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Robert Duvall, who played the creaseless mafia lawyer successful “The Godfather” and stole the amusement with his depiction of a surfing-crazed colonel successful “Apocalypse Now,” has died astatine the property of 95, his woman said Monday (February 16, 2026).
His decease Sunday (February 15, 2026) was confirmed by his wife Luciana Duvall.
“Yesterday we said goodbye to my beloved husband, cherished friend, and 1 of the top actors of our time. Bob passed distant peacefully astatine home,” she wrote.
Blunt-talking, prolific and glitz-averse, Robert Duvall won an Oscar for champion histrion and was nominated six different times. Over his six decades-long career, helium shone successful some pb and supporting roles, and yet became a director.
“To the world, helium was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, helium was simply everything,” Ms. Luciana Duvall said. “His passionateness for his trade was matched lone by his heavy emotion for characters, a large meal, and holding court.”
Robert Duvall won his Academy Award successful 1983 for playing a washed-up state vocalist successful “Tender Mercies.”
But his astir memorable characters besides included the soft-spoken, loyal mob consigliere Tom Hagen successful the archetypal 2 installments of “The Godfather” and the maniacal Lieutenant Colonel William Kilgore successful Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam War epic “Apocalypse Now.”
The latter, which earned Robert Duvall an Oscar information and made him a bona fide prima aft years playing lesser roles, sees him utter what is present 1 of cinema’s astir celebrated lines.
“I emotion the odor of napalm successful the morning,” his war-loving quality — bare-chested, cocky and sporting a large achromatic cowboy chapeau — muses arsenic low-flying US warplanes weaponry a beachfront histrion enactment wherever helium wants to spell surfing.
That quality was primitively created to beryllium adjacent much implicit the apical — his sanction was astatine archetypal expected to beryllium Colonel Carnage — but Robert Duvall had it toned down, demonstrating his meticulous attack to acting.
“I did my homework,” Robert Duvall told seasoned speech amusement big Larry King successful 2015. “I did my research.”
Robert Duvall was benignant of a precocious bloomer successful Hollywood — helium was already 31 erstwhile helium delivered his breakout show arsenic the mysterious recluse Boo Radley successful the 1962 movie adaptation of Harper Lee’s caller “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
He would spell connected to play myriad roles — a bullying firm enforcement successful “Network” (1976), a Marine serviceman who treats his household similar soldiers successful “The Great Santini” (1979), and past his prima crook successful “Tender Mercies.”
Robert Duvall often said his favourite role, however, was 1 helium played successful a 1989 TV mini-series — the grizzled, wisecracking Texas Ranger-turned-cowboy Augustus McCrae successful “Lonesome Dove,” based connected the caller by Larry McMurtry.
Film professional Elaine Mancini erstwhile described Robert Duvall arsenic “the astir technically proficient, the astir versatile, and the astir convincing histrion connected the surface successful the United States.”
