DW News · Feb 16, 2026 · Collected from RSS
Robert Duvall won an Oscar for "Tender Mercies" and earned nominations for classics including "The Godfather," "Apocalypse Now," and "The Great Santini."
Robert Duvall, the Oscar-winning American actor known for landmark films including "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now", has died. He was 95. His death was announced in a statement posted by his wife, Luciana Duvall. "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," she wrote. "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," Luciana Duvall added. Son of admiral and actress Duvall, the son of a Navy admiral and an amateur actress, grew up in Annapolis, Maryland. After graduating from Principia College in Illinois and serving in the US Army, he moved to New York City. He worked on a variety of television shows and made a strong impression even in small roles, including his first film appearance as the mysterious recluse Boo Radley in "To Kill a Mockingbird." He was cast in the part at the recommendation of the film's screenwriter, Horton Foote, who had enjoyed Duvall's performance in one of his plays. One Oscar, seven nominations Duvall won an Academy Award for best actor in 1983 for his portrayal of a washed-up country singer in "Tender Mercies." He was nominated six other times.Duvall with Marlon Brando in the "The Godfather"Image: Sammlung Richter/picture alliance His most memorable characters include the soft-spoken, loyal mob consigliere Tom Hagen in the first two "Godfather" films and the maniacal Lieutenant Colonel William Kilgore in Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam War epic "Apocalypse Now." Duvall had only a few minutes of screen time in "Apocalypse Now," but he nearly stole the film. His war-loving character delivers one of cinema's most famous lines: "I love the smell of napalm in the morning," as US warplanes bomb a beachfront tree line where he wants to go surfing.Duvall was wildly out front, the embodiment of deranged masculinity as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now"Image: Cinema Legacy Collection/The Hollywood Archive/IMAGO His other notable roles include playing the outlaw gang leader who gets ambushed by John Wayne in "True Grit"; Jesse James in "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid"; the pious and beleaguered Frank Burns in "M-A-S-H"; the TV hatchet man in "Network"; Dr. Watson in "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution"; and the sadistic father in "The Great Santini.” Still, the actor often said that his favorite role was Augustus McCrae, a seasoned Texas Ranger turned cowboy, in the 1989 TV miniseries "Lonesome Dove," based on Larry McMurtry's novel. Duvall was a blunt talker and a prolific actor. During his six-decade career, he excelled in both lead and supporting roles before becoming a director. Edited by: Louis Oelofse