Robert Duvall, Academy-Award Winning Actor, Dead at 95

Academy Award-winning actor Robert Duvall has died, his wife, Luciana Duvall, revealed Feb. 16 in a Facebook post. He was 95.

“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 began.

“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. 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.”

Last month, Duvall shared a video his wife created in honor of his 95th birthday that featured clips of him over the years, beginning as a little boy and ending with him eating a cookie as an older man.

“Luciana surprised me with this wonderful birthday video in preparation for tomorrow’s big 95! Thank you all for the support all of these years,” he wrote.

Duvall’s career began with an appearance in a 1960 episode of the TV series “The Robert Herridge Theater.” He appeared in multiple TV shows before he made his film debut as Boo Radley in the 1962 adaptation of the book “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which won three Oscars and would be the first of a long line of Oscar-nominated and winning movies featuring Duvall.

Duvall won his Academy Award for best actor in 1984 for “Tender Mercies.” He would be nominated seven other times, including his first for “The Godfather,” playing Tom Hagen, the adopted son of Marlon Brando’s Don Vito Corleone. He would reprise the role in “The Godfather Part II.”

Duvall also earned Oscar nominations for “Apocalypse Now,” “The Great Santini,” “The Apostle” — which he directed — “A Civil Action” and “The Judge.” In all, he earned Oscar nominations in four different decades. He also starred in “M*A*S*H,” “The Conversation,” “Network,” “The Natural,” “Falling Down,” “Days of Thunder,” “Colors,” “Deep Impact” and “Gone in 60 Seconds.”

Duvall’s final film appearance was in 2022’s “The Pale Blue Eye.” His final onscreen credit was earlier this year in an episode of “The Culture Mafia.”