Robert Duvall, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor in “Tender Mercies” and had memorable roles in the first two “Godfather” films, “Apocalypse Now” and “The Great Santini,” died on Feb. 15. He was 95.
Duvall’s death was announced by his wife, Luciana Duvall, on Facebook.
The statement said he died peacefully at home “surrounded by love and comfort,” but no details were shared. He lived in Middleburg, Virginia, and no formal service will be held, CNN reported.
She wrote, “To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything.”
TMZ was the first to report Duvall’s death on Monday.
Robert Selden Duvall was born on Jan. 5, 1931, in San Diego but grew up in Annapolis, Maryland.
His father, Rear Adm. Walter Howard Duvall, wanted his son to join the Navy, but the younger Duvall opted instead for a two-year stint in the Army; he was stationed at Camp Gordon (now Fort Gordon), Georgia.
Robert Duvall moved to New York City in 1955, where he enrolled in the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. Some of his classmates included future film stars Dustin Hoffman, James Caan and Gene Hackman. As a struggling actor, Duvall worked other jobs to support himself, including stints as a night janitor and an employee for the U.S. Postal Service.
He made his film debut in 1962’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” and followed it up with roles as a cab driver in “Bullitt” (1968), Ned Pepper in “True Grit” (1969) and Maj. Frank Burns in “M*A*S*H” (1970).
Duvall received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Tom Hagen, the Corleone Family’s faithful consigliere in “The Godfather” (1972) and reprised his role in “The Godfather Part II” (1974).
He received his second Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore in the Vietnam War epic, “Apocalypse Now” (1979), which included the memorable line, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
Duvall earned his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of the demanding Wilbur P. “Bull” Meechum, a frustrated and demanding Marine pilot in “The Great Santini” (1980).
He took the Academy Award for Best Actor in “Tender Mercies” (1983), playing the role of Mac Sledge, a broken down country singer who is trying to put his life back together.
Duvall earned another nomination for Best Actor in “The Apostle” (1997), which he also directed and wrote the screenplay; that was followed by Best Supporting Actor nominations in “A Civil Action” (1998) and “The Judge” (2014).
Duvall was a descendant of Robert E. Lee and portrayed the Confederate general in the 2003 film “Gods and Generals.”
Duvall also made an impact on television, playing Dwight D. Eisenhower in the miniseries “Ike.” He was nominated for five Emmy Awards, winning two for his lead acting part and executive producer role for the 2006 miniseries “Brken Trail.” He was also nominated for Best Actor in “Lonesome Dove” (1989), “Stalin” (1992) and “The Man Who Captured Eichmann” (1996).
Duvall formed Butcher’s Run Films in 1992. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2005 by President George W. Bush.