Playhouse 90 and his first film role was in 1962’s To Kill A Mockingbird.
Other early film appearances came in True Grit, The Rain People, MASH and THX 1138.
In 1973, his performance as Corleone family consigliere Tom Hagen in The Godfather earned Duvall his first Oscar nomination, in the supporting actor category. He played Hagen again in 1974’s The Godfather Part II and earned another supporting actor Oscar nomination for his brief but memorable appearance in Apocalypse Now, which also brought him a supporting actor Bafta film award.
Other Oscar nominations came for performances in such films as The Great Santini, The Judge, A Civil Action and 1997’s The Apostle, on which he made his narrative feature directing debut.
Duvall won the lead actor Oscar for 1983 country music drama Tender Mercies. In TV, he earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove and won the lead actor in a miniseries or movie Emmy for 2007’s Broken Trail.
His most recent films included 2018 crime drama Widows, 2022 sports drama Hustle, and 2022 horror mystery The Pale Blue Eye.
A family statement said there will be no formal service for Duvall but encouraged “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.”
Reactions from those who worked with Duvall included an Instagram post from Godfather and Apocalypse Now director Francis Ford Coppola: “What a blow to learn of the loss of Robert Duvall,” Coppola wrote. “Such a great actor and such an essential part of American Zoetrope from its beginning: The Rain People, The Conversation, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, THX 1138, Assassination Tango.”
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