Salud, you glorious actor.
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 be 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.
Through the Shattered Lens 
Howdy there, Can´t log in, so I send my comment by mail:
Soooo saaaad. YES, he was one of the ultimate greats, maybe THE GREATEST US character actor ever. I LOVE his performance in A CIVIL ACTION, it was spot on.
I have seen app. 3 dozen of his movies (if not more) and he never failed, always put his heart into each performance. In addition to the ones you mention I´d like to also put a spotlight on his great performance in the still underrated neo noir THE OUTFIT. RIP. 😦
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A wonderful tribute to a legend…we have many who are in the 80’s and beyond and we will be seeing more of this exodus…his performance in “Network”, alongside so many other brilliant performers, is a thing of beauty…brash arrogance, anger – and defeat…as with every film he was in – even Ron Howard’s wonderful “The Paper!”
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The exodus already happened, as far as I can see, because most from that era (60ies, 70ies) are already gone. The most noteworty one still amongst us are Clint Eastwood (thanx God), Dustin Hoffman, William Devane and, well, Tommy Lee Jones (who looks like 100+, but is in fact “only” 80).
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Great point…add Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino and Jane Fonda to the 80+ list…it is sad to have to anticipate but the reality of a lifetime watching these legends…thanks for the note!
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Yes, you´re right, how could I forget these??!! Shame on me.
I did some reserach and there are indeed a few more, who are still alive: Shirley MacLaine, Eva Marie Saint (she is 101 !!), my “crush” (whose not?) Ann-Margret, Tippi Hedren is also still alive (!), Faye Dunaway, … and Jon Voight, Christopher Walken, … 10 years from now most of these will also be history … sigh.
Allmost all the ones I grew up with are long gone: Bronson, McQueen, Coburn, Hackman (recently), Randolph Scott, Lee van Cleeve, Jason Robards, Ernest Borgnine, Dean Martin (Frank S., but well), Robert Taylor, Burt Reynolds, Robert Shaw, John Wayne, Gene Wilder, Roy Scheider, Donald Sutherland, … and this is just the tip of the iceberg … and I mourned everyones passing.
Always sad to add another one to this list. 😦
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FYI I am posting a short homage to him and am including this story of yours as you give much more depth to his life and career….
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Pingback: RIP Robert Duvall…Here’s My Homage To A Legend…From “The Godfather” To “Network” And More… – johnrieber
A legend has past RIP Robert Duvall . I’m currently watching him in “Seven Days in Utopia” 2011 A rare one I’ve missed till now. Plus on deck another missed gem “Get Low” 2010. His big titles we’ve all seen those will be seen once more but the legend has past.
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Robert Duvall did not die, he simply retired from life.
Duvall was the one of the oldest living cast members from the original version of The Twilight Zone.
Miniature, the Twilight Zone episode in which Duvall appears in the central role, belongs to the fourth season of the show, thus the episode runs around 45 minutes (minus ad breaks). The series worked much better when the episodes were around half as long, yet Miniature stands as an exception. The episode works beautifully due to excellent work from Duvall.
When Hollywood had no idea what to do with Farrah Fawcett, Duvall recognised her talent and cast her in The Apostle.
Many years ago, I used my birthday as a reason to have a movie night at a cinema. Robert Duvall was in two of the three movies, one of them being one of my favourite flicks, Network. Duvall took Frank Hackett, a character who easily could have been a caricature in the hands of a lesser actor, and made him feel authentic.
That was Robert Duvall — authentic. Vale to a wonderful actor, a credit to the world of cinema.
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