Search:
Go

InstantCast All-Stars
Next

Robert Duvall

Article

Robert Selden Duvall (born January 5, 1931) is an American film actor and director who has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. He has appeared in films such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, The Natural, Network, THX 1138, MASH, The Great Santini, Tender Mercies, Lonesome Dove, Colors, and The Apostle.

Biography

Early life

Duvall was born in San Diego, California, the son of Mildred Virginia (née Hart), an amateur actress and relative of American Civil War General Robert E. Lee, and William Howard Duvall, a Virginia-born U.S. Navy admiral.
Duvall's father was a Methodist and his mother was a Christian Scientist, and Duvall was raised in the Christian Science religion.The Religious Affiliation of Robert Duvall. Adherents.com. Duvall grew up in a military family, living for a time in Annapolis, Maryland near the United States Naval Academy. He attended Severn School in Severna Park, Maryland and The Principia in St. Louis, Missouri and graduated, in 1953, Principia College in Elsah, Illinois. He served in the United States Army (service number 52 346 646) from 19 August 1953 to 20 August 1954, leaving as Private First Class. While stationed at Fort Gordon in Georgia, Duvall acted in an amateur production of the comedy "Room Service" in nearby Augusta.

After leaving the Army, Duvall studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York under Sanford Meisner. While working to become an actor, he worked as a Manhattan post office clerk. Duvall is friends with actors Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman whom he knew during their years as struggling actors. At one point, Duvall roomed with Hoffman while they were looking for work.

Career


Duvall's screen debut was as Boo Radley in the critically acclaimed To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Duvall later played the notorious malefactor Ned Pepper in True Grit (1969), and Major Frank Burns in the film version of MASH (1970), but his breakout role was that of Tom Hagen in The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in A Civil Action and for his role as Lt. Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now (1979). He also received a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in The Great Santini as Lt. Col. "Bull" Meechum who was loosely based on world famous Marine Aviator, Colonel Donald Conroy. He won Oscar's Best Actor in Tender Mercies (1983). His line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" from Apocalypse Now is now regarded as iconic in cinema history. The full text is as follows:



[National Medal of Arts winners.jpg|thumb|320px|President [[George W. Bush] stands with recipients of the 2005 National Medal of Arts on November 9, 2005, in the Oval Office. Among those recognized for their outstanding contributions to the arts were, from left: Leonard Garment, Louis Auchincloss, Paquito D'Rivera, James De Preist, Tina Ramirez, Robert Duvall, and Ollie Johnston]].
He directed the critically acclaimed The Apostle, about a preacher on the run from the law, and Assassination Tango (2002), a thriller about one of his favorite hobbies, tango. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 18, 2003.

Duvall portrayed General Robert E. Lee in Gods and Generals in 2003 and is actually a relative of the Confederate general. He has stated in several forums, including CBS Sunday Morning, that his favorite role was that of Augustus "Gus" McCrae in Lonesome Dove.

In 2005, he was awarded a National Medal of Arts by President George W. Bush at the White House.President George W. Bush stands with recipients of the 2005 National Medal of Arts winners Thursday, Nov. 9, 2005, in the Oval Office. Among those recognized for their outstanding contributions to the arts were, from left: Leonard Garment, arts advocate; Louis Auchincloss, author; Paquito D'Rivera, jazzist; James De Preist, symphony conductor; Tina Ramirez, choreographer; Robert Duval, actor, and Ollie Johnston, animator. White House photo by Eric Draper

Personal life

Duvall is close friends with Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman, both of whom he has known since their struggling actor days. He has been married four times, the first to Barbara Benjamin, from 1964 until 1975. He then married Gail Youngs (1982–1986) and Sharon Brophy (1991–1996).

In 2005, Duvall married Luciana Pedraza, granddaughter of famous Argentine aviator Susana Ferrari Billinghurst. He met Pedraza on a street in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They were both born on January 5, but Duvall is 41 years older. They have been together since 1997. Duvall and Luciana have been active supporters of Pro Mujer, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Latin America's poorest women help themselves through micro-credit, business training and health care linkages.

Duvall speaks fluent Spanish and maintains a farm in The Plains in Fauquier County, Virginia. He has the same birthday as Godfather co-star Diane Keaton who was born in 1946. His favorite city is Buenos Aires. He is an avid Tango dancer and soccer fan. Duvall faxed a message of support to Dumfries club Queen of the South ahead of the team playing in the 2008 Scottish Cup Final.A supporting role from Hollywood - Dumfries and Galloway Standard Duvall became acquainted with the club in filming scenes in 1999 for 'A Shot at Glory'.

Duvall's political views are variously described as libertarian or conservative. He was personally invited to Republican President George W. Bush's inauguration in 2001. In September 2007, he announced his support for Republican Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani. Duvall worked the floor at the GOP's 2008 national convention and, according to a 29 August 2008 MSNBC article, Duvall narrated most of the videos for the convention. In September 2008, he appeared on stage at a John McCain-Sarah Palin rally in New Mexico, and he told an October 2008 GOP fundraiser that "As far as I'm concerned, we've got to keep this guy Obama out of the White House."
Duvall is related to Barack Obama through a common ancestor, Mareen Duvall who immigrated to what is now Maryland from France. Duvall is also related to former President Harry Truman and Current Vice-President Dick Cheney, all through the same common ancestor.

Filmography

Year Film Role Other notes
1962 To Kill a Mockingbird Arthur 'Boo' Radley
1963 The Twilight Zone Charley Parkes Episode #110, "Miniature"
Captain Newman, M.D. Capt. Paul Cabot Winston
1964 The Outer Limits Adam Ballard Episodes #42, 43, "The Inheritors"
1964 The Outer Limits Louis Mace Episode #31, "The Chameleon"
1965 Nightmare in the Sun Motorcyclist
1966 T.H.E.Cat Laurent 2 episodes, 1966-1967 TV series
The Chase Edwin Stewart
1968 The Detective Nestor
Countdown Chiz
Bullitt Weissberg
1969 True Grit Ned Pepper
The Rain People Gordon
1970 M*A*S*H Frank Burns
The Revolutionary Despard
1971 THX 1138 THX 1138
Lawman Vernon Adams
1972 The Godfather Tom Hagen Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; Nominated - BAFTA Award
The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid Jesse James
Tomorrow Jackson Fentry
Joe Kidd Frank Harlan
1973 The Outfit Earl Macklin
Badge 373 Eddie Ryan
Lady Ice Ford Pierce
1974 The Conversation The Director uncredited
The Godfather: Part II Tom Hagen
1975 Network Frank Hackett
The Killer Elite
|George Hanson
Breakout Jay Wagner 1976 The Eagle Has Landed Oberst Max Radl The Seven-Per-Cent Solution Dr. Watson Network Frank Hackett Nominated - BAFTA Award 1977 The Greatest Bill McDonald 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers Priest on swing uncredited The Betsy Loren Hardeman III 1979 Apocalypse Now Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore BAFTA Award; Golden Globe Award; Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Great Santini Bull Meechum Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actor Ike Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower TV mini-series 1981 True Confessions Thomas Spellacy 1983 Tender Mercies Max Sledge Academy Award for Best Actor; Golden Globe Award 1984 The Natural Max Mercy 1986 The Lightship Calvin Caspary 1988 Colors Officer Bob Hodges 1989 Lonesome Dove Augustus "Gus" McCrae Golden Globe Award; Nominated - Emmy Award, stated this was his favorite role 1990 A Show of Force Howard Days of Thunder Harry Hogge The Handmaid's Tale The Commander 1991 Rambling Rose Daddy Hilyer Convicts Soll 1992 Stalin Josef Stalin Golden Globe Award; Nominated - Emmy Award Newsies Joseph Pulitzer 1993 Falling Down Prendergast Wrestling Ernest Hemingway Walter Geronimo: An American Legend Al Sieber 1994 The Paper Bernie White 1995 Something to Talk About Wyly King The Stars Fell on Henrietta Mr. Cox The Scarlet Letter Roger Chillingworth 1996 Sling Blade Karl's father The Man Who Captured Eichmann Adolf Eichmann Nominated - Emmy Award A Family Thing Earl Pilcher Jr. Phenomenon Doc Brunder 1997 The Apostle Euliss 'Sonny' Dewey - The Apostle E.F. Writer/Director Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actor 1998 The Gingerbread Man Dixon Doss A Civil Action Jerome Facher Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; Nominated - Golden Globe Award Deep Impact Capt. Spurgeon 'Fish' Tanner 2000 Gone in 60 Seconds Otto Halliwell The 6th Day Dr. Griffin Weir A Shot at Glory Gordon McLeod 2002 John Q Lt. Frank Grimes Assassination Tango John J. Anderson Writer/Director 2003 Gods and Generals Gen. Robert E. Lee Secondhand Lions Hub Open Range Boss Spearman 2005 Kicking & Screaming Buck Weston Thank You for Smoking Doak "The Captain" Boykin 2006 Broken Trail Prentice "Print" Ritter Emmy Award; Nominated - Golden Globe Award 2007 Lucky You Mr. Cheever We Own the Night Albert Grusinsky 2008 Four Christmases Howard The Road Old Man in post-production
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Robert Duvall".

Comments (0)

To comment, Sign in or Register
Tell us why this is your favorite All-Star!
Per Page:
Sort By:
Be the first to comment! Sign in or Register

Sign Up for Free!

Get Full Access...Right Now!

Email Address:

Continue
By clicking "Continue" you agree to the Privacy Policy.

Search All-Stars