Robert Duvall, Oscar-Winning Acting Legend, Dies at 95

Robert Duvall, the Academy Award-winning actor who became became a household name playing Tom Hagen, the capable consigliere to the Corleone family in Francis Ford Coppola’s mob masterpiece “The Godfather,” has died, his family announced in a statement Monday. He was 95.

Duvall died Sunday evening at his home in Middleburg, Virginia, with his wife, Luciana Duvall, by his side.

Born Jan. 5, 1931, in San Diego to U.S. Navy Rear Admiral William Duvall and Mildred Hart, Duvall was the middle of three children. He grew up primarily in Annapolis alongside his brothers, William Jr. and John “Jack” Duvall. After earning a bachelor’s degree in drama and briefly serving in the U.S. Army, he moved to New York to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse School under renowned acting teacher Sanford Meisner, laying the foundation for a career that would span more than six decades.

Duvall earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1973 for his “Godfather” role. He later reprised the role in Coppola’s equally acclaimed sequel, “The Godfather Part II.”

It was not until 1984 that Duvall won his first and only Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as country singer Mac Sledge in director Bruce Beresford’s drama “Tender Mercies,” a turn which is widely considered among the finest in the history of American film. In addition to his one win, Duvall nabbed a total of six Oscar nominations, including for his performances in “A Civil Action,” “The Great Santini,” “The Judge,” “The Apostle” and “Apocalypse Now.”

It was his role in the latter film that saw Duvall utter one of the most iconic lines in cinema history as Lieutenant Colonel William “Bill” Kilgore, a Vietnam war officer who proudly surveys the fire-soaked destruction caused by his troops by remarking, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” Throughout his career, Duvall consistently showed off his immense range, playing everything from stoic lawmen and overbearing fathers to complex antiheroes and relentless sportswriters.

He gave his last film performance in 2022 when he appeared opposite Christian Bale in director Scott Cooper’s gothic mystery thriller “The Pale Blue Eye.”

In keeping with his wishes, no formal service will be held. His family encourages those who wish to honor his memory to do so in a way that reflects the life he lived: by watching a great film, sharing a good story around a table with friends or taking a drive through the countryside to appreciate the world’s beauty.

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